A Spirited 15 Rounds ...

[ford91exploder]

I'm such a huge fan of both Star Wars and the design/construction history of wdw that I don't WANT to agree with you at all...

...but I totally see the parallels. And boy is it depressing.

It is indeed

 

[Jahona]

Required Simpsons clip for when a Ghibli land is mentioned...

How have I not seen this till now. This is great.

Does Disney still have a licensing agreement with Ghibli? Or was that only for Spirited Away? Because if Disney/OLC/Ghibli wanted a theme park, it would probably be best to create a new park over in Japan.

Disney has dropped distribution of Studio Ghibli movies in the US. This has fallen to Distributor GKIDS.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

Does Ghilbi or Nintendo ever created theme park rides or have people who work for them who create, design, engineer ride technology? No. Does OLC actually design, create, or engineer any theme park attractions? No. They simply buy IP licenses from owners who develop the scope and ideas for projects and then have them build it and they pay for it and manage the park.

For Ghibli and Nintendo, that sounds like a surefire way to run into issues in the event things are not up to par. So they would still have to hire an outside agency like Thinkwell or Goddard Group to work on concepts etc for the parks which would cause them to spend even more revenue leading a smaller return of investment.

No they haven’t, but last time I checked, WDP didn’t know anything about amusement parks when they built Disneyland. Now, Nintendo and Ghibli need to be separated for the rest of this post because they are different and have specific focuses and needs. Nintendo is much larger than Ghibli and it stands to reason they, like Disney, could and should develop capabilities beyond their core compentency to grow their business and ensure creative control over their characters and worlds. Nintendo still has billions of dollars in cash reserves and investing it in a new unit in an untapped market would make sense. A Nintendo park in Japan could either be a TDR style licensing agreement or a JV between them and OLC.

Ghibli, OTOH, would have to pursue a different path. They simply don’t have the financial resources to build a park by themeselves. In comes the Tokyo Disneyland agreement where a cash starved company, Ghibli, gets money upfront and creative and quality control in exchange for an annual licensing fee, at the expense of an equity stake in the venture. Studio Ghibli already has a licensing operation and would be able to find themed design firms that could do the work under their directions. I didn’t think I had to explicitly mention this. Many firms like the ones you mention would love to build the theme parks they design, unlike the graveyard of MGM and Paramount park proposals scattered around the world.

Or Oriental Land creates its own in house design firm with all those great imagineers who once worked on TDR projects like Steve and Tim Kirk, Eddie Sotto and Dan Gooze to do the work.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

Does Disney still have a licensing agreement with Ghibli? Or was that only for Spirited Away? Because if Disney/OLC/Ghibli wanted a theme park, it would probably be best to create a new park over in Japan.

Disney has dropped distribution of Studio Ghibli movies in the US. This has fallen to Distributor GKIDS.

Just wanted to add Walt Disney Japan still co-finances their films and distributes them on home video there.

 

[No Name]

Nintendo signed the deal with Universal during a time when they were struggling. This is also when they began licensing/developing games for mobile. They like to keep things in-house, and only back down when there's lots of pressure from short-sighted investors. For a good three years, people were criticizing them for not going third party. Now they have the fastest-selling console in gaming history.

I don't think they would sign that deal today.

I do think Reggie Fils-Aime is a BEAST!

 

[jt04]

It is indeed

Would they purposefully undercut Star Wars so that Marvel becomes the pre-eminent franchise at the WDC?

That seems to me to be an incredibly risky strategy if true.

 

[njDizFan]

Exactly.

With WW in particular, feminists/SJW's weren't entirely enthralled with it. I saw a lot of talk from those circles about how the "male gaze" was an issue with the film (in spite of the fact it was directed by a female). And not to mention the boycotts due to the "BDS" Israel connection, as Gal Godot is Israeli and speaks out for associated causes as a former member of the their military (as most all citizens are).

As someone who has always been enthralled with female heroines, I am very glad that these films are being made. It is beyond time for it. But in large part, I have become convinced that this segment of folks and the sensibility they are going after is never going to satisfy those that live and breathe all this "dismantle the patriarchy" stuff. I mean, just google and look into the hate the successful "Supergirl" TV show gets because of various aspects of the show and some of her relationships that don't conform to their ideals.

These films, TV projects, etc. are successful when they are good and appeal to a wide audience. Not because they pander to what is really a small but vocal extremist crowd. Look at "Blackish" - it is a successful show because it's funny as hell - not because it's "socially diverse".

There are many failures coming out of this, too. Look at the sad state of Marvel comics after they tried to "diversify" for the sake of it, and not the story. They lost their existing audience, and the audience they were going for didn't buy the product, either. Or the bombing of high-profile projects like "The Get Down" on Netflix.

Most of this "hype" is created by the media because one thing that SJW mentality does pay off is in advertising clicks, because the "movement" is largely made up of people who just sit and rage on the internet all day and rabidly consume and share anything they feel further validates them, no matter how nonsensical it is.

I'm not really sure how this post directly relates (at least in tone) to the original comment. My supposition was that strong and diverse superheroes are actively being sought out by minority and female audiences because there is pent up demand. Of course if the story is not strong a minority cast alone will not and should not drive attendance. And of course there must be appeal across multiple demographics to ensure a successful film. And all woman or an all minority cast should not be ingested like pabulum for that demographic.

It sound like you are not exactly a fan of slacktivism and in general I think most people would agree. But there is more to many of the current movements that actually are striving for more justice by merely inserting a hashtag in a social media post. We do live in a world where half the population have been misrepresented and socially suppressed so a backlash should be expected against the "patriarchs". The attribution of the onset of the current feminist movements correlated to advertising revenue is both bias and cynical.

The Blackish audience is 80% non-black which seems to justify that it has wide appeal. There are always going to be people who have agendas that are not in synch with the rest of a certain movement. That is why we have various factions of all of our political, social, religious communities. And that is why it's important to communicate truths, understand alternative prospectives and discuss ideas as adults if there is going to a chance to drive change.

 

[Absimilliard]

In sad news, OLC has announced that the Sailing Day Buffet at Toyko DisneySea will close on March 31st 2018. Sad news as it was a well themed opening day restaurant and I am quite curious about the replacement. I am heading there next week and I will eat there as I never tried it before.

 

[FrankLapidus]

Would they purposefully undercut Star Wars so that Marvel becomes the pre-eminent franchise at the WDC?

That seems to me to be an incredibly risky strategy if true.

No, and suggesting they would is absolute lunacy.

Star Wars' current shortcomings are down to the poor leadership of Kathleen Kennedy and Lucasfilm, not some ridiculous scheme on Disney's part. Kennedy and LF have, for better or worse, hired the wrong directors (Rian Johnson), micro-managed others (Gareth Edwards) and fired others whose concepts and ideas for SW films were patently different from Lucasfilm's from the point they were hired (Josh Trank, Lord & Miller). Lucasfilm's problem is that, since the takeover, it has heralded itself as a studio that is prepared to give opportunities to a new generation of emerging film-makers that were influenced by SW, only to then stifle those film-makers because Kennedy and the clueless story group at Lucasfilm (Kiri Hart, et al) do not appear to have any clue as to what they want Star Wars to be, hence why J.J. Abrams has been brought back to salvage the last remaining film in the current trilogy and Ron Howard was parachuted in to rescue Solo when Lucasfilm realised they'd made a mistake in hiring Lord & Miller. Kennedy and the story group are simply throwing things against the wall and hoping that it sticks; I'm not a Marvel fan but Lucasfilm needs a Kevin Feige, someone who is going to sit down and come up with a plan for the future of the franchise so that the studio stops lurching from one fired director to the next, so that they don't end up with another TLJ which has divided the fanbase and has raised some fairly pertinent questions about the future of Star Wars under the Disney/Lucasfilm umbrella.

 

[bclane]

OMG you folks have to check out this EPIC Bruce Lee fight with lightsaber nunchucks!!! Holy Cow!!!

 

[FigmentJedi]

Lucasfilm needs a Kevin Feige, someone who is going to sit down and come up with a plan for the future of the franchise so that the studio stops lurching from one fired director to the next, so that they don't end up with another TLJ which has divided the fanbase and has raised some fairly pertinent questions about the future of Star Wars under the Disney/Lucasfilm umbrella.

His name is Dave Filoni and he's in charge of Lucasfilm's Animation unit.

 

[MisterPenguin]

OMG you folks have to check out this EPIC Bruce Lee fight with lightsaber nunchucks!!! Holy Cow!!!

Bruce Lee is rocking the Kylo Ren Shirtless Challenge.

 

[jt04]

No, and suggesting they would is absolute lunacy.

Star Wars' current shortcomings are down to the poor leadership of Kathleen Kennedy and Lucasfilm, not some ridiculous scheme on Disney's part. Kennedy and LF have, for better or worse, hired the wrong directors (Rian Johnson), micro-managed others (Gareth Edwards) and fired others whose concepts and ideas for SW films were patently different from Lucasfilm's from the point they were hired (Josh Trank, Lord & Miller). Lucasfilm's problem is that, since the takeover, it has heralded itself as a studio that is prepared to give opportunities to a new generation of emerging film-makers that were influenced by SW, only to then stifle those film-makers because Kennedy and the clueless story group at Lucasfilm (Kiri Hart, et al) do not appear to have any clue as to what they want Star Wars to be, hence why J.J. Abrams has been brought back to salvage the last remaining film in the current trilogy and Ron Howard was parachuted in to rescue Solo when Lucasfilm realised they'd made a mistake in hiring Lord & Miller. Kennedy and the story group are simply throwing things against the wall and hoping that it sticks; I'm not a Marvel fan but Lucasfilm needs a Kevin Feige, someone who is going to sit down and come up with a plan for the future of the franchise so that the studio stops lurching from one fired director to the next, so that they don't end up with another TLJ which has divided the fanbase and has raised some fairly pertinent questions about the future of Star Wars under the Disney/Lucasfilm umbrella.

Oh. I guess my question wasn't one of the fairly pertinent ones then. Moving on.

 

[bclane]

Bruce Lee is rocking the Kylo Ren Shirtless Challenge.

Bruce Lee backs down from no challenge...

 

[AEfx]

I'm not really sure how this post directly relates (at least in tone) to the original comment. My supposition was that strong and diverse superheroes are actively being sought out by minority and female audiences because there is pent up demand. Of course if the story is not strong a minority cast alone will not and should not drive attendance. And of course there must be appeal across multiple demographics to ensure a successful film. And all woman or an all minority cast should not be ingested like pabulum for that demographic.

Well, I was building on something said in a posting by @HauntedPirate and since he "liked" it, I'm presuming he felt it related just fine to what he said, LOL.

In any case, it is those that make media who need the message - because they don't seem to be getting it in some cases. Some are appearing to think "let's just be diverse" like it's a new fad, not just a different way of thinking.

I do think the concept of "pent up demand" is a bit less relevant as we move forward - the response to that in a business environment tends to be over-saturation, and if they continue to insist that projects keep following artificial dictates, it isn't really going to pay off. None of it is going to matter if they don't concentrate on making good films above all else.

 

[AEfx]

Star Wars' current shortcomings are down to the poor leadership of Kathleen Kennedy and Lucasfilm, not some ridiculous scheme on Disney's part. Kennedy and LF have, for better or worse, hired the wrong directors (Rian Johnson), micro-managed others (Gareth Edwards) and fired others whose concepts and ideas for SW films were patently different from Lucasfilm's from the point they were hired (Josh Trank, Lord & Miller).

It is just becoming so obvious at this point that this is all true - Kathleen Kennedy is just not the person to be in charge of Star Wars.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Does Ghilbi or Nintendo ever created theme park rides or have people who work for them who create, design, engineer ride technology? No. Does OLC actually design, create, or engineer any theme park attractions? No. They simply buy IP licenses from owners who develop the scope and ideas for projects and then have them build it and they pay for it and manage the park.

For Ghibli and Nintendo, that sounds like a surefire way to run into issues in the event things are not up to par. So they would still have to hire an outside agency like Thinkwell or Goddard Group to work on concepts etc for the parks which would cause them to spend even more revenue leading a smaller return of investment.

Huh? Firms like Thinkwell can get projects done for less than Walt Disney Imagineering or Universal Creative, both of whom also hire such firms.

 

[TeriofTerror]

I'm not really sure how this post directly relates (at least in tone) to the original comment. My supposition was that strong and diverse superheroes are actively being sought out by minority and female audiences because there is pent up demand. Of course if the story is not strong a minority cast alone will not and should not drive attendance. And of course there must be appeal across multiple demographics to ensure a successful film. And all woman or an all minority cast should not be ingested like pabulum for that demographic.

It sound like you are not exactly a fan of slacktivism and in general I think most people would agree. But there is more to many of the current movements that actually are striving for more justice by merely inserting a hashtag in a social media post. We do live in a world where half the population have been misrepresented and socially suppressed so a backlash should be expected against the "patriarchs". The attribution of the onset of the current feminist movements correlated to advertising revenue is both bias and cynical.

The Blackish audience is 80% non-black which seems to justify that it has wide appeal. There are always going to be people who have agendas that are not in synch with the rest of a certain movement. That is why we have various factions of all of our political, social, religious communities. And that is why it's important to communicate truths, understand alternative prospectives and discuss ideas as adults if there is going to a chance to drive change.

But don't forget there is a definite segment of the population that is decidedly opposed to progress/change. They have a vested interesting in romanticizing the 1950s and the ideals of McCarthyism.
It may just be anecdotal evidence on my part, but they tend to be the ones who whine the loudest about "SJWs".

 

[AEfx]

But don't forget there is a definite segment of the population that is decidedly opposed to progress/change. They have a vested interesting in romanticizing the 1950s and the ideals of McCarthyism.
It may just be anecdotal evidence on my part, but they tend to be the ones who whine the loudest about "SJWs".

LOL, yup. You got me. I'm a gay guy who just secretly wants to return to the 1950's...I'm caught. Red-handed.

 

[Progress.City]

No, and suggesting they would is absolute lunacy.

Star Wars' current shortcomings are down to the poor leadership of Kathleen Kennedy and Lucasfilm, not some ridiculous scheme on Disney's part. Kennedy and LF have, for better or worse, hired the wrong directors (Rian Johnson), micro-managed others (Gareth Edwards) and fired others whose concepts and ideas for SW films were patently different from Lucasfilm's from the point they were hired (Josh Trank, Lord & Miller). Lucasfilm's problem is that, since the takeover, it has heralded itself as a studio that is prepared to give opportunities to a new generation of emerging film-makers that were influenced by SW, only to then stifle those film-makers because Kennedy and the clueless story group at Lucasfilm (Kiri Hart, et al) do not appear to have any clue as to what they want Star Wars to be, hence why J.J. Abrams has been brought back to salvage the last remaining film in the current trilogy and Ron Howard was parachuted in to rescue Solo when Lucasfilm realised they'd made a mistake in hiring Lord & Miller. Kennedy and the story group are simply throwing things against the wall and hoping that it sticks; I'm not a Marvel fan but Lucasfilm needs a Kevin Feige, someone who is going to sit down and come up with a plan for the future of the franchise so that the studio stops lurching from one fired director to the next, so that they don't end up with another TLJ which has divided the fanbase and has raised some fairly pertinent questions about the future of Star Wars under the Disney/Lucasfilm umbrella.

Great post! Why didn’t they realize they made a mistake with Rian Johnson while the movie was in development?

And is the rumor true that Kathleen Kennedy may be forced out or fired?

Also, what’s the deal about the Solo trailer? It should have been out by now...