Who said anything about building Star Wars at AK? If your 9 and 13 year olds care more about LOTR than SW, I guarantee they're in the minority.
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AVATAR land coming to Disney's Animal Kingdom
- Thread starter DocMcHulk
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Who said anything about building Star Wars at AK? If your 9 and 13 year olds care more about LOTR than SW, I guarantee they're in the minority.
your crazy if you think Star wars is bigger than HP right now...and let it go..its just an opinion
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
A good many, if not most, comments on the DisneyParks® Blog go without reply.
Wow. Defensive much?
I never said anything at all about SW being bigger than Potter. Potter is without a doubt the biggest franchise around right now. And as someone who loves the books and movies, I hope there are more someday.
With that said, if there aren't (and I truly believe there will be – probably sooner rather than later), then they will have a very hard time sustaining Potter's popularity.
Regardless, Star Wars is the only franchise around that is comparable in fan base and popularity as Potter. A Star Wars addition to WDW (more than likely at Hollywood Studios), would be an enormous draw and would more than likely be as big or bigger of a draw as Potter.
Even if you aren't a fan, I don't think there's any way anyone could argue that.
This is the first time I've ever hear anyone refer to Soarin' as something less than an E-Ticket. How do you figure it isn't an E?
alissafalco
Well-Known Member
Star Wars IS bigger than HP right now. I'm sorry but there is not an entire aisle dedicated to just HP in Toys R us. Well there is for Star Wars merchandise. Also, every Halloween I have never seen any kids dressed up as HP characters (maybe once, and it was an adult). All I ever see is tons and tons of kids in star wars attire. That speaks volumes. Yes, HP is big right now, but it does not even compare to SW.
danlb_2000
Premium Member
I am a big Star Wars fan and also enjoy Harry Potter, but even I would have a hard time making a case one way or the other at this point. Obviously there has been a lot more buzz about Star Wars in recent months, and it will clearly become a hot property when the new movies come out but beyond that I think it's hard to say one is bigger then the other?
Cosmic Commando
Well-Known Member
But they're not the military; they're Blackwater in Space. A corporation that hired a bunch of ex-Marines. And yes, they speak English... cuz it's an American movie. If someone made a documentary criticizing Blackwater, would you call that anti-military?
PirateFrank
Well-Known Member
Oh, complete manure! That distinction will not be clear or even a remote possibility to more than 98% of the people that (over)paid to see that movie....The lines are purposefully blurry. You've got a colonel who leads the whole group....the entire base refers to him as "the colonel." Other characters are referred to by military rank, including at least one private and one corporal. Military outfits are worn by every person except scientists and Giovanni Ribisi's character. The speeches given by the colonel have 'defense of state' phrases throughout it...something a "blackwater" in another country should not ever invoke (Im sure they do, but again, not appropriate). The 'recruiters' who convince Jake Sully, at his brother's cremation, are wearing drab green suits, as if they are army brass recruiters. There's *one* voice over reference by Sully to 'the company' which could be interpreted *either* way...again, a word choice that I believe was intentional, to keep the lines *very* blurry.
Tell me, what exactly, exists in the movie Dances With Wolves, that gives you the idea that the military in that movie are truly the military and not a corporation? and then, try to make an assertion that those same things that exist in Dances With Wolves don't exist in Avatar in almost the *exact* same fashion. You can't. You simply can not.
i agree with you pirate frank
avatar is very similar in terms of defining our military in a poor way like dances with wolves and the last samurai for that matter...the point being in reality everything is not black and white good and evil... there are parts of our past that are not good....i agree with you in some ways but the land (if it ever gets built) wont focus on that but more about conservation...i dont get all the hatred after all its a theme park which will be designed to be fun..... i personally think because of the visuals this will make a great land but im tired of arguing this point,...this gets redundant and boring (on both sides) like we dont have better things to talk about like MM+
WDWFREAK53
Well-Known Member
The theme is that you are at an airport.
Aside from the scrolling sign that says, "Now departing"...nothing about the queue or preshow makes me feel as if I'm in an airport.
It's basically just a really pretty IMAX movie with elevated seats. The seats barely move. The only thing that differentiates it are the scents.
Now, look at one of the "definitions" of E-Ticket. The Tower of Terror. The grounds leading into the hotel, the foyer, the pre-show, the boiler room, the actual "uniqueness" of the attraction... THAT is an E-Ticket, and it has nothing to do with the thrills of it.
Like I said earlier...it's just my opinion.
Cosmic Commando
Well-Known Member
Honestly, I haven't seen Avatar in a couple years (although I want to change that this weekend) and I haven't seen Dances With Wolves since I was a 10YO sneaking out of bed to watch HBO, so I can't go point-for-point with you. I do know that I never got the impression of the military when I watched the movie, although I will be looking for it now. The setting is so far into the future, and I'm usually careful about assumptions I make when I watch sci-fi. Corporations that become ultra-powerful and/or quasi-governmental are a common theme in sci-fi or sci-fantasy. In Star Wars, the Trade Federation was a business that had a seat in the Galactic Senate for some reason. OCP ran the police in Robocop. It wasn't about today's police officers; it was about corporations. That was the vibe I got (could have been that voiceover), and I just went to that paradigm. In that scenario, it would make sense that a company over time would adopt many features of today's military... uniform and rank, for example. The "defense of state" stuff... you said yourself that private contractors probably do it today. Again, haven't seen the movie in a while, but I could totally see a scenario where that happens. You're stuck out on that moon, you want that unobtanium, and now these stupid blue cat people are in your way? It's just a basic us versus them motivation.
WDWFREAK53
Well-Known Member
I don't know about that...look at all the hype it got when Episode VII was announced. (That being said, I'm sure the hype would be there for a new HP film also)
The merchandise wars aren't even close...Star Wars...from the actual toys, to the Legos (which HP also has...but look at what sells...HP sits on shelves while they can't make enough Star Wars), to clothing, etc.
I would say that HP is as close as any franchise will ever get in the near future, it doesn't come "THAT" close in the grand scheme of things.
just did a sample survey with a class of mine (i teach) i simply asked would you rather see a HP movie or s SW movie (HP doubled Star wars vote)
please dont make me out to be anti star wars because im really not im 40 so thats in my wheel house of pop culture..heck my first real movie i took my son to (he's 13)was phantom menace....i just ddont see it so overwhelmingly better than HP or LOTR for that matter
Because the queue is an unthemed utility tunnel? Because its just a butt-jointed Omnimax film with an innovative seating layout? Popularity alone doesn't make an E. Peter Pans Flight has all the same elements too.
i would love to see a list by folks (including insiders) and what you deem an E ticket at WDW as well as Universal
Start a thread in general discussion. I'll play when I get a chance.
PirateFrank
Well-Known Member
i agree with you pirate frank
avatar is very similar in terms of defining our military in a poor way like dances with wolves and the last samurai for that matter...the point being in reality everything is not black and white good and evil... there are parts of our past that are not good....i agree with you in some ways but the land (if it ever gets built) wont focus on that but more about conservation...i dont get all the hatred after all its a theme park which will be designed to be fun..... i personally think because of the visuals this will make a great land but im tired of arguing this point,...this gets redundant and boring (on both sides) like we dont have better things to talk about like MM+
Yeah, I'm not really arguing the benefits or drawbacks of an avatar land. I have in the past and since, I have changed my mind and gone back and forth more times than I care to admit. I do think its moot as I am convinced this project will never see the light of day....but I've been wrong before...
However, back on point....I'm not saying there's no gray area here...in fact, like I said, I believe the lines between true military and corporate-paramilitary are purposefully blurred. And by blurring the lines, the vast majority of viewers will simply interpret the antagonists in the movie as "military". Again. I'll stress the points:
* military rank is used and referred to throughout the movie
* speeches with 'defense of state' themes
* traditional military outfits are worn by many different roles served throughout the movie
* characteristically military behavior and speech used throughout
* military hairstyles (sorry, if these guys were mercs, you'd see some long hair and some off-kilter facial hair)
* giving and receiving orders
* references to military past
The point I was making is that these same things listed above in Dances with Wolves are the exact things that make the viewer draw the conclusion that we are indeed watching "the military"...
My assertion is that those very same things in avatar, delivered in much the same way, do not lead viewers to the conclusion that they are mercenaries....it was designed to confuse or fool the average viewer into thinking this is the American military killing off blue kitty and her babies.....
good post and i agree with you i dont think it ever happens..