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[CaptainAmerica]

Fair enough, but I think it’s worth noting that many people who value diversity are very ready to acknowledge it as a bad film.

My contention is one level more abstract/meta than that. I think an obsession with diversity is causing the film to be a bad film, not because of the diversity qua diversity, but because the people making the films have misaligned priorities.

Splash Mountain is the easiest example of this. Based on what we saw at D23, Tiana's Bayou Adventure looks like it will suck. Not because it's diverse, but because it sucks. And it will suck because the people making it only cared to make something diverse. They didn't care to make something good.

 

[Jrb1979]

Knowing who Mario is isn't the same as caring about Mario, though -- nearly everyone knows who Mickey Mouse is too but that doesn't mean they care about Disney theme parks (or even Disney at all).

Not to suggest that the Nintendo land won't be a success, because it almost certainly will. I just think people are really overestimating the draw; it seems like some people think it will be the biggest draw of all-time.

IMO it will have a bigger draw when Harry Potter did.

 

[Heppenheimer]

Knowing who Mario is isn't the same as caring about Mario, though -- nearly everyone knows who Mickey Mouse is too but that doesn't mean they care about Disney theme parks (or even Disney at all).

Not to suggest that the Nintendo land won't be a success, because it almost certainly will. I just think people are really overestimating the draw; it seems like some people think it will be the biggest draw of all-time.

It does make marketing the film that much easier. This alone won't guarantee success, but it makes the hill somewhat easier to climb.

See Strange World's box office numbers for an inverse example.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

My wife gets “catcalled” constantly in public.

#HumbleBrag

Congrats on the hot wife, bro.

 

[SteveAZee]

And married women (slash moms) are not like single women at all.

That must be some wedding night... so transformative.

 

[JD80]

That "/" is doing a lot of work.

Suburban women are a lot more like rural women than they are like urban women.

And married women (slash moms) are not like single women at all.

Outside all those WDW trips you list in your signature, have you ever travelled anywhere?

 

[UNCgolf]

IMO it will have a bigger draw when Harry Potter did.

That's pretty unlikely -- most statistical evidence we have suggests Harry Potter has a wider fanbase than Mario. And that's not even considering the IP differences that would make HP more likely to be a draw, e.g. people want to actually go see/be in Hogwarts and Diagon Alley. Even people that love Mario don't necessarily care about physically being in the Mushroom Kingdom; they just love playing the games.

It does make marketing the film that much easier. This alone won't guarantee success, but it makes the hill somewhat easier to climb.

See Strange World's box office numbers for an inverse example.

Oh absolutely. I think the movie will be a big hit.

 

[Touchdown]

Mario Kart Ride
Donkey Kong Mine Cart Ride

Things I’ve wanted to experience since I was a kid. Not to mention all the interactive stuff in the land. It’s not hard to sell or market, the only thing Potter holds a clear edge on is food and I’ll give you a slight one on location. But if you asked younger me what rides they wanted to go on more, Mario Kart and DK coaster would beat any of the Potter Ride Concepts.

 

[UNCgolf]

Mario Kart Ride
Donkey Kong Mine Cart Ride

Things I’ve wanted to experience since I was a kid. Not to mention all the interactive stuff in the land. It’s not hard to sell or market, the only thing Potter holds a clear edge on is food and I’ll give you a slight one on location. But if you asked younger me what rides they wanted to go on more, Mario Kart and DK coaster would beat any of the Potter Ride Concepts.

The Mario Kart ride looks terrible, though. Complete misfire on the IP.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

My grandparents where DVC members, they didn’t sell their points and vow never to spend money on a Disney product again because of price increases or lack of perks.

And they are far from alone. The “old guard” is beyond mad…
And you can’t blame them because they know what the word “contract” means…both written and implied.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Mario Kart Ride
Donkey Kong Mine Cart Ride

Things I’ve wanted to experience since I was a kid. Not to mention all the interactive stuff in the land. It’s not hard to sell or market, the only thing Potter holds a clear edge on is food and I’ll give you a slight one on location. But if you asked younger me what rides they wanted to go on more, Mario Kart and DK coaster would beat any of the Potter Ride Concepts.

Remember they already built this too in another spot…so they have real data to refine the concept…

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Outside all those WDW trips you list in your signature, have you ever travelled anywhere?

I've lived in five states, including the Northeast, the Midwest, and Florida. Lived in a city of 3 million and a rural town of 10,000. Visited about 30 states, including Alaska and Hawaii multiple times. Been to England, Scotland, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, and Argentina, off the top of my head. Have you been to Argentina?

 

[Touchdown]

The Mario Kart ride looks terrible, though. Complete misfire on the IP.

I haven’t ridden it yet, so I can’t comment to that.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I've lived in five states, including the Northeast, the Midwest, and Florida. Lived in a city of 3 million and a rural town of 10,000. Visited about 30 states, including Alaska and Hawaii multiple times. Been to England, Scotland, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, and Argentina, off the top of my head. Have you been to Argentina?

No offense…but your views as presented are kinda red hat society at times with that many miles under your wings…

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

The Mario Kart ride looks terrible, though. Complete misfire on the IP.

Well it’s a high speed racing game for kids and you can’t execute that for kids in a park…so it’s a tall order

 

[UNCgolf]

Well it’s a high speed racing game for kids and you can’t execute that for kids in a park…so it’s a tall order

Which is probably why they shouldn't have built a Mario Kart ride at all and gone with something else -- bizarre to have a Mario Kart ride that goes like 5 MPH and is more of an AR shooting gallery than a race. A Mario Kart attraction should involve speed to some extent.

They could have just done a regular Mario dark ride, or Yoshi, or even Legend of Zelda. Plenty of other options rather than building something that doesn't represent the IP whatsoever.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

And now imagine Mickey wearing a crown and robe:

You’ll be back, soon you see
You’ll remember you belong to me

Thanks, Taylor…I’m a big Swiftie

 

[Touchdown]

Well it’s a high speed racing game for kids and you can’t execute that for kids in a park…so it’s a tall order

I still hold out hope, but have to admit for once a screen based ride in a solo kart would probably have been a better choice, assuming you could solve the capacity issues.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I still hold out hope, but have to admit for once a screen based ride in a solo kart would probably have been a better choice, assuming you could solve the capacity issues.

Orlando is so “oversimmed” at this point though. Even Disney managed to build 4 rides in a row that actually move from point a to b

 

[LittleBuford]

My contention is one level more abstract/meta than that. I think an obsession with diversity is causing the film to be a bad film, not because of the diversity qua diversity, but because the people making the films have misaligned priorities.

Splash Mountain is the easiest example of this. Based on what we saw at D23, Tiana's Bayou Adventure looks like it will suck. Not because it's diverse, but because it sucks. And it will suck because the people making it only cared to make something diverse. They didn't care to make something good.

I find this take extremely perplexing and unconvincing. Human beings are more than capable of addressing several priorities at once: a diverse cast in no way precludes strong storytelling, as a show like Andor proves. A comparison between House of the Dragon and The Rings of Power is instructive in this regard: both very deliberately introduce diverse casts into a genre traditionally dominated by white actors, yet the former is significantly better than the latter. Good writing and an attentiveness to representation are in no way mutually exclusive.

The weakness of your argument is laid bare by the fact that those blaming diversity in such cases seem to have no equivalent scapegoat for the countless bad films, shows, rides, etc., that can't simply be accused of being "woke". It used to be the case that people actually articulated and specified what made something poor in quality without unthinkingly gravitating towards some convenient catchall explanation.