A Spirited Perfect Ten

ChrisFL

Premium Member
It's funny, thinking about it, TFA being a rehash of ANH, is similar to...TRON Legacy being basically a rehash of TRON, complete with the older version of the original character playing the wise man far away, a new girl who's tough, and a guy who is on the journey but doesn't know what he's doing, and another original character who accidentally allowed one of their "creations" to turn evil.

Scary.

Anyway, I enjoyed TFA and honestly, as much pressure as JJ Abrahms had on him? Think about it. He's tasked with the biggest movie franchise of all time, taking over completely from the creator who was kicked out, has a mega-corporation pouring everything into marketing it, having to please both original fans and new fans....he pulled it off, ok? Sure it wasn't breaking a lot of new ground, but that will be for the next film.
 

flynnibus

Premium Member
It's funny, thinking about it, TFA being a rehash of ANH, is similar to...TRON Legacy being basically a rehash of TRON, complete with the older version of the original character playing the wise man far away, a new girl who's tough, and a guy who is on the journey but doesn't know what he's doing, and another original character who accidentally allowed one of their "creations" to turn evil.

Yet, when watching Tron Legacy - the parallels don't scream at you or make you cringe. During TFA, its like having the same bad commercial come on every commercial break. You are like 'seriously??? again??'
 

tirian

Well-Known Member
Boohoo. Cry me a river.

I understand the sentiment, but does he really expect Disney to change its plans for his little snowflake?

On the other hand, Andy's tweets do demonstrate how "Disney" is already strong enough for guests who love the parks. We don't need Star Wars overlays to make the parks special. And no matter how fantastic SW Land turns out, it's being shoehorned into a dead end that's squeezed between the Wild West and a fantasy realm. That choice alone is questionable.

Did you guys see these tweets from Andy Richter?
Look, I liked TFA, but this seems like bullying:
Disneyland to close some attractions to build 'Star Wars' land http://fw.to/mdpz0HC
https://twitter.com/AndyRichter/status/681866798296268801

Of course, a Star Wars land is going to be a huge success, which means they're right & I'm wrong, but it's sad to me & my family...
https://twitter.com/AndyRichter/status/681867935539826690

...that a movie that's already made a billion dollars has to consume a romantic, historic family experience...
https://twitter.com/AndyRichter/status/681868659162136577

...Yesterday we went to the park & rode what is now Hyperspace Mountain. The changes made my 10yo daughter cry after. Really cry...
https://twitter.com/AndyRichter/status/681868659162136577

...Now of course, what I'm saying is soaked in privilege; we live nearby, can afford season passes, but still, she CRIED...
https://twitter.com/AndyRichter/status/681869037966495744

...There's a little petting zoo both my kids have been going to since they were babies. It's gone. Now instead of playing w goats & sheep...
https://twitter.com/AndyRichter/status/681869542142808064

...they'll get to see the Millenium Falcon. I don't know if that's what toddlers would choose, but the choice has been made for them...
https://twitter.com/AndyRichter/status/681870038219919360

...There's no merchandising for sheep and goats, I guess...
https://twitter.com/AndyRichter/status/681870457113452544

... I know Disneyland is a business, and businesses are there to make money, but it's in the business of making kid's happy...
https://twitter.com/AndyRichter/status/681870882411708416

... And seeing my daughter made so sad didn't really put me in mind of profitability. She feels a loss. @Disneyland
https://twitter.com/AndyRichter/status/681871546692980736
 

NearTheEars

Well-Known Member
Yet, when watching Tron Legacy - the parallels don't scream at you or make you cringe. During TFA, its like having the same bad commercial come on every commercial break. You are like 'seriously??? again??'

I mostly got the feeling of "boy it's great to see the gang back together again."
They hit you with nostalgia and a comfortable familiarity.
I really enjoyed the film, and thought it was a good, safe start for this next generation of the series.
Surprised to see any negatives about the new characters, and hope to see much more from Poe in the future.

I knew after a couple of weeks the fever would die down and the less rose-colored reviews will come out, but I urge folks to go see it for themselves. Not a big fan of seeing people say "oh, well my neighbor said don't even bother ..." (Not you Flynn).

Academy award worthy? Not really. Maybe for costuming, makeup, cinematography.

I really enjoyed the two Star Trek films too, something I had thought was universal until people started talking JJ and Star Wars. Had no idea so many people are now saying Into Darkness was garbage.
 

BrianLo

Well-Known Member
And no matter how fantastic SW Land turns out, it's being shoehorned into a dead end that's squeezed between the Wild West and a fantasy realm. That choice alone is questionable.

Good thing they are designing a 'Wild West' trading outpost from a Fantasy IP and getting rid of that Critter Country dead end to boot.

Alas, it doesn't belong in a park dedicated to Yesterday, Fantasy and Tomorrow... It's too much of a mish-mash of all three. Guests will be confused.

Better thematic fit with California me thinks. ;)



I'm taking the obnoxious optimistic stance this is going the way of Radiator Springs and Pandora.
 

tokengator

Active Member
That was frelling brilliant, thank you. I have yet to see the film, and frankly don't plan to. Not just for the reasons stated here earlier (no spoilers, although...really? The thing's been out for weeks), but because friends of mine who have seen it were disappointed. One of them told me, "If you've seen 'New Hope', you've seen 'The Force Awakens'" and NOBODY said they liked the new characters. So why bother?

Also, this quote from the article: Sitting in the theater at "Avatar," I felt like I was being pounded into submission by a giant hedge fund.

One of the best sentences I have ever read. :D

don't take this the wrong way, but why rely on other peoples view instead of your own?

The entire point of the movie is to entertain YOU and only you can determine if you were entertained. It is a fantasy sci-fi movie that is supposed to transport you to another world for a couple hours and have some fun doing it. Is it perfect? No...None of the movies in the franchise were perfect. In fact the entire premise of original movies - that this one continues and builds on- were built on a lot of ridiculous, scientifically inaccurate, illogical stuff... but it is a galaxy far far away that doesn't exist so you suspend disbelief (like most/all movies) and try to enjoy. Personally I think people (not you) nitpicking the silly stuff like saying this or that isn't realistic or believable is, well, silly and missing the point of fantasy sci-fi. While your friends may not have like the characters or character development I personally thought it was one of the best movies in the series at character development and some of the best acting of any of the movies. Hopefully one day you have time to make that judgement for yourself as well....it is just entertainment and if you have a couple hours to kill you should give it a try. If it bores you there is nothing that says you have to watch the entire thing :)

a little change of subject but I do find the mythology built around the original movies by some people quite interesting. Reminiscing does seem romanticize things to a degree that may or may not match reality. The movies were indeed quite ground breaking in a lot of ways, but certainly not perfect and quite weak in a lot of areas as well. Some of the acting was horrendous, we had actors in storm troopers knocking their heads on a door as they walked through, and of course we had those ewoks. Oh those ewoks! Even with those things and much more, these movies did touch a lot of people in a lot of ways, Dare I say in a very magical way? Negatives get overlooked if not forgotten because, well, the movies were entertaining! They were unique..they were lovable...they transported us to another world where light-speed travel is common, lasers are handheld weapons, but the dominant weapon is a sword. We got see some really neat special effects, space travel, aliens drinking and singing in a bar and landscapes that really brought us into the film.

Yet the one person that should cherish this the most is the one person that was his arts own worst enemy. The sad fact is that the real original movies as almost impossible to find. Somewhere along the line Lucas fell in love with CGI so much, and apparently more in love with it than his original art, that he went back and completely repainted over his mona lisa. It is really sad and unfortunate what he has done to his original art all so he could "improve it", remaster it, and re-release it to squeeze out a few more bucks from people. It really leaves a bad taste in my mouth and frankly I am glad the series is out of his hands...it is time for someone else to tell the stories and hopefully bring something fresh to it- which i think this first episode of the new series accomplishes very well. And while yes it does parallel A New Hope, it is also the obvious intent. Now we see where it goes just like those that left ANH screenings a few decades ago...

As famous writer once said- history doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme
 
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GiveMeTheMusic

Well-Known Member
Good thing they are designing a 'Wild West' trading outpost from a Fantasy IP and getting rid of that Critter Country dead end to boot.

Alas, it doesn't belong in a park dedicated to Yesterday, Fantasy and Tomorrow... It's too much of a mish-mash of all three. Guests will be confused.

Better thematic fit with California me thinks. ;)



I'm taking the obnoxious optimistic stance this is going the way of Radiator Springs and Pandora.

I'm sure the land will be amazing. That's not the issue for me.

Thematically, meh. It's not great, but could be worse.

I hate that it's displacing part of the river, but the biggest problem for me is that the park can't handle it.

DL is bursting at the seams, with walkways designed for way smaller groups of skinny people from the 50s. There are now millions more visitors per year than the park was ever designed to handle and most of those guests...take up more space, if for no other reason than strollers and ECVs.

DL has become an operational nightmare, and it has more attractions than any castle park. Meanwhile, even after its refresh, DCA sits mostly empty with wide walkways and half of the attendance annually of its big sister.

Star Wars Land will be insanely popular, and while it will add capacity, it's not enough. The park is now guaranteed to be insufferable for everyone for many years to come. Yay!

DL needs guests pulled away from it. DCA needs two or three life changing headliners, and Star Wars needs to be a third gate that pulls its own weight.

Putting Star Wars in DL is thematically controversial, but beyond that, it's going to make Disneyland a dismal experience, even moreso than it is now.
 

Nmoody1

Well-Known Member
This actually has me wondering something for anyone who has been there- how has maintenance at Disneyland been lately? Are they keeping rides and attractions in good shape (along with general cleanliness) or have things started to slip up since his appointment?

Xmas day closures:

Mickey and the magical map - all shows cancelled
Space mountain delayed opening, then broke down and had to be reset (we are talking lights on, cars pushed) an hour after opening
Indy closed for at least 3 hours (standard)
BTM closed at least an hour, reopened and closed again
Pirates closed pretty early in the day for a short time

... these were the shut down I witnessed myself. I did hear that Matterhorn was closed but didn't see that for myself.

On xmas eve tower shut for a short time but I didn't notice any other closures.

DL really was a hell hole to be in xmas day. I get that it will be crowded, but all the headline attractions closing makes for a very uncomfortable experience. As someone above mentioned, that park is not designed for the crowds it has these days... pathways are full, Peter pan had a line that snaked halfway across the back of the castle. Star Wars will add to this misery when there is a park across the walkway, a glorious park with very good entertainment and nice wide walk ways
 

asianway

Well-Known Member
I'm sure the land will be amazing. That's not the issue for me.

Thematically, meh. It's not great, but could be worse.

I hate that it's displacing part of the river, but the biggest problem for me is that the park can't handle it.

DL is bursting at the seams, with walkways designed for way smaller groups of skinny people from the 50s. There are now millions more visitors per year than the park was ever designed to handle and most of those guests...take up more space, if for no other reason than strollers and ECVs.

DL has become an operational nightmare, and it has more attractions than any castle park. Meanwhile, even after its refresh, DCA sits mostly empty with wide walkways and half of the attendance annually of its big sister.

Star Wars Land will be insanely popular, and while it will add capacity, it's not enough. The park is now guaranteed to be insufferable for everyone for many years to come. Yay!

DL needs guests pulled away from it. DCA needs two or three life changing headliners, and Star Wars needs to be a third gate that pulls its own weight.

Putting Star Wars in DL is thematically controversial, but beyond that, it's going to make Disneyland a dismal experience, even moreso than it is now.
And on crazy days, you had the festival area as a release valve to create a calm area. No more
 

ford91exploder

Resident Curmudgeon
This actually has me wondering something for anyone who has been there- how has maintenance at Disneyland been lately? Are they keeping rides and attractions in good shape (along with general cleanliness) or have things started to slip up since his appointment?

From the stories on this thread and others maintenance is on a WDW like trajectory. Did anyone realistically expect that maintenance would not be cut at DL when Mikey C was assigned to DL
 

WDW1974

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I had no idea SW at DL was butchering such history in the park.

They should have just nixed SW at DL - the park is too small anyway.

It is. And while I do love the ''Disneyland is not a museum'' crowd, the reality is DL was designed to grow and morph, but I sincerely doubt making a land that in no way fits the park, by destroying a large piece of what made DL special, off an IP acquisition by a CEO who has been awful at leading creativity from within, is what Old Man Disney had in mind for his Anaheim orange groves. #cultofcitrus (we still doing that?)

While I'm happy that SW is coming to DHS, I would have preferred to have seen a 5th gate/park, solely SW. SW has become too big of a franchise - Go big or go home. ((But fix EPCOT while your at it - that's been the neglected stepchild of the parks).

The current reality is that when the SW area (they only have code names for the project, not a working name beyond Star Wars Land) is done, the Studios (which I told y'all two years ago) will have a new name and a smaller footprint than the current park (or the park two years ago before the started closing everything). I have no idea whether SW could carry a gate of its own. Rest assured, neither does Bob Iger, which is why it is being forced into DL ... a square peg into a round hole if there ever was.

And WDW doesn't need a fifth gate. It needs four quality gates that have enough compelling attractions to be places to spend days, not hours at. The MK doesn't attract crowds simply based on quality (cough... cough ... choke) and later hours.

As for China, this whole thread really wiped the naivety I had regarding media. Politically speaking I do not trust them but I'm sickened as to how much they've sold out to corporate multinational conglomerates.

That's likely one of the most important points made on this thread, and the one that gets the most mocking and ignoring. But it has repercussions far beyond a few new Star Wars attractions (they are only building two, y'all know that, right?)

When a CEO with questionable ethics, which makes Bob only typical and average, can push media into not covering stories or have stories removed and even his own words edited from an interview because he can't control himself and came off very badly, it is very scary for a democracy. The reality is the Weatherman would have trouble arguing the merits of SDL or SWL or NGE with a typical poster here and he is aware of that. So he has his evil minions like Zenia Mucha and his bought (for very, very, very) little social media whores work to control the message. It isn't news if it isn't in the news as one of my early editors pounded into me.
 

WDW1974

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Anyone here bring up that the dead UNI park for South Korea is seemingly on again due to Chinese funding?

Speaking of the Chinese ...

Anyone know when that Baha Mar project in the Bahamas will open?

Anyone know whether they have stopped selling lightsabers at Disney parks because they so resemble real weapons?

Anyone know how people take Twitter seriously when having 10,000 followers only means you have 10,000 IPs/devices that exist and have attached to your site, not 10,000 actual people? (It would seem that even very popular celebs have Twitter accounts that are majority followed by bots and not real accounts ...yet Twitter is so important? Um ... no.)
 

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