'Strange World' Disney's 2022 Animated Film

[jeangreyforever]

Oh, I disagree strongly. Excluding Strange World, which I can’t yet comment on, the only recent film I haven’t enjoyed is Raya and the Last Dragon. I would happily rewatch all the others.

Raya I actually liked although didn't love. It had too much story that would have worked in a series but not a 2 hour movie. I enjoyed Wreck-It Ralph until that abominable sequel and Zootopia was decent. The Frozen films have always benefited from audiences enjoying more what the movie stands for than what the movie actually is. I loved Frozen at first but the script issues are too massive to ignore, especially with the sequel which doesn't even have the excuse of not having enough time to be worked on.

 

[Phroobar]

Maybe it was a couple bucks under $20 instead of a couple bucks over $20, can’t remember, I just hit purchase. Lol.

I guess my point is why stream something early for $22-$35 from Amazon or Disney+ when you can get the phyiscal media for under $10 or $20. That way you keep the movie forever. I guess it is still cheaper than the movie theater at $11-15 and odds are you get a bigger screen at home.

 

[Heppenheimer]

I need to rewatch Soul, at some point. I watched it with my family the day after Christmas in 2020. I didn’t know it at the time, but I had COVID and my symptoms had just begun, so I wasn’t feeling that great. Additionally, I immediately became annoyed when Joe turned into a cat. I thought to myself, yet another prominent black Disney character transforms into an animal. I tuned out after that, then focused again towards the ending.

I really wanted to like Soul, but the movie just got too bogged down in the mechanics of the afterlife, then proceeded to pretty much ignore all the rules it just established. For me, this was a big red flag that all was not well at Pixar, because previously they could make even the most complicated world-building seem logical and effortless (Inside Out is the ultimate example of this done well), but here it just never seemed to gel.

And for a movie about jazz, could it have hurt them to use a little more, oh, I don't know, jazz in the soundtrack? Winton Marsalis, Herbie Hancock, and many other jazz legends are still alive that they could have hired. Say what you want about Trent Reznor, but jazz is not his genre.

This is, however, an example of a film in which a diverse cast of characters actually feels organic to the story and not a ham-fisted insertion.

 

[erasure fan1]

Pocahontas has a much better reception in Europe and Asia. In some European countries, there isn't a Big 4 but a Big 5 including Pocahontas. For that matter, Hunchback also did much better overseas and has a much warmer reception there than in puritanical America.

I'm not saying they were bad or anything, just ok. I'd throw Hercules in that category as well. You then start to get into the weeds with home on the range, chicken little, bolt... I wasn't a fan of them at all. Lol

 

[jeangreyforever]

I'm not saying they were bad or anything, just ok. I'd throw Hercules in that category as well. You then start to get into the weeds with home on the range, chicken little, bolt... I wasn't a fan of them at all. Lol

I don't think anyone was a fan of those movies lol. Bolt in particular felt like a generic animated movie that any studio could have made.

 

[WorldExplorer]

I really wanted to like Soul, but the movie just got too bogged down in the mechanics of the afterlife, then proceeded to pretty much ignore all the rules it just established. For me, this was a big red flag that all was not well at Pixar, because previously they could make even the most complicated world-building seem logical and effortless (Inside Out is the ultimate example of this done well), but here it just never seemed to gel.

And for a movie about jazz, could it have hurt them to use a little more, oh, I don't know, jazz in the soundtrack? Winton Marsalis, Herbie Hancock, and many other jazz legends are still alive that they could have hired. Say what you want about Trent Reznor, but jazz is not his genre.

This is, however, an example of a film in which a diverse cast of characters actually feels organic to the story and not a ham-fisted insertion.

I was so into Soul for like twenty minutes and then it chose the "make the protagonist into a cat" route and it lost me.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

I guess my point is why stream something early for $22-$35 from Amazon or Disney+ when you can get the phyiscal media for under $10 or $20. That way you keep the movie forever. I guess it is still cheaper than the movie theater at $11-15 and odds are you get a bigger screen at home.

I haven’t bought a cd or bluray in probably 3 or 4 years now, digital is easier to find and doesn’t take up space in my house. Prior to a few years ago I bought everything on disks though and still have about 500 physical Blu-ray’s taking up space.

I had a vhs collection that I replaced with dvds that I replaced with Blu-rays… in ten years my guess is I’ll be replacing my Blu-ray’s and 4K downloads with whatever the next improvement is. I ultimately switched to downloads because I didn’t want to buy new 4K bluray players to replace my couple year old 1080p bluray players, I simply came to the conclusion that technology moves so fast that buying physical doesn’t make sense for me anymore.

 

[doctornick]

Oof. Such a huge mistake.

Agreed. I guess they figure it's nice to have a new movie on there for the Christmas break - I'm sure my family will watch it over that time off sometime - but it's so counterproductive to the theater revenue. I mean, it means nothing for Strange World itself but for future movies.

Disney should announce waaaaaaaay ahead of time that Elemental and Wish are not going to appear on D+ for at least 120 days after the theater premiere. They need to get ahead of this "I'll just wait for it to be on Disney+" sentiment. I'd actually intentionally make Elemental the "movie released just before the holidays on D+" film for next year.

 

[doctornick]

It's a piece of the puzzle in my opinion. Not everyone will avoid the theater because of D+. But will some people, especially if the movie isn't lighting any fires wait? I'd say yea, probably. One month is just way too short. Then as people avoid it, the narrative grows. And then you have to hope you get great word of mouth to draw people in.

Also, a big difference between family films that often will be the difference between 4-5 tickets and a bunch of popcorn and snacks at inflated prices vs being at home for "free" and able to pause for bathroom breaks and whatever.

There's been outliers but animated films in general haven't done that well since the pandemic (yes, Rise of Gru is the counter example) in theaters. Disney has suffered the most since their films pre-pandemic generally did much better than other animated studios so there's a bigger fall, but the whole genre is not doing great as folks wait for films to be watchable at home.

 

[TP2000]

You certainly have a talent for spinning a very rich narrative out of very little material. You've repeated your line about Strange World so many times now that one would believe it to be a cold hard fact backed up by actual data. Even I have to remind myself that what you're now describing as "a big part" of the film's failure was, the other day, secondary to other factors:

Through this conversation here we've had a lot of people weigh in. My thoughts have changed on the matter, not radically, but shifted a bit.

We had two posters here talk about how their Facebook groups and Social Media accounts were full of concerned parents talking about the Strange World plot, and thus deciding not to see it.

That's part of why my opinion on Strange World's massive box office failure has shifted. Apparently, a lot of American parents were concerned about the film.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Disney should announce waaaaaaaay ahead of time that Elemental and Wish are not going to appear on D+ for at least 120 days after the theater premiere. They need to get ahead of this "I'll just wait for it to be on Disney+" sentiment.

I think it's too late for that. They've now conditioned their audience (intentionally or not) to except certain releases at specific times of year, or to be released within so many months.

I used to be someone who saw Disney movies in theaters and buy the DVDs all the time. Now I don't. That's partially because the quality of their home video releases tanked a long time ago (no more 5-10 hours of bonus features that's for sure), but also because it makes no sense to pay a premium to watch something that I've already pre-paid for in a sense.

Disney+ guarantees that they get a certain monthly amount from me, but not much, if anything, more.

 

[TP2000]

You're wrong in at least 4 ways.

1. The Argentina national team does not have any black players.

2. Less than one percent of the population of Argentina is black. On a roster of 26, it would be mathematically more unusual if they did have black players than if they don't.

It always makes me chuckle when hard facts and statistical data ram into HR Inclusion strategies or Faculty Lounge musings about the unwashed masses.

Per the US Census of 2020: 14% of Americans are Black. 6% of Americans are Asian/Pacific Islander. Let that sink in.

Census.gov

The Census Bureau's mission is to serve as the nation's leading provider of quality data about its people and economy.

www.census.gov

 

[TP2000]

As they did with She-Hulk, WandaVision (reported $25M/episode) and many other direct-to-consumer content.

Seriously? WandaVision was $25 Million per episode? Why???? It was a dramedy with special effects.

How much per episode did NBC spend on Alf in the 1980's I wonder?

$25 Million per episode??? And all I really remember about it is that catchy song and how clever and fun it was to watch the neighbor lady's hairdo change each decade.

 

[TP2000]

I think it's too late for that. They've now conditioned their audience (intentionally or not) to except certain releases at specific times of year, or to be released within so many months.

Yup. I imagine the Disney+ financial journey of the 2020's will be written about in future business books.

It helped lead to the sudden firing of Bob Chapek, and brought back Bob Iger who cooked up the Disney+ strategy in the first place.

I just don't get how Disney+ works long term, it never pencils out for me in my pea-sized brain. Spending $180 Million for Strange World, or $250 Million for Wakanda Forever, doesn't help the Disney+ business case either.

 

[LittleBuford]

Through this conversation here we've had a lot of people weigh in. My thoughts have changed on the matter, not radically, but shifted a bit.

We had two posters here talk about how their Facebook groups and Social Media accounts were full of concerned parents talking about the Strange World plot, and thus deciding not to see it.

That's part of why my opinion on Strange World's massive box office failure has shifted. Apparently, a lot of American parents were concerned about the film

When I first waded in, your position was—or at least appeared to be—pretty much what it is now. It seemed to shift a bit when I pushed you on the matter, but you’ve since gone back to your earlier stance. It’s difficult to know what your true thoughts are, and the fact that you are quite the raconteur—you are witty, I’ll give you that—makes it even harder to disentangle sincerity from spin.

I find @MisterPenguin’s interventions helpful in this regard.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Through this conversation here we've had a lot of people weigh in. My thoughts have changed on the matter, not radically, but shifted a bit.

We had two posters here talk about how their Facebook groups and Social Media accounts were full of concerned parents talking about the Strange World plot, and thus deciding not to see it. T

That's part of why my opinion on Strange World's massive box office failure has shifted. Apparently, a lot of American parents were concerned about the film .

Thank-you Mr. Gallup for that unassailable gathering of data through scientific polling.

 

[Willmark]

Through this conversation here we've had a lot of people weigh in. My thoughts have changed on the matter, not radically, but shifted a bit.

We had two posters here talk about how their Facebook groups and Social Media accounts were full of concerned parents talking about the Strange World plot, and thus deciding not to see it.

That's part of why my opinion on Strange World's massive box office failure has shifted. Apparently, a lot of American parents were concerned about the film .

(This has been a fascinating thread to read).

Disney is (likely) at a crossroads, whether they know it or want to acknowledge it. A company if it is to survive, ultimately has to focus on one thing: $; it has to care about only one color: green.

In order to get to those objectives it has to appeal as widely as possible. Ideally it would garner childless adults and families of four to watch their movies as they once did. It has to draw in everyone possible.

Disney has to choose now because they aren’t going to (largely) get both anymore. People can argue the how’s and why’s all they want. Not going to change anytime soon. That ship had sailed. Will there be some overlap? Likely some, but that seemingly is narrowing as years go by.

To take it a step further: regardless of what anyone thinks, wants to believe as to the reason SW bombed, one fact it remains: that it did. Disney can either look at why that happened and change their approach or continue on the same path. They are likely going to get an answer if their next movie bombs to the tune of 150 million+

On a personal note I have no horse in this race; kids are past the point of Disney/Pixar movies and we’re unlikely to go to the parks anytime soon if ever again. Wife is a fan of Disney (I’m not). That said no one should be surprised if parents object to what is in a movie. That’s their right as a parent no matter how much anyone thinks that is misguided or wrong.

 

[Phroobar]

I haven’t bought a cd or bluray in probably 3 or 4 years now, digital is easier to find and doesn’t take up space in my house. Prior to a few years ago I bought everything on disks though and still have about 500 physical Blu-ray’s taking up space.

I had a vhs collection that I replaced with dvds that I replaced with Blu-rays… in ten years my guess is I’ll be replacing my Blu-ray’s and 4K downloads with whatever the next improvement is. I ultimately switched to downloads because I didn’t want to buy new 4K bluray players to replace my couple year old 1080p bluray players, I simply came to the conclusion that technology moves so fast that buying physical doesn’t make sense for me anymore.

One thing I do is rip those discs to computer and stream them via Plex. That way the discs can be stored away without case and you watch the movie anytime you want. The problem with buying digitally is you don't own the movie. They can take away your viewing rights at anytime.

 

[Prince-1]

I guess my point is why stream something early for $22-$35 from Amazon or Disney+ when you can get the phyiscal media for under $10 or $20. That way you keep the movie forever. I guess it is still cheaper than the movie theater at $11-15 and odds are you get a bigger screen at home.

Because a lot of people no longer have a DVD player. And what movie costs $35 to stream???

 

[Californian Elitist]

When I first waded in, your position was—or at least appeared to be—pretty much what it is now. It seemed to shift a bit when I pushed you on the matter, but you’ve since gone back to your earlier stance. It’s difficult to know what your true thoughts are, and the fact that you are quite the raconteur—you are witty, I’ll give you that—makes it even harder to disentangle sincerity from spin.

I find @MisterPenguin’s interventions helpful in this regard.

He also admitted to me that there’s no proof regarding the reasons Strange World has done so poorly two days ago.