'Lightyear' Coming Summer 2022

[spacemt354]

Thats not really true, 2018 saw the largest number of movies released with 873, its been increasing over the same period as overall tickets sold went down.

U.S. & Canada: movie releases per year 2023 | Statista

In 2023, a total of 504 movies were released in the United States and Canada, up from 456 in the previous year.

www.statista.com

So while the majors maybe released less tentpoles, there were more movies released overall.

The graph above according to the site I found is specific for films in wide-release.

I'm flummoxed by your data as it just says 'films released'. Does that not include things such as streaming films? What about limited released films few people go to? While it's not 2018, 2019's The Irishman is an example of a film that was technically released, made a few million, but mostly everyone who saw it watched it on Netflix.

The trend still holds up because if there are less films per year that attract a wide audience, then naturally less tickets will be sold. There are many other factors at play but that trend is a noticeable one.

 

[Disney Irish]

Once you tell me that that Disney+ has got Herbie Goes Bananas and The Monkey's Uncle upscaled to 4K and Dolby Atmos, they can take my 8 bucks a month for all eternity!

Herbie is available in HD, not 4K yet though.

The Monkey's Uncle hasn't been released yet, hopefully soon.

 

[Disney Irish]

The graph above according to the site I found is specific for films in wide-release.

I'm flummoxed by your data as it just says 'films released'. Does that not include things such as streaming films? What about limited released films few people go to? While it's not 2018, 2019's The Irishman is an example of a film that was technically released, made a few million, but mostly everyone who saw it watched it on Netflix.

The trend still holds up because if there are less films per year that attract a wide audience, then naturally less tickets will be sold. There are many other factors at play but that trend is a noticeable one.

If I understand it correctly its less major studio releases (which are relying more on franchises) and more independent studio releases from studios like A24, which has seen a huge increase over the last decade.

So I don't know if we can say for sure there is a correlation, but its interesting.

 

[TP2000]

Now we are talking. I mean Herbie goes to Monte Carlo really is worth the price alone!

Pretty much anything with Harvey Korman, Cloris Leachman, or Annette Funicello is perfection. Add a soundtrack done by the freaking Beach Boys, and it goes into orbit.

I once had a cat, a blue eyed Norwegian Forest Cat, that I named, in full, "Dr. Lars Lindstrom, prominent Minneapolis dermatologist" in Ms. Leachman's honor. Google that. But usually I just called the cat Lars.

Not Disney, but it includes Harvey Korman and The Beach Boys, is a fave movie I watch every couple years... Americathon: 1998! It's hysterical. Done in the late 70's, starring future Disney star John Ritter just after he had made it big on Three's Company. The tale of America in 1998 from the perspective of the late 1970's, when all the "Experts!" who are smarter than you were telling us we'd run out of gasoline by the 1990's. Hysterical! And a great opening theme song....



Whatever happened to Listermint?

 

[Disney Irish]

Yeah, a kids action film that wasn't funny. Kids love stuff that isn't funny!

Eh, I don't know. I know a few kids that love action stuff and they are in the 5-7 range.

I still don't believe we can pin-point any one thing that is the cause for Lightyear's under performance.

 

[TP2000]

I still don't believe we can pin-point any one thing that is the cause for Lightyear's under performance.

I can agree with that. Which makes it worse.

There was a short list of different things wrong with Lightyear, not any one glaring error, but no one noticed it and fixed any of it. Or had the guts or authority to fix it. That's not a good sign.

So far, I've got...

• New actor with a hard to explain prequel plotline that even adults can't quite get. Why?
• Horrible Disney+ strategy from Burbank execs that trained people not to buy Pixar movie tickets.
• Lesbian astronauts for no apparent reason except Twitter.
• Not very funny. Cause little kids love stuff that's not very funny!

All it's really missing is Harvey Korman or Cloris Leachman.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Not all kids films are supposed to be comedies.

 

[TP2000]

Not all kids films are supposed to be comedies.

I'm a childless old bachelor, but I have nephews that used to be young and I'd babysit.

Have you ever tried to get an 8 year old boy to sit through a 2 hour movie that's not funny?

 

[tcool123]

Got it. Sooooo... it's not really funny. The marketing wasn't hiding anything. But I'm sure the very earnest 28 year olds in Emeryville who helped make it were very proud of themselves for turning Buzz Lightyear into a statement of some kind, of some sort, somehow.

Can we add that to the laundry list for why this thing bombed, please?

I found it to be rather funny, some jokes I could think of off the top of my head, but keep in mind humor is subjective:

Spoiler: Jokes

• The rookie having "sad eyes" so Buzz lets him tag along
• The finger thing when Buzz meets Izzy
• The running gag with the pen and Mo Morrison
• I can't use that cause of my parole from Darby
• Sox being a cat and obscuring Buzz's vision when they're forced into a tight spot
• Sox chasing a laser in a moment of peril
• DERIC continuously getting the directions wrong when he's supposed to be a super computer
• Sox providing "soothing" white noise which sounds like the dial up sounds
• Sox's "I've just bought you five minutes" after he reveals he has a tranquilizer built in to take down Buzz in case he goes rogue.

There were some jokes that received no laughter from me but it was clear it was for a younger crowd

• The crew mocking the bugs when they couldn't see them due to the invisibility cloak
• Sox going beep boop beep boop
• The sandwich debate

Annd then some other bits of humor I remember:

• Izzy being afraid of space but wanting to be a spaceranger
• Mo thinking this was a retreat to work on yourself

There were more jokes than that obviously as I remember hearing laughter throughout the theater when I saw it. That said it's not a comedy but neither is Frozen 2, Big Hero 6, Moana, Turning Red, Soul, Luca, etc. They all have plenty of comedic moments sure but I wouldn't call them a comedy out right when the comedy is supplemental.

 

[TwilightZone]

On a side note, how about that legacy content that hasn’t made its way to the Plus yet? Are we just to assume movies like Johnny Tremaine and Something Wicked This Way Comes are a lost cause at this point??

I saw a list of animated shows that aren't on Disney+ yet and a couple of them surprised me, especially since they are fan favorites/have a cult following.

EDIT: imgur upload for easier reading

 

[spacemt354]

I'm a childless old bachelor, but I have nephews that used to be young and I'd babysit.

Have you ever tried to get an 8 year old boy to sit through a 2 hour movie that's not funny?

I don't think it has to be a comedy but moreso be something that captures the imagination

Jurassic Park, Star Wars, list goes on are things that would grasp an 8 year old's attention without having to laugh throughout the film

 

[MisterPenguin]

Well that $32B is across all their linear properties and streaming, not just D+. So for example a show like Grey's Anatomy cost $20-30M per season, that is part of that. So add up all Disney produced shows and movies across all the Disney release points like ABC, D+, FX, Hulu, ESPN+, etc not to mention the shows they produce via 20th TV for other channels like NBC and you can see it adds up.

...and in the end, it will all end up in the D+(bundle) library.

Which makes 'the Bundle' increasingly attractive as all those studios and content creators dump their content into it once they've wrung as much (ad supported) money they can from it.

And that's without D+ producing their own original content, which is does, at over $2B a year, in multiple markets.

And Disney doesn't have to pay any licensing fees for all that library (with the exception of some of Hulu's rotating non-Disney content).

The vast majority of Netflix's library, OTOH, is licensed and costs them a pretty penny. And that's why Netflix was on a spending spree to create their own original content. Which got them into a financial loss the last quarter.

 

[Californian Elitist]

I'm a childless old bachelor, but I have nephews that used to be young and I'd babysit.

Have you ever tried to get an 8 year old boy to sit through a 2 hour movie that's not funny?

Yes I have, many times, and have been successful many times. Kids aren’t restricted to film and television that’s funny and no more. Kids will watch anything they find interesting.

 

[TP2000]

I don't think it has to be a comedy but moreso be something that captures the imagination

Jurassic Park, Star Wars, list goes on are things that would grasp an 8 year old's attention without having to laugh throughout the film

Well, true. But Lightyear wasn't live action, it was a cartoon. A cartoon.

I know the hipsters up in Emeryville who take themselves very seriously probably hate that word, cartoon, but that's what it is. They make silly cartoons about talking toys, primarily for kids and families.

 

[TP2000]

Yes I have, many times, and have been successful many times. Kids aren’t restricted to film and television that’s funny and no more. Kids will watch anything they find interesting.

Well, then God love ya'. I couldn't keep them from wandering out to the lobby to play video games if there wasn't a messy paint explosion or a fart joke every 10 minutes. They both went on to Stanford.

One just passed the bar and is now a corporate lawyer, and the other is an architectural engineer.

 

[MisterPenguin]

On a side note, how about that legacy content that hasn’t made its way to the Plus yet? Are we just to assume movies like Johnny Tremaine and Something Wicked This Way Comes are a lost cause at this point??

Eventually...

There must be a million hours of content to first review to make sure jokes and gags that once were common aren't dumped into the kiddie section of D+. Not to mention they have a digitally clean copy of every episode.

Every month there are old shows added to D+.

 

[TwilightZone]

I don't think it has to be a comedy but moreso be something that captures the imagination

This is exactly the issue Lightyear has, its the same issue oh so many video games of the 00s have. Too many dull brown colors trying to make it seem realistic and edgy.
Take Bomberman

vs. bomberman act zero

for a good example.

Doesn't please kids or old fans nor does it capture any imaginations.

 

[TP2000]

Eventually...

There must be a million hours of content to first review to make sure jokes and gags that once were common aren't dumped into the kiddie section of D+.

Wait, they've got Lesbian astronauts kissing now, but they have to screen the old stuff in the vault to make sure Kurt Russell doesn't wink at a pretty secretary in a miniskirt?

The mind boggles at how this makes sense to a company who is marketing films to children.

 

[TwilightZone]

This is exactly the issue Lightyear has, its the same issue oh so many video games of the 00s have. Too many dull brown colors trying to make it seem realistic and edgy.
Take Bomberman

vs. bomberman act zero

for a good example.

Doesn't please kids or old fans nor does it capture any imaginations.

Now for further comparison, to Buzz Lightyear here's a small sample of the Buzz's worlds kids got to know and love before Lightyear (Theme park stuff thrown in for good measure because a lot of kids had to experience that even if that doesn't really count)

And here's Lightyear Buzz 's worlds

Maybe the movie has more colorful locations but trailers don't make good first impressions.
For further, further comparison, here's some worlds seen in the new Minions trailers

Even the most industral areas in "Minions" look more colorful and fun than what's in the Lightyear trailers.

 

[TP2000]

Doesn't please kids or old fans nor does it capture any imaginations.

Yeah. But at least that alien guy has been working out.