'Strange World' Disney's 2022 Animated Film

[LittleBuford]

Sorry to hear that, it’s sad how ugly the internet can get, DCL was wonderful and no one had the time or energy to be nasty to each other, how the world should be.

I’m glad you had fun! I’d like to experience DCL myself one day.

 

[Heppenheimer]

I meant to respond to this. Maybe Disney’s going through a wave? This has happened in the past before.

The last excellent movie from Disney/Pixar is Coco, in my opinion.

I had to look up the timelines of the films to see if I agreed... and yes, it would seem I do. Kind of a drought, isn't it?

I would put Encanto in a "very good, not quite excellent" category. I liked Luca, and will probably watch it again some day, but the rest were all one-and-done for me.

Dare I say that Disney should put out feelers to see if John Lasseter wants to come back? Maybe credit him under a pseudonym, like Lass Johneter to avoid a public backlash. Nobody will ever figure it out!

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

I’m glad you had fun! I’d like to experience DCL myself one day.

It was my first and I now understand why people say DCL is Disney how Disney used to be, the CMs were all amazing, the service was top notch, the food was very good, the shows were amazing, the cleanliness was amazing, the guests were fantastic…

It reminded me why I love Disney, it also made it more noticeable how far the parks have slipped over the last few years.

 

[DKampy]

I meant to respond to this. Maybe Disney’s going through a wave? This has happened in the past before.

The last excellent movie from Disney/Pixar is Coco, in my opinion.

IMO I really responded to Soul as well

 

[Californian Elitist]

I had to look up the timelines of the films to see if I agreed... and yes, it would seem I do. Kind of a drought, isn't it?

I would put Encanto in a "very good, not quite excellent" category. I liked Luca, and will probably watch it again some day, but the rest were all one-and-done for me.

Dare I say that Disney should put out feelers to see if John Lasseter wants to come back? Maybe credit him under a pseudonym, like Lass Johneter to avoid a public backlash. Nobody will ever figure it out!

I would absolutely call this a drought, yes. The hits have been extremely few and far in between. Personally, I judge how much I enjoyed a film based on my desire to watch it again and how much I’d like to see it again. Coco is the only film within the last couple of years that I’ve seen multiple times, I believe.

Encanto started off strong, then it fell flat for me. I did a watch party with my friends and we all felt the same way; the movie has a strong beginning and a weak ending. To be very honest, folks on TikTok have made that film almost unbearable to watch now. One and done for me. I don’t necessarily have to watch Luca from start to finish again.

Given all that went down with Lasseter, I doubt he’ll be coming back at all!!

 

[Californian Elitist]

IMO I really responded to Soul as well

I need to rewatch Soul, at some point. I watched it with my family the day after Christmas in 2020. I didn’t know it at the time, but I had COVID and my symptoms had just begun, so I wasn’t feeling that great. Additionally, I immediately became annoyed when Joe turned into a cat. I thought to myself, yet another prominent black Disney character transforms into an animal. I tuned out after that, then focused again towards the ending.

 

[jeangreyforever]

Of the more recent crop, I’ve loved Onward and Luca.

I agree with you. I loved Luca and I enjoyed Onward a lot more than I thought I would considering I had very low expectations. That being said, even Pixar has lost its overall consistency.

As for Disney Animation itself, if more than the entire last decade of their movies was erased from existence, I would not shed a tear. The last movie of theirs I enjoyed was Meet the Robinsons but Lilo & Stitch was easily their last great movie.

 

[Californian Elitist]

I consider it very good, though not quite excellent.

I’m a bit of an outlier as far as Onward goes, as I like it more than most other people do, and indeed more than I myself thought I would based on the premise.

I definitely want to see Onward. My list of things to watch continues to grow.

 

[LittleBuford]

As for Disney Animation itself, if more than the entire last decade of their movies was erased from existence, I would not shed a tear. The last movie of theirs I enjoyed was Meet the Robinsons but Lilo & Stitch was easily their last great movie.

Oh, I disagree strongly. Excluding Strange World, which I can’t yet comment on, the only recent film I haven’t enjoyed is Raya and the Last Dragon. I would happily rewatch all the others.

 

[erasure fan1]

I meant to respond to this. Maybe Disney’s going through a wave? This has happened in the past before.

The last excellent movie from Disney/Pixar is Coco, in my opinion.

I'd agree. Coco was extremely good. For some reason Disney does go through ups and downs. We saw 4 all time classics in mermaid through lion king. Then some good and very average to not great films.

Of the more recent crop, I’ve loved Onward and Luca.

I thought both were ok, Luca was the better of the two. Each of them was missing that spark to make them great. Just like most of the resent offerings. They just seem to fall short every time.

 

[jeangreyforever]

I'd agree. Coco was extremely good. For some reason Disney does go through ups and downs. We saw 4 all time classics in mermaid through lion king. Then some good and very average to not great films.

Pocahontas has a much better reception in Europe and Asia. In some European countries, there isn't a Big 4 but a Big 5 including Pocahontas. For that matter, Hunchback also did much better overseas and has a much warmer reception there than in puritanical America.

 

[jeangreyforever]

Oh, I disagree strongly. Excluding Strange World, which I can’t yet comment on, the only recent film I haven’t enjoyed is Raya and the Last Dragon. I would happily rewatch all the others.

Raya I actually liked although didn't love. It had too much story that would have worked in a series but not a 2 hour movie. I enjoyed Wreck-It Ralph until that abominable sequel and Zootopia was decent. The Frozen films have always benefited from audiences enjoying more what the movie stands for than what the movie actually is. I loved Frozen at first but the script issues are too massive to ignore, especially with the sequel which doesn't even have the excuse of not having enough time to be worked on.

 

[Phroobar]

Maybe it was a couple bucks under $20 instead of a couple bucks over $20, can’t remember, I just hit purchase. Lol.

I guess my point is why stream something early for $22-$35 from Amazon or Disney+ when you can get the phyiscal media for under $10 or $20. That way you keep the movie forever. I guess it is still cheaper than the movie theater at $11-15 and odds are you get a bigger screen at home.

 

[Heppenheimer]

I need to rewatch Soul, at some point. I watched it with my family the day after Christmas in 2020. I didn’t know it at the time, but I had COVID and my symptoms had just begun, so I wasn’t feeling that great. Additionally, I immediately became annoyed when Joe turned into a cat. I thought to myself, yet another prominent black Disney character transforms into an animal. I tuned out after that, then focused again towards the ending.

I really wanted to like Soul, but the movie just got too bogged down in the mechanics of the afterlife, then proceeded to pretty much ignore all the rules it just established. For me, this was a big red flag that all was not well at Pixar, because previously they could make even the most complicated world-building seem logical and effortless (Inside Out is the ultimate example of this done well), but here it just never seemed to gel.

And for a movie about jazz, could it have hurt them to use a little more, oh, I don't know, jazz in the soundtrack? Winton Marsalis, Herbie Hancock, and many other jazz legends are still alive that they could have hired. Say what you want about Trent Reznor, but jazz is not his genre.

This is, however, an example of a film in which a diverse cast of characters actually feels organic to the story and not a ham-fisted insertion.

 

[erasure fan1]

Pocahontas has a much better reception in Europe and Asia. In some European countries, there isn't a Big 4 but a Big 5 including Pocahontas. For that matter, Hunchback also did much better overseas and has a much warmer reception there than in puritanical America.

I'm not saying they were bad or anything, just ok. I'd throw Hercules in that category as well. You then start to get into the weeds with home on the range, chicken little, bolt... I wasn't a fan of them at all. Lol

 

[jeangreyforever]

I'm not saying they were bad or anything, just ok. I'd throw Hercules in that category as well. You then start to get into the weeds with home on the range, chicken little, bolt... I wasn't a fan of them at all. Lol

I don't think anyone was a fan of those movies lol. Bolt in particular felt like a generic animated movie that any studio could have made.

 

[WorldExplorer]

I really wanted to like Soul, but the movie just got too bogged down in the mechanics of the afterlife, then proceeded to pretty much ignore all the rules it just established. For me, this was a big red flag that all was not well at Pixar, because previously they could make even the most complicated world-building seem logical and effortless (Inside Out is the ultimate example of this done well), but here it just never seemed to gel.

And for a movie about jazz, could it have hurt them to use a little more, oh, I don't know, jazz in the soundtrack? Winton Marsalis, Herbie Hancock, and many other jazz legends are still alive that they could have hired. Say what you want about Trent Reznor, but jazz is not his genre.

This is, however, an example of a film in which a diverse cast of characters actually feels organic to the story and not a ham-fisted insertion.

I was so into Soul for like twenty minutes and then it chose the "make the protagonist into a cat" route and it lost me.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

I guess my point is why stream something early for $22-$35 from Amazon or Disney+ when you can get the phyiscal media for under $10 or $20. That way you keep the movie forever. I guess it is still cheaper than the movie theater at $11-15 and odds are you get a bigger screen at home.

I haven’t bought a cd or bluray in probably 3 or 4 years now, digital is easier to find and doesn’t take up space in my house. Prior to a few years ago I bought everything on disks though and still have about 500 physical Blu-ray’s taking up space.

I had a vhs collection that I replaced with dvds that I replaced with Blu-rays… in ten years my guess is I’ll be replacing my Blu-ray’s and 4K downloads with whatever the next improvement is. I ultimately switched to downloads because I didn’t want to buy new 4K bluray players to replace my couple year old 1080p bluray players, I simply came to the conclusion that technology moves so fast that buying physical doesn’t make sense for me anymore.

 

[doctornick]

Oof. Such a huge mistake.

Agreed. I guess they figure it's nice to have a new movie on there for the Christmas break - I'm sure my family will watch it over that time off sometime - but it's so counterproductive to the theater revenue. I mean, it means nothing for Strange World itself but for future movies.

Disney should announce waaaaaaaay ahead of time that Elemental and Wish are not going to appear on D+ for at least 120 days after the theater premiere. They need to get ahead of this "I'll just wait for it to be on Disney+" sentiment. I'd actually intentionally make Elemental the "movie released just before the holidays on D+" film for next year.

 

[doctornick]

It's a piece of the puzzle in my opinion. Not everyone will avoid the theater because of D+. But will some people, especially if the movie isn't lighting any fires wait? I'd say yea, probably. One month is just way too short. Then as people avoid it, the narrative grows. And then you have to hope you get great word of mouth to draw people in.

Also, a big difference between family films that often will be the difference between 4-5 tickets and a bunch of popcorn and snacks at inflated prices vs being at home for "free" and able to pause for bathroom breaks and whatever.

There's been outliers but animated films in general haven't done that well since the pandemic (yes, Rise of Gru is the counter example) in theaters. Disney has suffered the most since their films pre-pandemic generally did much better than other animated studios so there's a bigger fall, but the whole genre is not doing great as folks wait for films to be watchable at home.