WDAS may start making TV shows

[Disney's Divinity]

Reddit or 4chan maybe?

[unprincess]

the latter...no I dont post there, just lurk... but its a good place to find info and full comics scans.

[unprincess]

dp

[Jules]

Just saw the five announced shows. I personally have no problem with this, though I am confused by one thing.

These shows will consume a lot of time and resources to make at WDAS, right? Will that mean that feature film output is gonna slow down to accommodate the production of these five shows? Or will they be hiring new people to take on the additional jobs?

Secondly, do you think these will be animated in-house at WDAS (like the Prep & Landing featurettes) or will the animation be outsourced? (Like what DreamWorks does with their shows)

[Sotiris]

Are all of the characters Jennifer Lee mentioned during the Investor Day presentation getting their own series? I hope not, but that's probably the case. I'm worried Cinderella, Ariel, and Jasmine will get modernized, redesigned, and CG-fied. We all saw how poorly they turned out in Ralph Breaks the Internet. I have no faith in new WDAS to do them right. With Rapunzel, I fear they're going to retcon and undo the events and lore of Tangled: The Series. I wouldn't mind them ignoring the series as long as they don't introduce elements that directly contradict it, which is what will probably happen if the series is set after the end of the movie.

Cinderella, Ariel, Elsa, Jasmine, Rapunzel...Disney Animation has brought some of the greatest heroines to the screen. Characters that people connect with and who stand the test of time. And with Disney+, we're creating new stories for these characters, starting with a favorite from New Orleans, Princess Tiana.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBs0ozeRep0

[Farerb]

Now I understand why they didn't need DisneyToons anymore, they just made WDAS the new DisneyToons. I'm sure it will be necessary and successful just like these were:

[bruno_wbt]

Now I understand why they didn't need DisneyToons anymore, they just made WDAS the new DisneyToons. I'm sure it will be necessary and successful just like these were:

I really hope so! Those are my favorite movies of all time! I'm still mad they didn't continue the Enchanted Tales series, I hope they put new episodes on Disney+ (with 2D animation)

[estefan]

My attitude is I think it's neat to see Walt Disney Animation expand. Television animation isn't like it was in Walt's time when budgets were limited and the best you could hope for was Hanna-Barbera quality. Now you have Netflix spending about $65-70 million on "Green Eggs and Ham", a show that looks like a theatrically released animated film. And I have no doubt Disney will be spending similar amounts on these WDAS shows, although with the advantage of being able to reuse assets from the movies, I'm sure.

But budget aside, these are being made by very talented writers and animators. I love this current era of Disney animated features (although truth be told, I think every era of Disney animation has its strengths, even the so-called "Dark Ages"), though. So maybe my positive attitude towards these upcoming series has more to do with that.

[Farerb]

I don't have an issue with WDAS making TV shows, I have issues with these TV shows. They made good successful movies and that's great but can't these movies be left alone? It just feels more like an exploitation rather than doing something because someone has something to tell, wasn't this their whole thing? Not doing sequels and such unless the original creators have something good in mind?

[Disney's Divinity]

Nonstop sequels were always inevitable when Disney went to 3D. In fact, I think that's the main reason they wanted to move to only making 3D films, because they were jealous of all the money PIXAR and Dreamworks could make off sequels with their properties. That attitude's been compounded by streaming becoming the new thing as well as Disney's acquisitions of Marvel and Star Wars. They treat Disney animation like those studios now, which means a franchise never ends and every popular characters gets their own offshoot film franchise (Lightyear is a great example of that).

I guess I'm making the best of a bad situation and just enjoying some of my characters getting more songs / film time. I grew up on TV series for most things anyway (Pooh, Aladdin, TLM, Hercules, etc.), so it doesn't bother me. I think these will be better than 99% of DisneyToon's output, if it's any consolation.

With Rapunzel, I fear they're going to retcon and undo the events and lore of Tangled: The Series. I wouldn't mind them ignoring the series as long as they don't introduce elements that directly contradict it, which is what will probably happen if the series is set after the end of the movie.

I know it's unlikely to happen, but I had thought a week ago if it's possible the series could get resurrected on Disney+? What would really be the point of making a new solo Rapunzel show instead if the old one didn't even do that well? I guess they could name it "Rapunzel" like the TP&TF show has been named "Tiana," which I think would help people remember what it is better than "Tangled." Now I think of it, I almost hope that happens. It might make it a smoother transition to re-naming "Tangled" to "Rapunzel" over the next 10 years.

[bruno_wbt]

I guess they could name it "Rapunzel" like the TP&TF show has been named "Tiana," which I think would help people remember what it is better than "Tangled." Now I think of it, I almost hope that happens. It might make it a smoother transition to re-naming "Tangled" to "Rapunzel" over the next 10 years.

They've already changed the title of the series from "Tangled: The Series" to "Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure"


We need more classic Disney Princess animation ASAP!

[Disney's Divinity]

I was referring to the film.

[bruno_wbt]

I was referring to the film.

They would never change the name of a film.

The series was different because it was a new season, but I think it never happened to a film.

[Disney's Divinity]

No, it hasn't happened before. I didn't say it had.

[Farerb]

It has happened before. Most notably to Star Wars, which was changed into Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. Another example is Birds of Prey changing into Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey. And even The Return of Jafar was changed into Aladdin: The Return of Jafar for Disney Plus. I doubt that it would happen to Tangled though...

[Mooky]

^^ Yes. Also, First Blood became Rambo: First Blood on home media covers, same with Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, Edge of Tomorrow also got a whole new title on subsequent releases... It's not without a precedent. But I too don't see how it could be subtly applied to Tangled without making the title appear clunkier, so I don't think it will ever happen. Sadly.

[estefan]

I don't have an issue with WDAS making TV shows, I have issues with these TV shows. They made good successful movies and that's great but can't these movies be left alone? It just feels more like an exploitation rather than doing something because someone has something to tell, wasn't this their whole thing? Not doing sequels and such unless the original creators have something good in mind?

I mean, The Rescuers Down Under came about because the execs saw how well the first film performed on its original release and re-release. A recent retrospective article even had one of the directors admit he was confused they wanted to make a sequel to The Rescuers. And yet the filmmakers ended up making a great sequel and one considered by a number of people as better than the first.

So even if wanting to exploit the popularity of those films is partly a reason for green lighting the shows, it doesn't mean we're immediately going to get low quality programming. Pixar is currently producing an original series for Disney+, so I wouldn't be surprised if Walt Disney Animation is given the same opportunity, too. Not to mention there's their collaboration with the African studio, which must be a dream come true for them, getting the chance to work alongside such a legendary animation studio.

[Sotiris]

It has happened before. Most notably to Star Wars, which was changed into Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.

And then changed again to Star Wars: A New Hope under Disney.

And even The Return of Jafar was changed into Aladdin: The Return of Jafar for Disney Plus.

It wasn't just for Disney Plus; it first got changed with the 2005 home video release.

Also, First Blood became Rambo: First Blood on home media covers, same with Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, Edge of Tomorrow also got a whole new title on subsequent releases... It's not without a precedent.

Let's not forget Dark Phoenix which became X-Men: Dark Phoenix when it came to digital and home video.

[Farerb]

I don't have an issue with WDAS making TV shows, I have issues with these TV shows. They made good successful movies and that's great but can't these movies be left alone? It just feels more like an exploitation rather than doing something because someone has something to tell, wasn't this their whole thing? Not doing sequels and such unless the original creators have something good in mind?

I mean, The Rescuers Down Under came about because the execs saw how well the first film performed on its original release and re-release. A recent retrospective article even had one of the directors admit he was confused they wanted to make a sequel to The Rescuers. And yet the filmmakers ended up making a great sequel and one considered by a number of people as better than the first.

So even if wanting to exploit the popularity of those films is partly a reason for green lighting the shows, it doesn't mean we're immediately going to get low quality programming. Pixar is currently producing an original series for Disney+, so I wouldn't be surprised if Walt Disney Animation is given the same opportunity, too. Not to mention there's their collaboration with the African studio, which must be a dream come true for them, getting the chance to work alongside such a legendary animation studio.

To me it depends on the film. The Rescuers has a premise that can be continued with sequels and franchises, I can also put films like Toy Story, The Incredibles, Zootopia, etc...in that category.
But there are some types of films, especially fairytale films that has that sense of completion, Happily Ever After happened so why do we need a continuation that undermines that? The hero's journey is complete and they don't need further exploration. Usually when it's done (mostly for money), it just feels forced. We can see that with some of the worst DTV sequels. Like Enchanted Christmas, Belle and the Beast got through with the initial conflict, so now what? He's pissed about Christmas and he's pissed about a bird and it's just dumb, and suddenly Belle doesn't stand up to him and we get stupid lines like "I don't know why I even bother" or "I just wanted to make you happy". Can you really imagine the original Belle who said "I don't want anything to do with him" saying these things? But that's just one example, but most of them are filled with parents who are hypocrites like Ariel or Simba.
So what more can be told with Tiana? Having her deal with various annoying customers? Her story is done. Same with Moana. Same with any Princess.

[Sotiris]

More series are coming.

Lee is proud of the Disney Plus Pitch Program. At the time, it was short-form ideas. She received more than 200 pitches. “Even if they weren’t someone ready to be a director, they would have access and get to grow through the process,” she says. In its second year, Lee is currently reading 125 pitches. “We are shooting for long form … and to be able to create those opportunities is so much fun. We’ve got new talent that we’re getting to work with and new opportunities. We cast this wide net and it created this wonderful energy in the studio.”

Source: https://variety.com/2021/film/directors ... 235108711/