Spirited News, Observations & Thoughts Tres

[BrianLo]

When I was there it was generally Pooh, Buzz andd Monsters (in that order) in terms of wait times.

Surprisingly Pooh was not all that bad. "Busier" during the daytime with the family crowds, but it was a walk on by park close. Next to Monster's, Splash was probably the busiest. Star Tours was only mildly busy the first day I was there, but then crazy busy subsequent days. So who knows, the crowds can be mildly fickle.

 

[misterID]

If you think CGI actors will someday replace real actors then you don't know SAG. And there's really not many directors who would want to use them, believe it or not. Like how they're attached to film (it's better than digital, seriously!) and won't let go.

And CGI has gotten so ridiculously expensive now, that production companies are scaling way back on CGI period. More real sets are being built that a few years ago would have been all CGI. It's just cheaper to actually build the stuff now, seeing how the cost effectiveness and ease was once the main reason to go to CGI.

And even the best CGI characters... Still aren't that great. Avatar looked amazing. But they still look fake. Nowhere near belivable. That's why you haven't seen Cameron's Battle Angel yet. The tech isn't there yet to pass off a CGI human (or in this case, humanoid) and you still need living breathing actors to really get it right.

 

[Kuhio]

Owl on Main Street: http://instagram.com/p/bX11oRslkj/

I thought this was going to be about Winnie the Pooh's friend Owl.

I clicked on the link, eager to see a new walk-around character in the MK, and saw... a bird.

 

[Kuhio]

True! The one problem that I had while watching Monsters University is that every time Sully spoke I kept expecting Rosanne to show up.

My big problem with Monsters U (and I'm kidding here -- I greatly enjoyed the movie) is the fact that the ending of Monsters Inc. kind of changes the entire way you view the story of Mike and Sully in college, studying to be good scarers.

I kept thinking... what is going to happen to the scare-education industry after the events at the end of Monsters Inc.? It would kind of be like what happens to Caltech or MIT if we were suddenly to discover that everything we thought about engineering was wrong.

Entire monster universities would have to completely revamp their curricula, likely laying off dozens of professors and other staff, or risk complete collapse after centuries of educating students. (Does Fear Tech change its name to Laugh Tech?)

 

[Daannzzz]

And that's OK. I was scared when I saw Bambi (in a theater) and it was probably the first time I really thought of death and loss as concepts. That's why those films were so important ... they were art, but they weren't made to talk down to children. Today's Disney is all about that. ... I'm honestly shocked that Iger hasn't had Sleeping Beauty edited to take out the reference to h-e-double hockey sticks.

When I went to the MK for the first time I was seven and I was fine with attractions like Mansion and Pirates (that sorta awed me and scared me a bit at the same time when they burned the village). But Snow White in its original form (which you can see in Tokyo and Paris and partially in Anaheim) scared me to the point I didn't want to ride a second time.

These films weren't watered down. That's one reason I enjoy Pixar's films as they largely follow a template of not aiming at kids.

BTW, anyone else old enough here to actually have seen Disney animated films as slide shows with a sound tape when they were in elementary school? (someone say you were to make me feel less ancient!)

Raising hand! And I loved them too. It was so much better than a math lesson.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Hard to believe, but Disney only spent $85 million making Enchanted, making its $340 million worldwide gross look pretty good. It made major coin on video too (like $80 million in US DVD sales alone).

A shame its already been sorta forgotten. I thought it was the best Disney movie of 2000-2009.

I don't think the merchandise did as well as Disney hoped. It was almost exclusively based around those first five minutes, all of which gets undone by the rest of the film.

 

[Nemo14]

Raising hand! And I loved them too. It was so much better than a math lesson.

Remember Donald in Mathmagicland?

 

[Daannzzz]

Remember Donald in Mathmagicland?

Absolutely!
Our Mr. Sun. (Not Disney but memorable as well)

 

[Kuhio]

Since we are talking about the issue of movie successes/failures, which also encompasses the ability of movies to move merchandise...

LEGO has really had a hit-or-miss history with making themed sets based on movies. The themes that are based on established brands (e.g., Star Wars) tend to do really well, but the company seems to have a hard time figuring out what new properties are going to be successful ahead of time.

They've been doing super-hero tie-in sets with both the DC and Marvel characters for a while, so of course they have Avengers, Iron Man 3, and Man of Steel sets. But a couple of years ago, they came up with an entire line of sets themed to the live-action Speed Racer movie, which was a pretty big flop (budget of $120 million; domestic gross < $50 million and total, worldwide gross < $100 million). The sets themselves weren't that bad, but disappeared quickly when the property to which they were attached tanked.

Similarly, LEGO came up with a whole new theme tied to The Lone Ranger. These seem to have been doing pretty well (based in part on the pre-existing demand for Western-themed LEGO sets, regardless of franchise tie-in), but while LR isn't going to fail like Speed Racer did, it also doesn't appear destined for worldwide blockbuster status either.

I'd really be curious to hear what the next "new" movie tie-in will be for LEGO... or if, in the future, they decide to stick more with what works (Star Wars), along with their own IP (Chima).

 

[Nemo14]

Absolutely!
Our Mr. Sun. (Not Disney but memorable as well)

My favorite line from Donald..."Geometrees have square roots."

 

[BrianLo]

Second, I think that Rapunzel is already fading, as is Merida...note neither are at Cindy's Royal Table or Akershus, which means there is not much consumer demand to meet them compared to princesses who are 30 times their age.

Depends who you are asking. Next to Mickey (and maybe the female kitten from Aristocats), I had made a mental note that the Japanese tourists were really excited to see Rapunzel in the parades and park. The cast member playing her was amazingly enthusiastic and animated, I'm sure that helped.

Again, anecdotal I know.

 

[PhotoDave219]

I thought this was going to be about Winnie the Pooh's friend Owl.

I clicked on the link, eager to see a new walk-around character in the MK, and saw... a bird.

Nope. It's a live owl on MSUSA. Adjust your expectations accordingly

 

[Clyde Birdbrain]

Owl on Main Street: http://instagram.com/p/bX11oRslkj/

It's a Barred Owl. I've seen them at Magic Kingdom before.

 

[rael ramone]

Oh, and on the Five Guys fries ... you are just flat wrong. I know my food from fast to five star. Those are damn fine fries.

I'll have to try '5 guys' sometime. But with even McD's slacking off big time in the fry department and they maintain their popularity, it's easy to see how Cockerell Fries are able to exist (besides the contempt for the guests reasons).

 

[OFTeric]

That's all nice and good...now do a name on the street test.

Ask someone random (or better 100 random people) if they know of this song...



Or this...



I'm not saying that the music in Tangled was bad, it wasn't. In fact, it was amazing. But, it was missing that magic "something" that makes it stick in the collective mindset.

Menken/Rice had that gift, Sherman Bros had that gift, and everyone knows Elton John had that gift...

Phil Collins had the gift, but it didn't translate well to Disney movies (even though the movies were amazing) as did Pixar's choice of Randy Newman...in both cases the artist out shown the performance, and instead of being associated with the IP, it's generally associated with the artist first, with the sole exception being Randy's work on Toy Story 1 and Toy Story 3.

'

I had actually forgotten Tangled was a musical. When I think of the movie, I do not think of any of the songs. How sad is that.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

Source? Sorry. Just a bit surprised. Even if it didnt become profitable in theaters, usually home sales can at least make up for it

My mistake, Spirit said it just recently went into the black. Home Video sales likely pushed it over.

 

[ScoutN]

Lion King evoked the emotion the exact same way as @WDW1974 stated with Bambi for me. It really did go on to teach a life lesson unlike most now. Especially with the should bee aborted Dis Channel programming.

 

[DocMcHulk]

Owl on Main Street: http://instagram.com/p/bX11oRslkj/

He must be lost. Universal's WWoHP is 7.5miles to the NE as the Owl flies.

 

[nytimez]

He must be lost. Universal's WWoHP is 7.5miles to the NE as the Owl flies.

Maybe the owl was delivering a screamer letter to George K.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I'll have to try '5 guys' sometime. But with even McD's slacking off big time in the fry department and they maintain their popularity, it's easy to see how Cockerell Fries are able to exist (besides the contempt for the guests reasons).

So much talk about 5 Guys that I had to go there for lunch today. Yup! Still good. Burger and Fries. Peanuts were good as well. The lady at the register called me handsome, so they apparently only hire people with excellent eyesight and good taste. It's all good.