DVDizzy Forum

qindarka wrote:Well, if we are looking at precedent, Blue Sky Studios and Illumination Studios both produce films with a significantly lower budget and achieve comparable financial success. Yet the budgets for Pixar and WDAS films are still massive. So perhaps that situation isn't as likely as we might think.

The budget of a typical DisneyToon Studios film is around $20 million which is minuscule in comparison to all of the other studios'. Pixar's budgets are between $180-200 million, WDAS' are between $150-170, Blue Sky Studios' are around $90-100 million and Illumination's are $70 million.

The problem is not whether Planes will be moderately successful but whether it will achieve Pixar-level numbers which is a possibility because the audience will undoubtedly perceive it as a Pixar film. That could be a problem.

While the Pixar brand name does have a lot of power, there are a bunch of other factors behind their box-office performance. Cars 2 and Brave for instance, achieved much lower grosses than their immediate predecessors. The audience will be able to see that the production values are much lower from the trailer and will probably respond accordingly.

And the budgets for Blue Sky and Illumination while much higher than that of DisneyToons, are still significantly lower than that of WDAS and Pixar. Disney would be far more likely to follow that model and thus far, they have not. I am very confident that no matter how well Planes performs, Pixar and WDAS will never be assigned the budget of a DisneyToons feature.

qindarka wrote:The audience will be able to see that the production values are much lower from the trailer and will probably respond accordingly.

That's a good one.

SWillie! wrote:

That's a good one.

The audiences aren't blind. I don't have a good eye for these sort of things either and even I could immediately tell from the trailer that it looked much worse than the average Pixar film, or the average film by any other studio for that matter. I do think we have an unhealthy tendency to think of the audience as stupid, mindless sheep.

qindarka wrote:The audience will be able to see that the production values are much lower from the trailer and will probably respond accordingly.

Can you really tell the difference from the trailer? The animation seems very similar to that in Cars. This has also been observed by plenty of people in the blogosphere like on Cartoon Brew. If fans or industry-related people can't really tell the difference, how is the general audience supposed to do so?

qindarka wrote:I am very confident that no matter how well Planes performs, Pixar and WDAS will never be assigned the budget of a DisneyToons feature.

Well, obviously not because that would mean practically disbanding the studios. But it could instigate a series of cost-cutting measures at the studios. Of course, the artists will be the ones paying the price. Especially at Pixar where they are not unionized and are reportedly paid less than the ones at WDAS and DreamWorks.

Whereas if Planes turns out to be a financial failure in theaters, there are not going to be any significant consequences. Because of its small budget, Disney won't need a write-down and its stock price will not be affected, especially if the Planes merchandise and home video release sell well. Also, there can't be any layoffs at DisneyToon Studios since the animation is subcontracted. They can still continue producing Planes sequels for the DTV market or focus on the Disney Fairies franchise or on a different property. In other words, no harm done.

Sotiris wrote:
Well, obviously not because that would mean practically disbanding the studios. But it could instigate a series of cost-cutting measures at the studios. Of course, the artists will be the ones to pay the price. Especially at Pixar where they are not under a union contract and are reportedly paid less than the ones at WDAS and DreamWorks.

I'm not ruling out the possibility of cost cutting measures being introduced. I just don't see Planes being the one to change their minds since the difference between DisneyToons and WDAS/Pixar is so drastic. I've already mentioned this but I think it's more likely that they adopt the approach of Blue Sky or Illumination which have been performing nearly as well or better than them financially despite much lower budgets. Illumination, I believe, already outsources some of its animation. Their films still look good as well. And yet, Disney hasn't even followed their model thus far.

Sotiris wrote: Can you really tell the difference from the trailer? The animation seems very similar to that in Cars. This has also been observed by plenty of people in the blogosphere like on Cartoon Brew. If fans or industry-related people can't really tell the difference, how is the general audience supposed to do so?

I've just watched trailers for Cars 2 and Planes and I can see the difference. Granted, it was nowhere near as drastic as my initial impressions, might have been confirmation bias at work there.

Sotiris wrote:
Whereas if Planes turns out to be a financial failure in theaters, there are not going to be any significant consequences. Because of its small budget, Disney won't need a write-down and its stock price will not be affected especially if the Planes merchandise and home video release perform well. Also, there can't be any layoffs at DisneyToon Studios since the animation is subcontracted. They can still continue producing Planes sequels for the DTV market or focus on the Disney Fairies franchise or on a different property. In other words, no harm done.

I believe that a failure would do a bit of harm. Of course, there is the association with Pixar and might sully their name just as Cars 2 did. There has been an increasingly common sentiment that Pixar are in decline and this would only add to that. I've even seen a few comments by people who know that Pixar are not producing it but are still blaming them for allowing their franchise to be whored out in this way.

And there will no doubt be a bunch of people keen to remind everyone that Planes is a Disney film and not a Pixar film. This would then sully WDAS's reputation since a good number of people tend to lump everything Disney produces outside Pixar and Marvel together, as is the case for the DTV sequels, Disney Channel shows etc.

Maybe it won't be that much of a big deal, Disney has taken plenty of batterings already, but I'd still rather see the film succeed.

This is off topic, but wasn't DisneyToon Studios supposed to be getting a new name at some point? I feel like I remember reading about that every now and then, and I haven't heard anything about it in a while.

SWillie! wrote:This is off topic, but wasn't DisneyToon Studios supposed to be getting a new name at some point? I feel like I remember reading about that every now and then, and I haven't heard anything about it in a while.

I vaguely recall some rumors about that way back when Disney bought Pixar. But it's been so long I don't think it's going to ever happen.

If it were to change, I'd go for Disney Home Video Animation to be similar in name to Disney's other animation unit, Disney Television Animation.

Hmm, maybe it's been longer than I was thinking then. I was thinking sometime in the last couple years I had still been reading about it. Ah well.

Actor Carlos Alazraqui who voices the character of El Chupacabra in Planes has confirmed previous rumors that Planes will be a trilogy. He also mentions that his character will be featured in all three films. The sequel Planes: Fire & Rescue is already in production.

Sotiris wrote:Actor Carlos Alazraqui who voices the character of El Chupacabra in Planes has confirmed previous rumors that Planes will be a trilogy. He also mentions that his character will be featured in all three films. The sequel Planes II: Fire & Rescue is already in production.

Source: Comedy Film Nerds (via Animated Views)

My Response to Disney and Pixar

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/97du1N7Znb0" frameborder="0"></iframe>

I would fine a better clip or an image but I'm too tired to find one.

Honestly it doesn't surprise me. Cars is Lasseter's baby so it's obvious he'll do everything and anything to keep the world of it alive in some form. I wouldn't be surprised if in this Trilogy we have characters from Cars show up

I've said this many times, but this clip from The Dark Knight that proves what Harvey Dent says about you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain and in a way metaphorically speaking John Lasseter has become the villain

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/UfcemNhlqyA" frameborder="0"></iframe>

Steve Hulett wrote:Planes has been in the pipeline for a while now. I was looking at design work years ago when I trudged through the studio. Most of Planes was animated overseas, but a small crew of animators were in Glendale, executing many of the money shots.

Source: http://animationguildblog.blogspot.com/ ... -lite.html

disneyboy20022 wrote:

Sotiris wrote:Actor Carlos Alazraqui who voices the character of El Chupacabra in Planes has confirmed previous rumors that Planes will be a trilogy. He also mentions that his character will be featured in all three films. The sequel Planes II: Fire & Rescue is already in production.

Source: Comedy Film Nerds (via Animated Views)

My Response to Disney and Pixar

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/97du1N7Znb0" frameborder="0"></iframe>

I would fine a better clip or an image but I'm too tired to find one.

Honestly it doesn't surprise me. Cars is Lasseter's baby so it's obvious he'll do everything and anything to keep the world of it alive in some form. I wouldn't be surprised if in this Trilogy we have characters from Cars show up

I've said this many times, but this clip from The Dark Knight that proves what Harvey Dent says about you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain and in a way metaphorically speaking John Lasseter has become the villain

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/UfcemNhlqyA" frameborder="0"></iframe>

I think this is being overdramatic.

Three Planes movies? .....

PatrickvD wrote:Three Planes movies?

And then we get boats, trains, and trucks!

Sotiris wrote:

PatrickvD wrote:Three Planes movies?

And then we get boats, trains, and trucks!

Don't be ridiculous. We already saw trucks in the Cars films. Submarines could be a good idea, though.

Steve Hulett wrote:And there is Planes, which is a DisneyToon Studios presentations with aspirations of theatrical greatness. Disney had a small crew of animators in Glendale, and a large one in India.

Source: http://animationguildblog.blogspot.com/ ... lanes.html

Sotiris wrote:

PatrickvD wrote:Three Planes movies?

And then we get boats, trains, and trucks!

I hope they're all very proud of themselves.

PatrickvD wrote:I hope they're all very proud of themselves.

How long can they keep this up? Won't they run out of vehicles eventually?

Sotiris wrote:

PatrickvD wrote:I hope they're all very proud of themselves.

How long can they keep this up? Won't they run out of vehicles eventually?

Didn't we discuss this already? They'll eventually cross over into objects like computers, space shuttles, couches and cutlery.

THINK OF ALL THE MERCHANDISE FOR CUTLERY: THE MOVIE!!

Sorry I'm tired.