Disney (and others) at the Box Office - Current State of Affairs

[BlakeW39]

Realistic dwarfs is just as stupid as trying to make a realistic CGI llama for an Emperor's New Groove remake.

(Not to imply that any kind of ENG remake would be smart...or any kind of Snow White remake, for that matter...)

Realitically speaking, actual people for the dwarfs is also not a good option, because they're not going to capture the charm of them either; that charm was inherently tied to their cartoonish-ness. It's just the least dumb option that makes the most sense with the "live action remake" premise; the result would be "okay-ish" rather than "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!?".

The best idea was just to not make it, but Disney really wanted that money.

I agree with this, but the money Disney really wanted does not exist. Nobody needed this film, nobody wanted this film. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is 88 years old. Exactly whose nostalgia is this remake intending to milk? Should they be playing the film in nursing homes?

We'll see how Stitch does. Mufasa did a little better than I expected and Stitch is one of the only popular legacy IPs left that they haven't milked dry. I am hoping the film flops honestly, I don't want Disney (or any other corporation) to be rewarded for such a stupid product.

 

[LittleBuford]

I don’t even know what he thinks he’s talking about anymore.

I'm just grateful to him for reminding me of my favourite scene in The Sound of Music:

 

[Agent H]

I agree with this, but the money Disney really wanted does not exist. Nobody needed this film, nobody wanted this film. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is 88 years old. Exactly whose nostalgia is this remake intending to milk? Should they be playing the film in nursing homes?

We'll see how Stitch does. Mufasa did a little better than I expected and Stitch is one of the only popular legacy IPs left that they haven't milked dry. I am hoping the film flops honestly, I don't want Disney (or any other corporation) to be rewarded for such a stupid product.

Plenty of kids grew up watching Snow White. Nostalgia for it is not limited to people who saw it in 1937.

 

[LittleBuford]

Plenty of kids grew up watching Snow White. Nostalgia for it is not limited to people who saw it in 1937.

Yeah, I don't agree with all the posts saying that it was an especially bad choice for a remake. The original film isn't some obscure IP that today's children have no connection with.

 

[Chi84]

Plenty of kids grew up watching Snow White. Nostalgia for it is not limited to people who saw it in 1937.

I can only speak for myself but I didn’t grow up watching it and neither did my kids or grandkids.

I believe my mother-in-law was 7 years old when it was released. She may have seen it in a theater but she died 3 years ago at the age of 92 so I can’t ask.

Most people I know are familiar with the story from the Golden Books or from the parks.

 

[Chi84]

Yeah, I don't agree with all the posts saying that it was an especially bad choice for a remake. The original film isn't some obscure IP that today's children have no connection with.

The fact that they are familiar with the IP doesn’t mean they want to see a film based on it.

 

[LittleBuford]

I can only speak for myself but I didn’t grow up watching it and neither did my kids or grandkids.

I believe my mother-in-law was 7 years old when it was released. She may have seen it in a theater but she died 3 years ago at the age of 92 so I can’t ask.

Most people I know are familiar with the story from the Golden Books or from the parks.

In a way, that lends it even better to being remade. If children only have a vague, mediated sense of the original film, then they should be even more receptive to adaptations that deviate from it while retaining some of its familiar imagery.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Yeah, I don't agree with all the posts saying that it was an especially bad choice for a remake. The original film isn't some obscure IP that today's children have no connection with.

They really should have gone with the wuxia Snow White and the Seven Shaolin Monks concept they were developing in the mid-2000s.

 

[LittleBuford]

The fact that they are familiar with the IP doesn’t mean they want to see a film based on it.

But it also doesn't mean that they wouldn't want to see a film based on it.

 

[LittleBuford]

They really should have gone with the wuxia Snow White and the Seven Shaolin Monks concept they were developing in the mid-2000s.

I thought you were joking until I just looked it up!

Snow White and the seven kung fu monks: Disney sets sights on China

The Wicked Queen will not know what hit her. Snow White is about to be transformed into a martial arts epic with Shaolin monks replacing the seven dwarves of the original Grimm Brothers fairytale.

www.theguardian.com

I had no idea this was a thing!

 

[Casper Gutman]

In a way, that lends it even better to being remade. If children only have a vague, mediated sense of the original film, then they should be even more receptive to adaptations that deviate from it while retaining some of its familiar imagery.

That should be what people want from nostalgia-heavy sequels and remakes but it isn’t. They want the same thing they enjoyed the first time, right down to the same lines and story beats.

Actually, what people want is to be the age they were when they first enjoyed a piece of media, with all the exuberance and innocence of a lost youth.

 

[Casper Gutman]

I thought you were joking until I just looked it up!

Snow White and the seven kung fu monks: Disney sets sights on China

The Wicked Queen will not know what hit her. Snow White is about to be transformed into a martial arts epic with Shaolin monks replacing the seven dwarves of the original Grimm Brothers fairytale.

www.theguardian.com

I had no idea this was a thing!

It would have been a perfect spin on the story that would have brought something genuinely new to the table.

 

[Agent H]

That should be what people want from nostalgia-heavy sequels and remakes but it isn’t. They want the same thing they enjoyed the first time, right down to the same lines and story beats.

Actually, what people want is to be the age they were when they first enjoyed a piece of media, with all the exuberance and innocence of a lost youth.

I’m afraid that’s something people have to find in themselves.

 

[Agent H]

I thought you were joking until I just looked it up!

Snow White and the seven kung fu monks: Disney sets sights on China

The Wicked Queen will not know what hit her. Snow White is about to be transformed into a martial arts epic with Shaolin monks replacing the seven dwarves of the original Grimm Brothers fairytale.

www.theguardian.com

I had no idea this was a thing!

Man they had some weird ideas around that time.

 

[Chi84]

In a way, that lends it even better to being remade. If children only have a vague, mediated sense of the original film, then they should be even more receptive to adaptations that deviate from it while retaining some of its familiar imagery.

But their ridiculous nostalgic grandparents mounted a campaign against that type of remake.

 

[LittleBuford]

It would have been a perfect spin on the story that would have brought something genuinely new to the table.

Imagine the uproar if such a thing were proposed today!

 

[WorldExplorer]

I agree with this, but the money Disney really wanted does not exist. Nobody needed this film, nobody wanted this film. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is 88 years old. Exactly whose nostalgia is this remake intending to milk? Should they be playing the film in nursing homes?

Snow White was the 3rd highest selling VHS (not Disney VHS, in general) and either in or at least around the top ten highest selling Blu-rays depending on what source you look at, so probably those people. It also rereleased in theaters like twelve times all the way through to the 90s. Not sure what the streaming numbers are, admittedly, but the heavy switch to streaming is pretty recent, all things considered. Even if we presume no one streams it, that's pretty strong evidence people were watching it recently enough for young adults to have nostalgia for it.

I really don't understand why people suddenly act like we never moved past the "movies are in theaters then disappear" phase of movies when it comes to Snow White so only old people have watched it. Especially since you never hear this stuff for, like, Cinderella. 75 year old film is okay, but 88 years old will obviously only be watched by the elderly.


I do agree no one actually wanted this, though. Not because no one likes Snow White, but because I think most people knew the remake would turn out being garbage.

 

[Chi84]

Snow White was the 3rd highest selling VHS (not Disney VHS, in general) and either in or at least around the top ten highest selling Blu-rays depending on what source you look at, so probably those people. It also rereleased in theaters like twelve times all the way through to the 90s. Not sure what the streaming numbers are, admittedly, but the heavy switch to streaming is pretty recent, all things considered. Even if we presume no one streams it, that's pretty strong evidence people were watching it recently enough for young adults to have nostalgia for it.

I really don't understand why people suddenly act like we never moved past the "movies are in theaters then disappear" phase of movies when it comes to Snow White so only old people have watched it. Especially since you never hear this stuff for, like, Cinderella. 75 year old film is okay, but 88 years old will obviously only be watched by the elderly.


I do agree no one actually wanted this, though.

There’s a world of difference between the look and feel of the animated Cinderella and the animated Snow White.

 

[LittleBuford]

I really don't understand why people suddenly act like we never moved past the "movies are in theaters then disappear" phase of movies when it comes to Snow White so only old people have watched it. Especially since you never hear this stuff for, like, Cinderella. 75 year old film is okay, but 88 years old will obviously only be watched by the elderly.

It is true that Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs feels a lot slower than Cinderella and the other well-known fairytale movies. But I agree with your overall point.

I do agree no one actually wanted this, though.

This is something else that people here keep saying and that puzzles me. Who wanted the remakes of Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King? Those all went on to do pretty well.

 

[Chi84]

Who wanted the remake of Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King? Those all went on to do pretty well.

In my opinion those were much more detailed and interesting stories.