Ouch… hopefully it will at least push it into the 60s…. When I checked earlier it was 53… so at least it is climbing
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Disney (and others) at the Box Office - Current State of Affairs
- Thread starter Disney Analyst
- Start date
TP2000
Well-Known Member
That's an interesting thought. Because Disney should probably be thinking of color palettes and design when they create their next Princess movie. Pinks and pastels are a good choice, and would likely sell very well in the Target toy aisles and girls departments.
Hmm... Now that you mention it, is Pocahontas even available for meet n' greets in the parks? Is she in a parade or stage show currently?
I can't think of one, except for the scene in World of Color. And WDW's Fantasmic.
WorldExplorer
Well-Known Member
She's on the Animal Kingdom boats and in the Adventure Friends Cavalcade.
She WAS actually meetable in Animal Kingdom before they banished everyone unique to the boats.
Tony the Tigger
Well-Known Member
Literally almost everything that isn’t Barbie, Oppenheimer, or fraudulently boosted by a “pay-it-forward” scheme - from any studio - has flopped since at least a month ago.
With that said, I don’t get the HM thing at all. Supposedly it’s a fan favorite attraction. The movie is all about the attraction. It makes no sense except in the larger context of everything failing.
It’s my favorite attraction, and I very much enjoyed myself. I went in with no love for the cast except Curtis, slight bias against boring Owen Wilson, yet appreciated all the filling in of the backstory.
It’s not a masterpiece, and I understand word of mouth, but I thought more people would have given it a shot out of the gate.
Don’t miss it on D+
That is our plan. We were going to see it in the theatre but afting seeing the bad box office, decided to wait for D+.
Sir_Cliff
Well-Known Member
I am kind of curious as to where we are with Pocahontas. To be completely honest, I think the animation and music (especially the score) are just lovely. In fact, I may like the look of that film and particularly the background art more than any other Disney animated feature (Google Image Pocahontas background art; it's lovely!). I do, though, remember the controversy at the time and there's certainly no way Disney would try to turn the story of Pocahontas into an animated musical these days. It's somewhat strange they ever did.
As has been mentioned, though, the film does still occasionally appear in the nighttime shows and Pocahontas has been fairly reliably one of the Animal Kingdom meet-and-greets over the years. She is also incorporated into HKDL's new castle and one of the DLP hub decorations for the 30th was Meeko with a little Flit spinning around him. Colors of the Wind also still pops up a lot as a classic Disney song. So, at least right now, it doesn't seem to have been informally banned or anything. I don't think the film even has one of those warnings in front of it on Disney+.
I do wonder whether what we're seeing already is how Disney deals with a controversial 'classic'. The film probably has quite a bit of earning potential they're leaving on the table by being selective in how and where they promote it and the half-hearted way in which she is included among the other Disney princesses. It also fits right into the current 1990s nostalgia pocket and, while it was compared unfavourably to the films that came before it, my memory is that it was a surprisingly consistent seller on VHS/DVD/Blu-Ray over the years. Perhaps Pocahontas is basically what it looks like when Disney has a film that is still fairly popular but 'problematic' rather than unacceptable?
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TP2000
Well-Known Member
Ghost93
Well-Known Member
I think Pocahontas is still being promoted because Disney is cashing in on the nostalgia of adults who grew up with the character in the 1990s. I think they also struggle with the optics of removing their only Native American princess, even though it's Native Americans who mostly object to the film.
I think Disney will use the character in ways where they could easily remove her if the controversy became too significant — such as Fantasmic, World of Color, Meet and Greets, etc. I can't see them ever giving her a ride or something that would be very expensive to remove if the backlash against Pocahontas became too significant.
I also love the artwork and music of Pocahontas, and think it's one of the most visually stunning animated movies in Disney history. But the movie IS guilty of whitewashing history and perpetuating stereotypes of Native Americans. Every time the character is mentioned on social media it's usually for controversial reasons. I also see the movie routinely listed on websites as one of Disney's most controversial movies. I would imagine if Disney distances itself from the character it would probably be in about 10 years or so, once they've made most of their money from the Disney adults who were fans of the movie as children.
Animaniac93-98
Well-Known Member
Disney Store just released a new line of Princess dolls and Pocahontas was one of them. She's not going away anytime soon just yet.
Basil of Baker Street
Well-Known Member
Pocahontas has an exceptional art quality that is quite underrated in my opinion as well. She is also featured in Fantasmic! Or used to be. I have not seen it in a while.
Ghost93
Well-Known Member
She's still featured in Fantasmic, but they got rid of the overlong segment with Governor Ratcliffe and the instrumental version of "Savages." Which, to be fair, always felt inappropriate for Fantasmic anyway.
tcool123
Well-Known Member
She is also an anchor in WOC: One, one of the two shows created for the company's 100th at Disneyland, and of course is somewhere in Wondrous Journeys as is all of WDAs though.
Plus Just Around the Riverbend is a featured song in one of the new Fantasmic segments here in Florida.
Meeko and her make daily appearances at Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom (Adventure Friends Cavalcade and Flotillas respectively)
Ghost93
Well-Known Member
I wasn't saying Pocahontas isn't heavily featured. I was saying that I think Disney will only use her in ways that they could easily remove her if the controversy got out of hand. It's not expensive to get rid of Meeko and Pocahontas meet and greets, remove Just Around the Riverbend from a music lineup or remove projections of her from nighttime shows. On the other hand, I could never picture the Disney company of today giving Pocahontas her own ride.
Jedijax719
Well-Known Member
You're obsessed with this. Nobody else cares. But, yeah, you do you.
TP2000
Well-Known Member
It's a thread entitled "Disney at the Box Office", so we discuss Disney at the box office.
123mart123
Active Member
If you care about the parks, you should care about the other divisions of the company.
the parks continue to be harvested for cash (Iger’s prior acquisitions, D+ etc).
the struggles elsewhere are as much a reason as any WDW has been shaped to what it is.
I would be willing to bet the parks and resorts leadership Has been repeatedly asked to generate cash. For years.
‘just my 0.02. But the financial challenges are real.
And BTW, DVC appears to be the lifeline WDW itself is grasping (along with monetizing fast passes).
Maybe you don’t like the style or views of the poster….but studio performance really should matter to the park fans.
TalkingHead
Well-Known Member
Pocahontas is most importantly a woman of color and adds positive Native American representation to the Disney stable. Safe to say she’s not going anywhere.
erasure fan1
Well-Known Member
That's right. A bunch of us have been saying that for a long time when the "why do you care, it's not your money" comments come in. What do people think happens when the company has to tighten the belt because the movies are falling short financially? The parks get the lions share of it. There's zero chance we as parks fans see Disney address the capacity issues of the resort if the studio side is bleeding money.