The Miscellaneous Thought Thread

[DCBaker]

A couple refurbishment updates - Toy Story Midway Mania! will be closed beginning July 17 and is currently expected to reopen August 18.

Radiator Springs Racers is set to close beginning August 18 - no end date has been published (the refurbishment calendar only goes to August 21).

 

[PiratesMansion]

I wouldn't worry about the ride. It's safe. But only because this looks horrible...

That is a terrible trailer.

But I must be basic, because I was almost here for the one that uses Paul Frees' actual Ghost Host narration. Luckily Jamie Lee Curtis (who I normally love, but is NOT a person who should be playing Madame Leota) showed up at the last second to bring me back down to Earth.

 

[Rich T]

Even if it's a great film, I want it to bomb.

I don't want there to be any motivation to touch the ride.

But if it’s a hit, just think: We could get a Horse Drawn Street Car Movie!

In all honesty, I would love to see a great Haunted Mansion film. And this one looks like it’s got some very creative visual ideas. BUT, it blows my mind that here they are again, possibly making the same mistakes as the first movie attempt: too jokey, too many live humans involved, and the indication that the mansion is evil and needs to exorcised or freed from a curse.

That’s not the Haunted Mansion!!!! Walt and the ride’s own narration lay it out in 100% clarity: The mansion is a retirement home for restless spirits who are really happy to be there! What’s so hard to understand about that? Why make a movie if you’re not interested in the ride’s actual setup? Oh, right, money. I’ll give this the benefit of a doubt and hope that the mansion’s true “spirit” does come through in the end, but… Right now, this one’s a “wait for ‘Free With Ads on YouTube’” for me.

 

[TP2000]

That is a terrible trailer.

But I must be basic, because I was almost here for the one that uses Paul Frees' actual Ghost Host narration. Luckily Jamie Lee Curtis (who I normally love, but is NOT a person who should be playing Madame Leota) showed up at the last second to bring me back down to Earth.

Is THAT who was the awful Madame Leota in that trailer? Yikes. I didn't recognize her there, I just thought it was some bad computer effect.

I like Jamie Lee Curtis. She is one of those more unusual Hollywood celebs who is talented, but also seems genuine and likable as a human.

I hope she speaks to her agent about this.

 

[Too Many Hats]

Yeah, that whole Walt was an anti-semite who socialized with and employed and promoted Jewish professionals throughout his entire company thing is a late 20th century trope cooked up by the usual humorless and charmless and shockingly uneducated folks in "Academia" and "Journalism".

I wouldn't worry about it past that. They're "experts" on a man long since dead, and so they know practically nothing.

It's just interesting that the rumors and jokes persist, decades after Hollywood's Dark Prince was debunked. I have no stake in it; people are complex, Walt was born in 1901, and no human being has ever been as saintly as The Walt Disney Company depicts its founder. But I'm not sure there's real evidence for the accusation.

The word of Jewish employees like Sklar and the Sherman Brothers, who have always and consistently stated that Walt wasn't an anti-semite.

Good to know.

I’ve always been under the impression the rumors of Walt’s alleged anti-Semitism stemmed from the animators strike, which I believe was led by a Jewish animator. Of course Walt was angry about the strike and so he was labeled an anti-Semite by certain parties. I’m pulling this deep from the memory bank and from a biography I read in middle school so I could be misremembering this entirely.

This is my sense as well. Many fierce anti-Communists were indeed anti-Semites as well. It just doesn't prove Disney was one too.

 

[PiratesMansion]

It's just interesting that the rumors and jokes persist, decades after Hollywood's Dark Prince was debunked. I have no stake in it; people are complex, Walt was born in 1901, and no human being has ever been as saintly as The Walt Disney Company depicts its founder. But I'm not sure there's real evidence for the accusation.



Good to know.



This is my sense as well. Many fierce anti-Communists were indeed anti-Semites as well. It just doesn't prove Disney was one too.

I think there's also this inherent desire by people to take others down, particularly those who are seen by many as well-loved and wholesome. You used to see this crop up for Mr. Rogers too.

I have no illusions that Walt was a perfect guy, or that all of his actions/beliefs would hold up flawlessly in 2023, but it's definitely odd that this particular claim has never died despite there being no evidence for it whatsoever.

 

[TP2000]

It's just interesting that the rumors and jokes persist, decades after Hollywood's Dark Prince was debunked. I have no stake in it; people are complex, Walt was born in 1901, and no human being has ever been as saintly as The Walt Disney Company depicts its founder. But I'm not sure there's real evidence for the accusation.

There isn't. And all of Walt's actions and the way he ran his company until his death in 1966 proves otherwise. Even at a time in the 1930's and 40's and 50's when he didn't necessarily have to run it as he did, but he did because his Jewish employees were the best in their field.

No human has ever been perfect. Everyone one of us has committed at least a few of the Seven Deadly Sins. I commit at least one or two of them per week, and then talk about it to the bartender later.

I think of my own grandfather, only slightly older than Walt. He was a WASP who bought a house in La Jolla decades ago when things were much cheaper then, but also when La Jolla was an officially restricted community and Mexicans or Jews or even Catholics were not allowed to purchase homes there. Those real estate zoning laws were done away with in the 1960's in San Diego County, but does that make my grandfather an evil person for buying a home in La Jolla 70+ years ago? Nope. It just means he was a man of his time, living in his time, dealing with his time.

I'm still a dues paying member of the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club, which was just as restricted (and for even longer) than the real estate sales in town were. But I like to think of myself as rather a nice guy who can identify and call out race or religious prejudice when I see it.

And for the record, my grandfather was a lovely man who donated well to various charities and was very supportive of the Civil Rights movement until his death in the 1970's. But if you wanted to, you could write a book about him that used his purchase of a home in a restricted beach town as proof he was awful. But he actually wasn't awful. And neither was Walt.

 

[Rich T]

Egad. I just saw the trailer for “Wonka.” Hollywood really seems obsessed with spending millions making sequels and prequels no one asked for.

 

[Disney Analyst]

Egad. I just saw the trailer for “Wonka.” Hollywood really seems obsessed with spending millions making sequels and prequels no one asked for.

It is not doing anything for me. Stacked cast, but Chalamet's vocal quality gives me "cool teenager" versus Wonka.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Egad. I just saw the trailer for “Wonka.” Hollywood really seems obsessed with spending millions making sequels and prequels no one asked for.

It caught my interest in the beginning of the trailer, and then it fizzled out.

Still very much looking forward to seeing Dune: Part 2, though.

 

[BuzzedPotatoHead89]

Egad. I just saw the trailer for “Wonka.” Hollywood really seems obsessed with spending millions making sequels and prequels no one asked for.

I like Chalamet but the heavy over-reliance on fairly mediocre looking CGI made this feel more like Doolittle than Dune which is unfortunate.

 

[Disney Analyst]

Am I the only one who finds Chalamet so uninteresting?

 

[TP2000]

Still very much looking forward to seeing Dune: Part 2, though.

Oh, my gosh. I am impressed you said that.

I sat through the first Dune in a theater in 1984, and the only good thing I have to say about that evening was that my date was cute.

I tried to get into it, I really did. I was a big SciFi fan from the late 60's to the mid 80's, and Dune was technically right up my alley then. But I just didn't have the brain power to devote to it. I honestly am very impressed with people who enjoy Dune and can follow it all, as it just goes right over my head and proves my movie comprehension skills are rather basic. But when I meet someone who enjoys Dune, I know they've got something clicking upstairs and I'm impressed.

 

[TP2000]

I consider Dune to be the SciFi version of Wild Palms or Mulholland Drive, two other rather esoteric series/movies I tried to get into in the early 1990's and early 2000's, respectively, but I just couldn't follow it all and became confused and disinterested.

Some of us just have to be led through the plotline like children. I'm one of those.

 

[Disney Analyst]

When I saw the new Dune in theatres, because my partner really wanted to go, I found it visually impressive, and incredibly boring. I kept wondering "What is happening? Is something happening? Why is Chalamet dead behind the eyes?" ... I should probably give it a rewatch before #2 comes out.

 

[TP2000]

I kept wondering "What is happening? Is something happening?"

That is exactly the way I felt in '84.

I'm going to steal that line when I need it. "What is happening? Is something happening?" I may even consider that one for my tombstone.

 

[TP2000]

California Summer Tourist Tip #483:

Make sure your giant SUV fits before you try to drive it through a mighty Redwood tree in the Avenue of the Giants.



People don't realize how truly huge modern vehicles have become again. A 1970 Cadillac DeVille was once considered to be one the largest cars ever made and it was 79 inches wide. But a 2023 Cadillac Escalade is 81 inches wide, and much taller.

This 1970 Deville was only 79 inches wide and could barely fit through a Redwood tree with less than an inch to spare...

But this 2023 Cadillac is 2 inches wider at 81 inches, and even longer than it's 1970 relative. And when visiting the Avenue of the Giants it should stay safely parked next to the gift shop while its owners get out and walk...

 

[Parteecia]

Oh, my gosh. I am impressed you said that.

I sat through the first Dune in a theater in 1984, and the only good thing I have to say about that evening was that my date was cute.

I tried to get into it, I really did. I was a big SciFi fan from the late 60's to the mid 80's, and Dune was technically right up my alley then. But I just didn't have the brain power to devote to it. I honestly am very impressed with people who enjoy Dune and can follow it all, as it just goes right over my head and proves my movie comprehension skills are rather basic. But when I meet someone who enjoys Dune, I know they've got something clicking upstairs and I'm impressed.

I found this one much better than previous versions. You should give it a try.

It may have helped that I watched in the comfort of my home, with subtitles. And I'd refreshed myself with Cliff Notes. And that I have a friend who's an avid fan who could explain any questions I had.

ETA I believe I last read it in the '70s. In discussions we did decide that if you don't know the books you will be lost but if you do you will appreciate what was included.

 

[Disney Analyst]

I found this one much better than previous versions. You should give it a try.

It may have helped that I watched in the comfort of my home, with subtitles. And I'd refreshed myself with Cliff Notes. And that I have a friend who's an avid fan who could explain any questions I had.

Does your friend make house calls in Canada? I need help understanding ... everything.

 

[tcool123]

I found Doom boring and confusing but the world building was cool, aesthetically pleasing, solid score that paired well with the visuals. Could not tell you any of the character's names nor what the movie was about, but I was also working so I would take a lot of breaks from the movie to serve guests ice cream and cupcakes.