Downtown Disney's United World Soccer closing to be replaced with a Disney operated Marvel store

[Phicinfan]

And this again. *sigh* Well, I suppose I must explain. You see, Disney didn't use to be a warehouse full of well-worn already-developed franchises bought in order to exploit their merchandising. It used to be a creative company that bought the rights to books and concepts and then developed them itself for the big and small screen, giving them the special Disney magic that pretty much guaranteed that they'd live forever. That's the difference between acquisition and artistry, and that's why putting Marvel in any Disney park is about as appropriate as a turd in a punch bowl. Class dismissed!

I can certainly understand this point of view, it is a huge change, and is moving away from "historic" IP. But I agree with @Otterhead that this is what Disney does at heart, take something inventive, give it a twist and make it fit. I still don't see Marvel as a fit in MK or AK or even Epcot, but in DHS, absolutely.

I am still amazed, as a huge Marvel comic fan as a kid, how close they were to going bankrupt and ending, to where they are today.....amazing

 

[lazyboy97o]

I haven't seen anything in the contract that would prevent them from using the name.

Universal gets exclusive use of the Marvel name East of the Mississippi and that included marketing restrictions. The retail concept also cannot be associated with Disney. It's probably just easier to avoid the name than to make sure there are no mentions of theme parks in any marketing materials where the name would be Universal's.

 

[Matt_Black]

I think most Marvel fans would agree that properties like Guardians of the Galaxy and Big Hero 6 weren't exactly well-loved or top-tier titles. Disney's been very smart about NOT interfering with what Marvel Studios is doing apart from giving them boatloads of money to do their jobs very well. Disney's spinning gold from chaff and doing quite well at it, and Marvel's inching its way into the parks comfortably.

Minor clarification, with Big Hero 6, it was Marvel Studios that was hands off and not interfering with what WDAS was doing. The success of the film speaks for itself. Impressive worldwide box office, numerous accolades from critics and audiences, and a little gold statue (eat it, Lego Movie!).

 

[HauntedMansionFLA]

Nah, disagreed. Disney's always been about using popular stories and media and making them its own; even as far back as Bambi, it was buying a currently-popular novel and adapting it (very very loosely!) to animation.

I think most Marvel fans would agree that properties like Guardians of the Galaxy and Big Hero 6 weren't exactly well-loved or top-tier titles. Disney's been very smart about NOT interfering with what Marvel Studios is doing apart from giving them boatloads of money to do their jobs very well. Disney's spinning gold from chaff and doing quite well at it, and Marvel's inching its way into the parks comfortably.

Is that why JRR Tolkien hated Disney? Taking classic literature and dumbing it down to animation?

 

[Matt_Black]

Is that why JRR Tolkien hated Disney? Taking classic literature and dumbing it down to animation?

Even if that's true, that's not something terribly unique to Disney, as Hollywood dumbs down a lot of literature.

 

[danlb_2000]

Universal gets exclusive use of the Marvel name East of the Mississippi and that included marketing restrictions. The retail concept also cannot be associated with Disney. It's probably just easier to avoid the name than to make sure there are no mentions of theme parks in any marketing materials where the name would be Universal's.

I can't find this in the contract, all I see is this...

"East or West of The Mississippi - permitted uses shall be limited to the use of specific Marvel characters and Marvel may not permit a licensee to use the name “Marvel” as part of the attraction name or marketing."

 

[Matt_Black]

I can't find this in the contract, all I see is this...

"East or West of The Mississippi - permitted uses shall be limited to the use of specific Marvel characters and Marvel may not permit a licensee to use the name “Marvel” as part of the attraction name or marketing."

So, if I'm understanding it correctly, they could open a store, call it "Marvel whatever" and, as long as they used language like "Come see your favorite heroes at our newest store- you know what it is" (not unlike how Stan Lee never used the phrase DC Comics when he was busting on them), they'd be in the clear.

 

[lazyboy97o]

I can't find this in the contract, all I see is this...

"East or West of The Mississippi - permitted uses shall be limited to the use of specific Marvel characters and Marvel may not permit a licensee to use the name “Marvel” as part of the attraction name or marketing."

It's more the repeated restrictions on others and then the specific banning of the retail concept from other properties. Another example is the lack of Marvel being used on the monorail wraps for Iron Man 3 and The Avengers.

 

[doctornick]

Is that why JRR Tolkien hated Disney? Taking classic literature and dumbing it down to animation?

I wonder what Tolkien would have thought about the various animated films of his books: the 1977 The Hobbit film, 1978 LOTR film, or the 1980 Return of the King film? They took the same kind of liberties and "dumbing down" that one could argue Disney has traditionally.

 

[danlb_2000]

Is that why JRR Tolkien hated Disney? Taking classic literature and dumbing it down to animation?

I am not sure when things went sour with Tolkien, but Disney had the film rights to Lord of the Rings at one point in the 60's.

 

[Otterhead]

Minor clarification, with Big Hero 6, it was Marvel Studios that was hands off and not interfering with what WDAS was doing.

Yes, sorry, I was more referring to the movies Marvel's making, not trying to infer that Marvel Studios made Big Hero 6. Disney seems to have pointedly kept Marvel branding well away from BH6.

 

[Emue74]

Hopefully they can get all the marvel out of the D-store and let it go back to being about Vinylmation!

 

[Otterhead]

I wonder what Tolkien would have thought about the various animated films of his books: the 1977 The Hobbit film, 1978 LOTR film, or the 1980 Return of the King film? They took the same kind of liberties and "dumbing down" that one could argue Disney has traditionally.

While it edited things here and there for time, the original Hobbit animated film is surprisingly very true to the book; of all Tolkien adaptations, I think he'd appreciate the way it translated the story and feel of the book very authentically to the screen. Much more so than others!

Disney never actually held the rights to any Tolkien; that's an old myth. He hated all things Disney and refused to sell them the rights. Instead he sold them to UA, who was working on a live action version starring The Beatles and directed by Stanley Kubrick... which never happened because Tolkien hated The Beatles, too!

 

[mm121]

Somehow I'm not surprised that a soccer store wouldn't be a good long-term bet in an American shopping mall.

I know, I know, we were all so Soccer-crazed for about three minutes last July during that world championship thing that no one really knew about beforehand.

It was such a trendy, fun game to pretend to be interested in that summer, wasn't it kids?

It's fairly obvious a Marvel store will have more customers in it than those photos of empty aisles displaying soccer balls.

it was always meant to be temporary, though the article states a possible permanent location may be built so it obviously didnt do bad

For the love of Gawd!!! You're creating a Marvel store – the only thing Marvel that can be built on property – and you make it a store within a store!?

From what I can tell, the new Disney Springs is severely lacking "headline stores". Why not make the Marvel Store one of them? Why not make it the most amazing Marvel/Comic Book Store you possibly can?

Another perfect example of Disney completely missing the potential.

where does it say this will be a store within a store? if it was wouldn't it just go over at the co op, which is definitely not what their doing.

i do agree would be cool to theme the heck out of the exterior and interior and make i a headline store like world of disney for the west side

they totally could have turned the old virgin store into a marvel or something headline store, but they didn't, though not sure they owned marvel at that point.

 

[danlb_2000]

While it edited things here and there for time, the original Hobbit animated film is surprisingly very true to the book; of all Tolkien adaptations, I think he'd appreciate the way it translated the story and feel of the book very authentically to the screen. Much more so than others!

Disney never actually held the rights to any Tolkien; that's an old myth. He hated all things Disney and refused to sell them the rights. Instead he sold them to UA, who was working on a live action version starring The Beatles and directed by Stanley Kubrick... which never happened because Tolkien hated The Beatles, too!

I found this in the February 1979 issue there was an article about the Ralph Bakshi Lord of the Rings..

"Although Bakshi announced plans to film Rings three years ago, he has been tracking down the film rights since the 1960s. "It's a movie I've been trying to do for ten and a half years," he explains. "A lot of people touched it before me. Disney Studios had it first and they couldn't pull it off. It was a problem for them. To be true to Tolkien was not to be true to Disney. I think that the Disney people realized this right away. Tolkien is not in the Disney tradition. They could have watered it down and filmed it, but so what? With all the battle sequences and the death of the ores and the kind of drama and fatality that's in The Lord of the Rings, you just can't approach it in the tradition of youth films. "

Not saying this can't be wrong, just pointing out my source for that info.

 

[Otterhead]

Disney Studios had it first and they couldn't pull it off. It was a problem for them.

That's very interesting. Maybe Ralph heard about Disney wanting to do it -- I believe Disney proposed a treatment at one point -- but I've always read that Tolkien turned Disney down flat-out. Hard to say

 

[danlb_2000]

That's very interesting. Maybe Ralph heard about Disney wanting to do it -- I believe Disney proposed a treatment at one point -- but I've always read that Tolkien turned Disney down flat-out. Hard to say

You could be right, I could see "Disney proposing a treatment" being mis-interpreted as them actually having the rights.

 

[Ignohippo]

where does it say this will be a store within a store? if it was wouldn't it just go over at the co op, which is definitely not what their doing.

i do agree would be cool to theme the heck out of the exterior and interior and make i a headline store like world of disney for the west side

they totally could have turned the old virgin store into a marvel or something headline store, but they didn't, though not sure they owned marvel at that point.

Initial reports had it going on the co-op. sorry for the confusion.

Still, it should have a much, much larger store than where to is going. Marvel is one of the most precious IPs around. You'd think they'd take advantage of that and make it a draw (like Lego, the Disney Store and T-rex), rather than just another store.

Perhaps they don't want to bring more attention to it than they have to because they don't want to add to the confusion and take the chance of sending people to Universal?

 

[dvitali]

While walking on Hollywood Street at the Universal Studio I came across a comic book rack/ wall with some DC comics being sold along with some Star Wars books and The Simpson comic and other movie merchandise. While at Island of Adventure Marvel comics was sold (several months to a year old?) with generic merchandise that you can find at any five and dime store. Always wonder why Marvel mechandise is restricted to Island of Adventure and not sold at Universal Studio?(magnets excluded)

 

[Fox&Hound]

This seems like a great addition to Disney Springs!!!! Very cool...