'Strange World' Disney's 2022 Animated Film

[Phroobar]

The second one also has fewer characters in it; what happened to the other three people that were in the first poster? The second poster focuses on the dog and the amorphous blob (that looks like the mascot for the Olympics in a second-tier country).

Did they get bad feedback on whoever those three other characters (that look like women) were in the first poster? And decided to play up the men and the lovable dog n' blob?

Honestly, do movie posters still mean much to potential audiences? Who even sees them now in a situation or location that would sway a ticket purchase?

Movie posters are mostly for collectors or streaming cover art.

 

[TP2000]

This is how I felt about the movie until the full trailer dropped. I though the initial artwork and the teasers were spot-on. They were very Old Hollywood, Raiders of the Lost Ark meets Planet of the Apes meets Star Trek: TOS. Then when the full trailer came out I was completely disappointed. The characters opened their mouths and the whole vibe collapsed. The show is written and directed like a late-90s Saturday cartoon. The dialogue felt like "Recess."

I just went and watched the trailer on YouTube. Yikes.

That's 2 minutes and 12 seconds of my life that I'm never getting back.

If Strange World is what Walt Disney Animation is producing, I'm asking myself yet again why are there two separate animation studios 400 miles apart producing stuff with the same look/feel? What's the point of Pixar in Emeryville if Disney in Burbank is going to produce animation that looks and feels like a Pixar production? (And a bad one at that)

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I just went and watched the trailer on YouTube. Yikes.

That's 2 minutes and 12 seconds of my life that I'm never getting back.

If Strange World is what Walt Disney Animation is producing, I'm asking myself yet again why are there two separate animation studios 400 miles apart producing stuff with the same look/feel? What's the point of Pixar in Emeryville if Disney in Burbank is going to produce animation that looks and feels like a Pixar production? (And a bad one at that)

Because John Lasseter was a handsy drunk at the worst moment in human history for someone to be a handsy drunk and the company still hasn't come to terms with it. I have hope that Favreau might save live action but animation is in dire straits and Jennifer Lee ain't saving us.

 

[BuddyThomas]

I just went and watched the trailer on YouTube. Yikes.

That's 2 minutes and 12 seconds of my life that I'm never getting back.

If Strange World is what Walt Disney Animation is producing, I'm asking myself yet again why are there two separate animation studios 400 miles apart producing stuff with the same look/feel? What's the point of Pixar in Emeryville if Disney in Burbank is going to produce animation that looks and feels like a Pixar production? (And a bad one at that)

Oh my God.

 

[Phroobar]

They should just get rid of both animation studios and reopen Blue Sky.

 

[_caleb]

The low budget, indie, cheap sequels all used to go to DVD. Now all the b-movies go to streaming. Only big tent poles or large marketable movies go to theaters. Everything else is streamed or even worst ends up on Tubi.

This used to be true, but it doesn't really seem to work this way anymore. It costs a lot of money to release a film in theaters, and people just don't go to theaters like they used to.

If Strange World is what Walt Disney Animation is producing, I'm asking myself yet again why are there two separate animation studios 400 miles apart producing stuff with the same look/feel? What's the point of Pixar in Emeryville if Disney in Burbank is going to produce animation that looks and feels like a Pixar production? (And a bad one at that)

Multiple subsidiary studios with multiple creative teams working on related IP projects is pretty common in the video game industry. It helps manage volume (gotta release a new Call of Duty game every year!) and creates internal competition (and, as we've seen, unhealthy work conditions for employees).

 

[Phroobar]

This used to be true, but it doesn't really seem to work this way anymore. It costs a lot of money to release a film in theaters, and people just don't go to theaters like they used to.

Multiple subsidiary studios with multiple creative teams working on related IP projects is pretty common in the video game industry. It helps manage volume (gotta release a new Call of Duty game every year!) and creates internal competition (and, as we've seen, unhealthy work conditions for employees).

I don't think that is true. People do go to the theater. Look how much Top Gun and No Way Home made. They will show up for something exciting or to have a night out.

 

[TP2000]

It costs a lot of money to release a film in theaters, and people just don't go to theaters like they used to.

I would argue that people don't go to theaters like they used to to see mediocre stuff.

There are now too many other media options for Americans in their own home to get them to leave the house to see mediocrity. And the stuff in their home is usually cheaper. This is good for the American consumer.

To get Americans out to the theaters in huge numbers requires a movie that they really want to see. This still happens, to great financial acclaim and success. Top Gun Maverick was a mega hit Billion dollar machine last summer.

And merely big hits still happen while mediocrity flounders in the same multiplex.

Released December, 2021
West Side Story = $38 Million (production budget of $100 Million)
Spiderman = $804 Million (production budget of $175 Million)

Released June, 2022
Lightyear = $118 Million (production budget of $200 Million. Why?!?)
Minions = $370 Million (production budget of $80 Million)

Back before DVD's and 70 inch HD screens, and now 4K streaming and laser TV's, you could convince American consumers to buy a ticket to a mediocre film. But now there are too many competitors for entertainment dollars.

But make a movie that Americans really love?!? They'll still flock to theaters over and over again.

 

[BuddyThomas]

I don't think that is true. People do go to the theater. Look how much Top Gun and No Way Home made. They will show up for something exciting or to have a night out.

Very true. We go to at least a movie a week and the theatres are never empty. The only time we had an entire theatre for ourselves without one single other audience member was when we saw Cats right before the pandemic, and there was a very good reason that theatre was empty. We’ve had big crowds recently at Till, Bros, Ticket to Paradise, Barbarian, Pearl, Armageddon Time, Don’t Worry Darling, and Terrifier 2. When we saw the insipid Top Gun sequel, it was sold out.

 

[MisterPenguin]

They should just get rid of both animation studios and reopen Blue Sky.

The vote bots just emailed this to me:

 

[BuddyThomas]

But make a movie that Americans really love?!? They'll still flock to theaters over and over again.

I can’t believe this whole dialogue from you is repeating itself yet again.

You don’t like Lightyear. You’re not going to see Lightyear. You trash Lightyear.

You don’t like Bros. You’re not going to going to see Bros. You trash Bros.

You don’t like Strange World. You’re not going to see Strange World. You trash Strange World.
What DO you like???

Since you like splashing budget information all over this board, maybe you like a movie that had a $250,000 budget and has grossed more than 11 Million so far. Of course, it is the most disgusting movie I have seen in my entire life, so there’s that.

How ‘Terrifier 2,’ an Obscure, Micro-Budget Horror Film, Became This Year’s Unlikeliest Box Office Success

Have you heard of the movie that’s so disturbingly stomach-churning, so horrifyingly gruesome, it’s allegedly causing some audience members to vomit, faint and even need to get carried …

variety.com

 

[lazyboy97o]

There are several recent examples: Turning Red, Luca, Soul, Pinocchio, Obi-Wan Kenobi (shifted to development as a series on D+ rather than as a feature-length film).

To be clear, it's not like the D+ vs. theatrical decision is made on the fly. Kareem Daniel has spoken about leveraging release flexibility quite a bit on investor calls and in interviews. Theater attendance has been declining for a while now. The pandemic limited Disney's options, and originally they needed to launch Disney+ with strong new content. But as theaters have reopened, some audiences aren't coming back. And in addition to the traditional film studios, Disney is facing increasing competition from Netflix and Amazon.

We're in a new era, where the line between marketing and films is increasingly blurred, some IP are leveraged to reach/develop/foster long-term relationships with new fandoms.

Luca had a theatrical release cut short by the pandemic. Soul and Turning Red we’re pandemic shifts widely that we’re not appreciated by their creators because they still see a hierarchy. Pinocchio is lousy. Kenobi did make the switch, but also at a time when Star Wars films are all in development hell.

Netflix and Amazon send their prestige titles to theaters.

Disney says lots of things but that doesn’t necessarily make it so. Disney says Walt Disney Studios Park is the same value as Disneyland Paris but how many people would argue that is true?

 

[TP2000]

You don’t like Strange World. You’re not going to see Strange World. You trash Strange World.

I trashed the trailer, not the movie. But then, I have no plans to see this movie anyway. I'm not the target market of American families with children. Seeing the trailer convinced me I'd made the right decision.

I do enjoy discussing the financial performance of these big budget movies though. That part is really interesting to me. I look forward to discussing the financial performance of Strange World. Especially now that it's release will be set amongst the backdrop of looming layoffs and big cutbacks in Burbank; that will make it even more interesting!

What DO you like???

In movies? Anything with Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy is great. I'm planning to watch Desk Set in a few days, it always gets me ready for the holiday season for some reason, and it's hysterical.

Or anything with Elvis Presley and wild go-go dance numbers. Those movies are great! The original Airport from 1969 is very good, but I save that for a cold night in January.

From this century, things get very slim pickings for me. So many movies today are just so trashy and foul-mouthed for no good reason but to be foul-mouthed. I watched Ford Vs. Ferrari a couple weeks ago, and the sloppy writing and sloppier research that obviously went into it was a real let down.

But any of the Christopher Guest movies are fabulous. So sharp and funny! I've adored Catherine O'Hara for over 40 years now, since I used to watch the original SCTV over the UHF dial that homes north of Seattle could get tuned in from British Columbia back then. That woman can always make me laugh, and then laugh more!

We should all send Canada a thank you note for giving us Catherine O'Hara.

Her Dusty Towne Sexy Holidays Special is mandatory viewing in my home every Christmas. I've seen it over a hundred times now, and it always makes me howl. Not suitable for children though.

 

[TP2000]

I need to do a Target run soon. I'm going to check out the toy aisle for Strange World merchandise.

Is this movie a thing with the kids? Will this movie's merch be on any Christmas lists?

 

[BuddyThomas]

I need to do a Target run soon. I'm going to check out the toy aisle for Strange World merchandise.

Is this movie a thing with the kids? Will this movie's merch be on any Christmas lists?

Why don’t you wait a week until it opens and then you will be more informed.

 

[TalkingHead]

Netflix and Amazon send their prestige titles to theaters.

Not completely true. Netflix is giving Knives Out 2 a week in theaters but they didn’t give Blonde a wide release. It played on a handful of screens. White Noise is out in December but I’m skeptical it’ll play in multiplexes. Maybe it will. Not sure about Amazon or what prestige titles they have forthcoming. Sorta seems they’ve backed off feature productions?

 

[_caleb]

I don't think that is true. People do go to the theater. Look how much Top Gun and No Way Home made. They will show up for something exciting or to have a night out.

Note that I wrote: “people just don’t go to theaters like they used to.” The last bit is important because it’s demonstrably true.

Of course some people still go to theaters to watch movies. And yes, some have been mega hits. But it’s not some weird theory that the industry has seen a huge decline (even if we hadn’t had a pandemic) since it peaked in 2002. The number of major releases is down. Attendance is down. Box office is up, but so are costs.

Disney (and everyone else in Hollywood) has seen this coming–this is why they tripled-down on streaming with Disney+.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/04/business/movie-theaters-closing-bankruptcy.html

 

[TP2000]

Disney (and everyone else in Hollywood) has seen this coming–this is why they tripled-down on streaming with Disney+.

Are they making any money at it?

I ask because Bob Chapek just announced company-wide cutbacks and layoffs are coming soon.

 

[_caleb]

Are they making any money at it?

I ask because Bob Chapek just announced company-wide cutbacks and layoffs are coming soon.

No, not yet. And the memo you’re referring to (it wasn’t an announcement) is Chapek positioning to rush Disney+ to profitability next year. But if they don’t do something different than they were, they would be way behind the curve.

 

[_caleb]

I need to do a Target run soon. I'm going to check out the toy aisle for Strange World merchandise.

Is this movie a thing with the kids? Will this movie's merch be on any Christmas lists?

Did you see any Strange World merch on your Target run?