A Spirited Perfect Ten

[The Empress Lilly]

Second, when speaking with Trojan Nation officials, they keep coming back to one fact: they do NOT care whether Willow is guilty or not about what she is accused of. They care about the apperance of it. They feel like this is Example A in why she shouldn't have been hired to start with.

So, if you think she's innocent (she isn't, but that isn't pertinent to this) think about why appearances do matter and do affect the way we handle situations in real life.

Say, for instance, that in your neighborhood lives a quiet loner-type 33-year-old single male. Now, say that guy starts cozying up to all the 11-year-old boys he can. They spend time at his house. He picks them up at school. Maybe he takes them to theme parks or the movies.

Would you be comfortable with that?

Or would the stigma that ''that dude ia a perv, let's blow his balls off!!!'' take over? Seriously, think about what conclusion that 99% of you (maybe more) would jump to.

He couldn't simply be a lonely guy who likes kids and teaching them things (not THOSE things) and seeing the world through their childish innocence. Nope, he's doing all sorts of sick things and putting it on the 'net for fellow pervs to enjoy.

Now, you damn well know there are lonely guys out there who like kids. Who aren't looking to abuse them. But what would you think? Really.

Because, in this case, Willow Bay is like that lonely guy in the 'hood. The mere apperance of impropriety is what matters, not the act itself (although the writer may feel otherwise!)

So, that's why I am like a dog with a bone. I'm going to do whatever I can to see that USC rethinks who should be heading its journalism school.

Whether you (talking to my special 'pal' here although it counts for anyone) like it or not. If you don't, feel free to contact Zenia Mucha at Disney (I have a direct line to her office!)

Now, off for that Faux Top One Percent steak that will likely cost half what a smaller, lower quality steak at Le Cellier would.

See you all a little later ..

Poor show, Spirit. Don't be a rabble rouser in an Afghan village imploring the villagers to stone the girl even if they all would know she is innocent. If you want to burn some woman as a witch, then come up with proof rather than demagoguery about how innocents must burn regardless.

Innocence is always pertinent. It does matter whether a man is guilty or not. God have mercy on your soul if you really are the kind of man who would knowingly burn a man at the stake whom you know to be innocent of such heinous crimes as you bring forth here.

Speaking of, yes, I do happen to know of an example of a 33 year old single male who hung out with much younger males until an angry mob screamed for his death....

when speaking with Trojan Nation officials, they keep coming back to one fact: they do NOT care whether Willow is guilty or not about what she is accused of. They care about the apperance of it.

That makes them irresponsible dumbos then.

 

[lazyboy97o]

No I'm not... neither you nor I have any idea why it happened. You say because they stopped catering to adults, I say because it was over priced and wasn't targeted at the proper audience. Bankruptcy can happen for many, many reasons. Many of them having nothing to do with mis-management. Economic times alone can cause it. So, I'm not ignoring it, it's just that since I have no solid way of identifying the underlying reasons for it feel it is not relevant to the conversation. It proves or disproves absolutely nothing.

It proves that their strategy, of which the target audience is a prime component, has failed. the bankruptcy was not due to some sudden external factors. The stores were floundering for years before and continue to flounder afterwards. They've tried reducing prices and gimmicks like near perpetual sales (which work better than everyday low prices at driving sales) and it has not work. The defining difference that distinguishes the years of success from drowning has been the target demographic. Such disastrous outcomes also continued on for the rest of Paul Pressler's career, both at Disney and The Gap.

 

[ChrisFL]

Not sure what could be upgraded on a teacups-style ride, but who knows?

I was just implying there's 3 rides on Marvel Island, that's all. I really doubt they'd do anything with it, besides replace it

 

[the.dreamfinder]

An update on that China air pollution doc @Lee posted a while back. The Central Govenrment has generally left the video and the conversation around the film on social media alone. As they point out in the segment, the party officials have the breathe the air too.
http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-03-04/chinese-mom-has-everybody-talking-about-air-pollution

 

[Cesar R M]

I've seen this sort of thing happen on some computers. It occurs when a small piece of tin foil falls into the keyboard and the electromagnetic flux is disturbed.

could this cause a problem in the time flux enough to cause Dr. Brown to restudy his DeLorean design?

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

Tangled, Frozen, Tomorrowland......oh and Jack Sparrow was a Disney creation last I checked.

They may have bought Star Wars, but they created an entirely new story rather than use the one already outlined by Lucas.

Jack Sparrow is a character created over a decade ago during the Eisner era, rehashed through 3 more movies and soon to be 4 (likely as many as audiences continue to gobble up). Tangled and Frozen are both based on existing fairy tales (Rapunzel and the Snow Queen), the changes i'd consider nothing compared to the immense alterations done to the Disney adapted literature from the 90's, let alone the immense quality of the creativity in those films (Tangled being particularly boring and uninspired). Tomorrowland is based on their own theme park land that has existed since the 50's, and i wouldn't say the movie looks very inspired from the trailers.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

Since we have been discussing the modern Disney Store's almost exclusive focus on young children, there has been another trend going on at the company; creating high-end products for films, like the Live-Action "Cinderella", targeted at female professionals.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/busin...8f28f6-c29d-11e4-ad5c-3b8ce89f1b89_story.html
For Disney, the “Cinderella” onslaught represents a risky bet on a behind-the-times tale of a hapless servant girl saved by magic and a benevolent prince, in a country calling more than ever for strong female leads. The studio is turning away from the blueprint of newer films such as “Frozen,” its $1.2 billion-grossing blockbuster, that showcased a fearless princess and became one of its biggest successes at the box office and beyond.

But faced with striking a tricky balance between modern calls for gender equality and the princess nostalgia of women’s youth, Disney’s merchandising has aimed squarely at the latter, gambling on the professional woman who, while doing it all, doesn’t mind a detour through fantasyland.

“Our target consumer is female, age 35 to 55, which is what Disney was looking for,” said Gigi Ganatra Duff, a spokeswoman for HSN, which plans to run a 24-hour live event and two prime-time specials to promote its “Cinderella” collection. “Our girl is sophisticated; she’s fashionable. She doesn’t want it to scream ‘Cinderella.’ She wants it to scream the essence of ‘Cinderella’: Fairy tale, dreamy, beautiful.”

 

[Smiddimizer]

Poor show, Spirit. Don't be a rabble rouser in an Afghan village imploring the villagers to stone the girl even if they all would know she is innocent. If you want to burn some woman as a witch, then come up with proof rather than demagoguery about how innocents must burn regardless.

Innocence is always pertinent. It does matter whether a man is guilty or not. God have mercy on your soul if you really are the kind of man who would knowingly burn a man at the stake whom you know to be innocent of such heinous crimes as you bring forth here.

Speaking of, yes, I do happen to know of an example of a 33 year old single male who hung out with much younger males until an angry mob screamed for his death....

That makes them irresponsible dumbos then.

That is so hyperbolic it changes the issue.

I wouldn't compare it to pedophilia either. None of this is criminal, proper due process isn't really a card here. Businessmen, deans, politicians, studio heads, plenty of professionals are forced to step down in response to scandals, regardless of how immediate their involvement was.

 

[Cesar R M]

Jack Sparrow is a character created over a decade ago during the Eisner era, rehashed through 3 more movies and soon to be 4 (likely as many as audiences continue to gobble up). Tangled and Frozen are both based on existing fairy tales (Rapunzel and the Snow Queen), the changes i'd consider nothing compared to the immense alterations done to the Disney adapted literature from the 90's, let alone the immense quality of the creativity in those films (Tangled being particularly boring and uninspired). Tomorrowland is based on their own theme park land that has existed since the 50's, and i wouldn't say the movie looks very inspired from the trailers.

funny, I feel the opposite of Frozen and Tangled.
Frozen feels boring and cookie cutter-esque, only surprise was the Hans betrayal.
Tangled felt fresh and VERY FUNNY.

 

[Smiddimizer]

Tangled, Frozen, Tomorrowland......oh and Jack Sparrow was a Disney creation last I checked.

They may have bought Star Wars, but they created an entirely new story rather than use the one already outlined by Lucas.

The discussion was surrounding Disney's live action film divisions, not animation.

Nevertheless, here's a list of films they've distributed so far this decade...

Alice in Wonderland March 5, 2010
Waking Sleeping Beauty March 26, 2010
Oceans April 22, 2010
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time May 28, 2010
Toy Story 3 June 18, 2010
The Sorcerer's Apprentice July 14, 2010
Fantasia segment
Secretariat October 8, 2010
Do Dooni Chaar October 8, 2010
Tangled November 24, 2010
Tron: Legacy December 17, 2010
Anaganaga O Dheerudu January 21, 2011
Mars Needs Moms March 11, 2011
Wings of Life March 16, 2011
Zokkomon April 22, 2011
African Cats April 22, 2011
Prom April 29, 2011
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides May 20, 2011
Cars 2 June 24, 2011
Winnie the Pooh July 15, 2011
The Muppets November 23, 2011
The Secret World of Arrietty February 17, 2012
John Carter March 9, 2012
Chimpanzee April 20, 2012
Arjun: The Warrior Prince May 25, 2012
Brave June 22, 2012
The Odd Life of Timothy Green August 15, 2012
Frankenweenie October 5, 2012
Wreck-It Ralph November 2, 2012
Oz the Great and Powerful March 8, 2013
Monsters University June 21, 2013
The Lone Ranger July 3, 2013
Planes August 9, 2013
Frozen November 27, 2013
Saving Mr. Banks December 13, 2013
Muppets Most Wanted March 21, 2014
Bears April 18, 2014
Million Dollar Arm May 16, 2014
Maleficent May 30, 2014
Planes: Fire & Rescue July 18, 2014
Khoobsurat September 19, 2014
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day October 10, 2014
Big Hero 6 November 7, 2014
Into the Woods December 25, 2014
McFarland, USA February 20, 2015

Tell me you don't see a prevailing trend. You know how many "based on"s I deleted compressing this from wikipedia?

Now, granted, there's Touchstone, but their biggest productions the past several years have been distributions of Dreamworks-produced films. Also, though they're certainly the worst, Disney's not the only one borrowing from the past. Franchises are the order of the day now more than ever. Take it or leave it.

 

[Smiddimizer]

I'll also mention that since selling Miramax Disney has no foothold in independent cinema....who keeps inviting them to the Oscars, anyway?

 

[Grumpy1973]

Am I the only one who wishes WDW1974 would just quickly spill the beans and tell us ALL of the good stuff we know he knows, Uni, Kidzone, disney EVERYTHING before he is quietly removed from the grid..

 

[NearTheEars]

Jack Sparrow is a character created over a decade ago during the Eisner era, rehashed through 3 more movies and soon to be 4 (likely as many as audiences continue to gobble up). Tangled and Frozen are both based on existing fairy tales (Rapunzel and the Snow Queen), the changes i'd consider nothing compared to the immense alterations done to the Disney adapted literature from the 90's, let alone the immense quality of the creativity in those films (Tangled being particularly boring and uninspired). Tomorrowland is based on their own theme park land that has existed since the 50's, and i wouldn't say the movie looks very inspired from the trailers.

Whoa whoa whoa, everyone and their brother here is quick to point out that Frozen has little to no connection to the Snow Queen. And despite the folklore, landscapes, architecture and well-publicized research trip, it also has absolutely no connection to Norway. A quick jump over to the Frozen in Norway thread will give many a poster quite the education.

Anyway, carry on.

P.S. R.I.P. Maelstrom. You deserved much better.

 

[FigmentJedi]

Jack Sparrow is a character created over a decade ago during the Eisner era, rehashed through 3 more movies and soon to be 4 (likely as many as audiences continue to gobble up). Tangled and Frozen are both based on existing fairy tales (Rapunzel and the Snow Queen), the changes i'd consider nothing compared to the immense alterations done to the Disney adapted literature from the 90's, let alone the immense quality of the creativity in those films (Tangled being particularly boring and uninspired). Tomorrowland is based on their own theme park land that has existed since the 50's, and i wouldn't say the movie looks very inspired from the trailers.

Frozen has almost nothing to do with the Snow Queen beyond inspiring a few characters and the vague concept of love thawing a frozen heart. It's so far removed from the source material it makes Pocahontas look historically accurate.

 

[Cesar R M]

I'll also mention that since selling Miramax Disney has no foothold in independent cinema....who keeps inviting them to the Oscars, anyway?

people who cant take animation seriously and vote disney because their daughters said so.

 

[Tony Perkis]

Jack Sparrow is a character created over a decade ago during the Eisner era, rehashed through 3 more movies and soon to be 4 (likely as many as audiences continue to gobble up). Tangled and Frozen are both based on existing fairy tales (Rapunzel and the Snow Queen), the changes i'd consider nothing compared to the immense alterations done to the Disney adapted literature from the 90's, let alone the immense quality of the creativity in those films (Tangled being particularly boring and uninspired). Tomorrowland is based on their own theme park land that has existed since the 50's, and i wouldn't say the movie looks very inspired from the trailers.

Brad Bird is directing the film. He doesn't make bad movies.

 

[Tony Perkis]

people who cant take animation seriously and vote disney because their daughters said so.

This is my cue:

The Lego Movie was still robbed.

 

[ford91exploder]

It proves that their strategy, of which the target audience is a prime component, has failed. the bankruptcy was not due to some sudden external factors. The stores were floundering for years before and continue to flounder afterwards. They've tried reducing prices and gimmicks like near perpetual sales (which work better than everyday low prices at driving sales) and it has not work. The defining difference that distinguishes the years of success from drowning has been the target demographic. Such disastrous outcomes also continued on for the rest of Paul Pressler's career, both at Disney and The Gap.

Exactly, I remember when the Disney Stores sold everything from genuine animation cel's to plushies, You could spend a dollar or a thousand on a single item. Yes the higher priced items were more of a atmosphere piece. Always lots of kid stuff and a nice selection for those of us over 8. Having bait for the adults kept them buying stuff for the kids.

There are a LOT of collectors of Disney items and at one time the Disney Store was one of the best places to get the collectible items along with things like Disney themed housewares and party goods. which kept many adults coming BACK on a regular basis where they would ALSO buy stuff for the kiddos.

Fast forward to today - Paul Pressler's lots of cheap Cr*p for inflated prices for the 0-8 y/o crowd because the NUMBERS said kid stuff sells best however without the context of ADULTS do the buying and they need a reason to visit the store now its just Bdays and Christmas. You can't even get a decent coffee cup or water bottle if you are an adult. And people wonder why the stores are floundering.

For a graphic comparison in MCO visit both the EarPort and the UNI store, Which has higher quality merchandise and appeals to a wider demographic.

Fun fact the UNI store @ MCO will even SHIP your stuff home so if you see something which would make a nice present at home - you can ship it directly to them. I frequently transit MCO without stopping and I take only carryon luggage. So this is a nice convenience for me last trip I bought Minion water bottles as a birthday present for family (bunch of us have bdays close together) and I was able to ship them as a gift. Disney well not so much...

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

This is my cue:

The Lego Movie was still robbed.

Didn't say it looked bad, just not super creative. Thou despite liking Brad Bird, even great movie makers can produce stinkers and there's no reason to jump to conclusions about the movie being good. So far from the clips I've seen of it, it hasn't really clicked for me yet. Looks a bit bland...

Whoa whoa whoa, everyone and their brother here is quick to point out that Frozen has little to no connection to the Snow Queen. And despite the folklore, landscapes, architecture and well-publicized research trip, it also has absolutely no connection to Norway. A quick jump over to the Frozen in Norway thread will give many a poster quite the education.

Anyway, carry on.

P.S. R.I.P. Maelstrom. You deserved much better.

I don't think Frozen is heavily related to its source material, but I don't find it particularly creative either. Frozen imo goes to show what happens when Disney tries to do something original in this era. Not a bad movie but not great either, mixed quality. I feel there actually is reason Disney has been going crazy with rehashing old ideas or buying out other unrelated ip's. Apart from being lazy and greedy that is. The movie teams internally seem to lack the level of talent and creativity that existed during the Walt era and first half of Eisner years. And I have to wonder if the executives realize this, given both their acquisitions as well as their shock when Frozen ended up doing so well (they had no faith in the project and were caught off guard by its success).

The original ideas added to Frozen that were not present in the original Snow Queen were very hit or miss for me. The misses ranging from bland to outright bad. I actually wrote off my suspicions of a character being the villain early on in the film because I didn't want to think they were going for something so bland and uninspired, but it turned out they did and I was not at all impressed with the reveal.

I enjoy Frozen to an extent despite it being massively overrated. But it doesn't touch the almost universally brilliant 90s animated movies (excepting Pocahontas, though even that one still has some awesome animation and music) or most of what Pixar has made.

 

[Tony Perkis]

I think when a filmmaker has the sort of track record that Brad Bird has, then they have earned and deserved the benefit of the doubt.

Based on the trailers alone, many great films looked awful. I mean, Bird's own Ratatouille had an absolutely awful marketing campaign (especially the initial teaser), and the film was fantastic.

Also, keep in mind that the trailer was cut by people with little direct relation to the actual production of the film.