Spirited News, Observations & Thoughts Tres

[WDW1974]

Just got back, and I agree that the merchandise is even worse than at WDW. Mostly junk, and stores filled with Duffy for the cult-like followers. A real disappointment. The attractions, however, were not.

Would love to hear your thoughts here on TDR ...way too few Disney fans get there.

 

[WDW1974]

Like the magic bands... when people want to see something fail their mind is already made up.

The people of Hollywood can't wait for Pixar to have a dud.

I don't think that's a good comparison. I have no issue with MAGIC bands. I have an issue with the entire NGE program and the ridiculous amount of money Disney is spending on it while it has four theme parks that have huge issues.

And some folks always want to see the best fail, like it somehow validates them. The fact is Pixar is still pretty much the only sure thing in the film business. And I have yet to see them make a truly bad film. Some are better than others, and Cars2 and Brave wee among the weakest, but they weren't bad. I think Pixar is its own worst enemy because it has made some truly great films and everything they put out is held to that standard. It isn't fair or realistic. But I doubt John Lasseter, Ed Catmull and Co. Are losing any sleep over it either.

 

[Magenta Panther]

I don't think that's a good comparison. I have no issue with MAGIC bands. I have an issue with the entire NGE program and the ridiculous amount of money Disney is spending on it while it has four theme parks that have huge issues.

And some folks always want to see the best fail, like it somehow validates them. The fact is Pixar is still pretty much the only sure thing in the film business. And I have yet to see them make a truly bad film. Some are better than others, and Cars2 and Brave wee among the weakest, but they weren't bad. I think Pixar is its own worst enemy because it has made some truly great films and everything they put out is held to that standard. It isn't fair or realistic. But I doubt John Lasseter, Ed Catmull and Co. Are losing any sleep over it either.

Since Monsters U. got an 80 million opening weekend, yeah, I bet those guys aren't breaking a sweat.

 

[WDW1974]

And M. Night... They hate his . He may deserve it however.

They should.

The man has made exactly one good film. And anyone paying attention knew what the big 'twist' was in the first 10-15 minutes.

Some of his films were downright unwatchable. I recall going to an industry screening of Signs and people were laughing at it and walking out early. I wouldn't pay to see another one of his films.

 

[WDW1974]

I liked Man of Steel less than Cars 2.

Me too.

 

[Magenta Panther]

They should.

The man has made exactly one good film. And anyone paying attention knew what the big 'twist' was in the first 10-15 minutes.

Some of his films were downright unwatchable. I recall going to an industry screening of Signs and people were laughing at it and walking out early. I wouldn't pay to see another one of his films.

And god, what he did to "Avatar, The Last Airbender"....

 

[WDW1974]

I crap in the loo. Don't you?

Only when in the UK ...

 

[Bryner84]

... Does Splash Mountain still look good or are they letting it fall apart already? ...

Looked great in early June. There were two show issues I noticed on separate days, both fixed on subsequent rides either later that day or by the next. One of the alligators in the finale scene was off once, and the fountains in the laughing place were off on a different ride through. Rode several times throughout the visit, (twice in a row one night without getting off with a log to ourselves) and everything was working for most of the rides. It did have an extended down period for one day while we were there, but was up later in the evening.

 

[WDW1974]

I returned from Tokyo with very few TDR items. I still don't own anything from DL California except a single t-shirt.

I own plenty from DLR, but more of it is older than more recent. I like much of the DCA 2.0/BVS/CL merchandise, but not enough to buy it. But liking it is better than I feel about most of what I see at WDW.

 

[Cody5242]

... The more I think about Man of Steel, the less I like it. ...

I loved Man of Steel and I think it's better than Batman Begins and the Dark Knight Rises. The only two superhero films that top it in my opinion would be The Dark Knight and The Avengers. I liked the ending and I loved the flashback scenes, especially the ones with Kevin Costner. I found the score of the film fantastic as well. Best film of the year so far but that's not really saying much. If the film kept with the first 90 min, it would of been more well received. Saw MU and loved it.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Incompetence aside, anybody think Disney is above shadow profiles or tracking cookies a la Facebook?

 

[WDW1974]

How To Train Your Dragon was great. Like Pixar level. But when you consider Up!, it just has a level sophistication (but still have the kids humor) that just hasn't been matched. It had a heavy emotional punch. And I stil don't know of a DreamWorks animated film that has matched The Incredibles. It's way under appreciated for being a flat out great film. Story, direction, animation, characters. All the way around, fantastic.

And UNI needs to get with the UC guys who built the family dark rides in their asia parks. Have you seen the Sesame Street dark ride in space? I can't even imagine what they could have done with Dispicable Me or Sponge Bob, but on a bigger scale. Madagascar Crate Adventure would be a fun ride in O-town too, if they could ever figure out how to make those drops work. Maybe they should ride POTC again to learn the secret

See, Up is a film I feel is very overrated. The issue I had with it was it seemed like two different films. You have an incredibly powerful opening with a couple dealing with fertility issues and then a man being widowed and living without his other half and it still held me with Russell's arrival ...but when it suddenly went into the talking super dogs realm it just lost me and never got me back.

But I absolutely loved WALL*E, Incredibles, Cars and Ratatouille and others don't.

 

[WDW1974]

Incompetence aside, anybody think Disney is above shadow profiles or tracking cookies a la Facebook?

Of course not, but why do you ask?

 

[stevehousse]

The Happening was by far the worst M Night movie! Marky Mark and company running away from the air! So bad...

Did u guys know that MNight ghost wrote the 90s hit teen movie She's All That??? Crazy...

So I guess he had at least 2 successful movies...

 

[Cody5242]

See, Up is a film I feel is very overrated. The issue I had with it was it seemed like two different films. You have an incredibly powerful opening with a couple dealing with fertility issues and then a man being widowed and living without his other half and it still held me with Russell's arrival ...but when it suddenly went into the talking super dogs realm it just lost me and never got me back.

But I absolutely loved WALL*E, Incredibles, Cars and Ratatouille and others don't.

UP is overrated in my opinion as well. I think Wall-E is truly underrated and is a work of art. The first 30 mins had absolutely no talking, yet you still knew what was going on. What's your opinion of the Toy Story trilogy?

 

[stevehousse]

See, Up is a film I feel is very overrated. The issue I had with it was it seemed like two different films. You have an incredibly powerful opening with a couple dealing with fertility issues and then a man being widowed and living without his other half and it still held me with Russell's arrival ...but when it suddenly went into the talking super dogs realm it just lost me and never got me back.

But I absolutely loved WALL*E, Incredibles, Cars and Ratatouille and others don't.

I love all those films except the rat movie I have never seen and really have had no desire to? It jut doesn't appeal to me!

 

[WDW1974]

The could also use the Premiere Theater for a show at some point if they needed capacity. I'm thinking it would make some sense to put something there (bring back Hunchback or even just move BatB to there for its final run) while they are redoing the current BatB/VOTLM shows.

I am 99% sure that facility is slated for demolition.

 

[bubbles1812]

I loved Man of Steel and I think it's better than Batman Begins and the Dark Knight Rises. The only two superhero films that top it in my opinion would be The Dark Knight and The Avengers. I liked the ending and I loved the flashback scenes, especially the ones with Kevin Costner. Best film of the year so far but that's not really saying much. If the film kept with the first 90 min, it would of been more well received

I saw MoS last night. I liked it, and my dad absolutely loved it. I did think the flashback sequences were a nice touch and were a good way to break up the definitely extensive action sequences. Though the way Kevin Costner died... My dad and I laughed. It's sounds horrible, but I'm from the Midwest. Tornado warnings/watches are part of life here. And we love our animals but not enough to run back into an F5 tornado for them. Kind of lessened the emotional impact of that moment for me.

Anyways... I could see the way the film lacked a bit of heart as others have said. They needed some more character development and maybe at least one or two scenes of Lois/Clark just talking to one another to better establish that relationship. I think it was very apparent Warner's was scared to put too little action in, as that was one of the main criticisms of the last one. The result was that they put a bit too much in.

I am glad they went with a different villian than Lex, and I didnt even mind the ending since this movie was more about Superman learning to be Superman than being the Boy Scout he is when he is well established. And Henry Cavill is one seriously fine looking man . I look forward to what they do in sequels, and this is from a gal who has never been a huge fan of Superman.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Of course not, but why do you ask?

Just on my mind due to Facebook's recent "bug" where it was revealed that they are amassing shadow profiles that contains data not explicitly shared with Facebook. They've been caught with the tracking cookies in the past.

 

[WDW1974]

Fixed that for ya....

Bronies....*shudder*

Mrs. Lee sez she once caught you wearing a Rainbow Glitter pink tee!