A Spirited Perfect Ten

[hopemax]

Christmas at WDW used to be very special. I seriously don't understand why all of that has been going away over the years.

Always follow the money. The decorations don't go up by themselves, and I'm guessing paying even minimal labor or equipment costs is an easy line item to cut if some department really needs it (does anyone know if the sites have to pay for their own, ie Contemporary "pays" somehow for that wreath to get hung?). Especially, since the "benefits" aren't that tangible to a specific location, and if they are someone else will get credit (like the travel company getting the benefit of extra packages sold).

 

[lazyboy97o]

Um...... No need to exclude Star Wars from that. Star Wars isnt Disney - its LucasFilm. Remember, while Disney may own them, they still do a lot of their own things, hence the insane security surrounding Ep7. (Needs even more IMO). Alas if you'll recall, Disney owned Miramax when Pulp Ficton was put out and no one would ever mistake that for a Disney film.

Except all the merchandise that is being branded as Disney Star Wars.

 

[Rteetz]

PBS Walt Disney Documentary just getting underway

 

[Phil12]

Eh... It's like saying they never should have made a film version of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader because they should have left well enough alone after The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I'm ok with this, as it's based on PL Travers' original source material and I "trust" the creative team. Of course, your mileage may vary.

I agree. Mary Poppins has a lot of miles left in her. After they're done with this live action musical I think they should give the Muppets an opportunity to develop this franchise. I'd enjoy seeing Pixar create a Mary Poppins project too.

And let's not forget that George Banks was a banker. I can see a treatment in which George continues to work hard and one day he owns the bank. During all those years of hard work he loathed Mary Poppins. Once he becomes owner of the bank, George decides to spend the money to send Mary Poppins into outer space. Mary will then be able to interact with all her Disney pals from Star Wars!

 

[Cesar R M]

Lady Gaga will be the new Mary Poppins

wait.. what? ())

I agree. Mary Poppins has a lot of miles left in her. After they're done with this live action musical I think they should give the Muppets an opportunity to develop this franchise. I'd enjoy seeing Pixar create a Mary Poppins project too.

And let's not forget that George Banks was a banker. I can see a treatment in which George continues to work hard and one day he owns the bank. During all those years of hard work he loathed Mary Poppins. Once he becomes owner of the bank, George decides to spend the money to send Mary Poppins into outer space. Mary will then be able to interact with all her Disney pals from Star Wars!

mary poppins.. space.. star wars..

 

[Hakunamatata]

Lady Gaga will be the new Mary Poppins

I just threw up.

 

[Tigger1988]

I just threw up.

Missed her Sound of Music performance?

She's actually the only singer I can think of who can come close to Andrews' vocal range. It's doubtful she'd be cast but it wouldn't be unwarranted.

 

[Cesar R M]

Seems like you are the only one saying it Cesar. Find a new response please!

except I didnt. 3 people said it in the past month. You just didn't see it.

Missed her Sound of Music performance?

She's actually the only singer I can think of who can come close to Andrews' vocal range. It's doubtful she'd be cast but it wouldn't be unwarranted.

I think the issue is: her apparent "rock star diva" behavior.
Having these strange suits, strange performances (still more decent than Miley's "the o" Cyrus ). She might have the singing power.. but not the "feel".

 

[Rodan75]

I have said it before I will say it again... Mary Poppins I'd my favorite Disney Movie period. (Star wars excluded) IF this is done right I will be ok with it. It will not be the original, hover I will be ok with it IF it is done right. However I have little faith that they can do that. I just fail to see how you can bring the charm and magic from the original back again. I will with hold judgement I am open to this, however i am extreamly nervous, it's got to be an amazing fan for me to be ok with this...

I am in the same boat. But all of these classics should be allowed to breathe for a new generation. Broadway creates classic revivals all the time. Some work, some don't.

But to say that the classics are off limits to reimaging / revivals forever, that seems wrong.

If they screw it up, we'll always have the original.

 

[Tigger1988]

I think the issue is: her apparent "rock star diva" behavior.
Having these strange suits, strange performances (still more decent than Miley's "the ****o" Cyrus ). She might have the singing power.. but not the "feel".

She just did a tour with Tony Bennett, America's musical grandpa. She's hardly making anyone clutch their pearls nowadays. Like I said, unlikely but not unwarranted. Unless they find some magical unknown, no one is going to have the "feel" of Julie Andrews.

 

[Phil12]

I hope Spirit is watching the American Experience. He'll learn about how it was all about branding to Walt.

 

[raymusiccity]

I hope Spirit is watching the American Experience. He'll learn about how it was all about branding to Walt.

Oh sure. Public Television is going to present a fair and balanced look back at Uncle Walt.

2/3's of the 'documentary' was shilling for the unions!

 

[brb1006]

I hope Spirit is watching the American Experience. He'll learn about how it was all about branding to Walt.

Just got finished watching part 1 and boy they weren't kidding when they we're showing the darker side of Walt Disney. Especially when they showed the recording of Walt's infamous speech to the animators and staff.

 

[asianway]

Always follow the money. The decorations don't go up by themselves, and I'm guessing paying even minimal labor or equipment costs is an easy line item to cut if some department really needs it (does anyone know if the sites have to pay for their own, ie Contemporary "pays" somehow for that wreath to get hung?). Especially, since the "benefits" aren't that tangible to a specific location, and if they are someone else will get credit (like the travel company getting the benefit of extra packages sold).

You mean the wreath that got cut last year?

 

[Tigger1988]

Oh sure. Public Television is going to present a fair and balanced look back at Uncle Walt.

2/3's of the 'documentary' was shilling for the unions!

So they doctored Walt's speech to the animators? That's all they needed to show.

A lot of fanboys will be crying tonight after watching that. Good.

 

[Nubs70]

Um...... No need to exclude Star Wars from that. Star Wars isnt Disney - its LucasFilm. Remember, while Disney may own them, they still do a lot of their own things, hence the insane security surrounding Ep7. (Needs even more IMO). Alas if you'll recall, Disney owned Miramax when Pulp Ficton was put out and no one would ever mistake that for a Disney film.

Except if they switched out Mulch Sweat and Shears pickup for the P# Wagon.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Having read Walt Disney: An American Original; Walt Disney: Triumph of the American Imagination; The Magic Kingdom: Walt Disney and the American Way of Life; The Animated Man: A Life of Walt Disney; The Disney Version: The Life, Times, Art and Commerce of Walt Disney; Walt Disney and the Quest for Community; Inside the Dream: The Personal Story of Walt Disney; Building a Company: Roy O. Disney and the Creation of Entertainment Empire; Drawing the Line: The Untold Story of the Animation Unions from Bosko to Bart Simpson and probably a couple more I am forgetting, there is nothing that really shocks me about American Experience.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

So they doctored Walt's speech to the animators? That's all they needed to show.

A lot of fanboys will be crying tonight after watching that. Good.

Too bad they barely let Tom Sito, someone who has actually written extensively on the history of Animation's labor movement, speak as they chose to let talking heads with no authority on the subject psychoanalyze evil patriarch Uncle Walt. The segment is so uneven in quality that it is emblematic of the flaws in the first part of doc, which I will not delivery my personal judgement on until I see the second part, where they have great stuff like Tom talking in depth about the working conditions of the non elite staff for a little bit and the tremendously ignorant speech Walt have to the staff. But how can you allow some of these other folks like Ron Suskind or Gabler frame the narrative?

The strike is a very important part of the life of Walt Disney and the American animation industry, they made poor decisions in how they handled the subject.

At least there's the Walt Disney Family Museum, which deals with strike fairly when they could have taken an anti-Union position or not have addressed it at all and Tom Sito's book on the history of the animation labor movement "Drawing the Line"

*Tom Sito is a former Disney Animator and current professor/animation historian at USC Film School. His work at Disney includes the development of the groundbreaking CAPS System which brought animation filmmaking into the digital relam making much of the nineties Disney films possible.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

Tom Sito states that Walt made 100X more than his lowest paid workers (Ink and Painters) during a time when the studio was in deep financial straights and is vilanised to the point of caricature for this fact. Yet today we have a tremendously profitable modern Disney Company in which Bob Iger makes 2,238X more than his median worker[1]. TWDC's workforce is predominately theme park Cast Members who are effectively part of America's working poor. How can you enrich oneself so throughly whilst allowing those who generate such wealth to live in poverty? Who is the true villain?

[1]
http://nytimes.com/2015/04/12/busin...er-pay-gap-data-remains-hidden.html?referrer=
The company with the widest pay gap on the list Twas Walt Disney, whose chief executive, Robert Iger, received $43.7 million last year. Given Mr. Baker’s estimate that Disney’s median worker received $19,530 last year, that translates to a C.E.O. multiple of 2,238 to one.

 

[ford91exploder]

Christmas at WDW used to be very special. I seriously don't understand why all of that has been going away over the years.

It's very simple they cost money and cut the profit margin