Wish (Walt Disney Animation - November 2023)

[_caleb]

Break-even for a movie is usually 2-2.5 times the budget.

I’m not sure this is still true as a general rule.

 

[brideck]

Please define forward.

I'll take one for the team and bite. "Forward" in this sense is commonly associated with the "progressive" movement, in that "progress" is being made in a "forward" direction. But you probably already knew that.

One could argue that not all change is progress and not all changes are good, which is true. But in this particular case, I can't see what being uneasy in the presence of other human beings (unless, of course, those humans are actively threatening you) actually buys you. You'd have to fill me in on that. What's the gain in wanting to keep children in the dark and/or feeling uneasy about homosexuality? And more to the point, what is so uneasy about seeing cartoon depictions of it? None of it's even kind of real.

 

[LittleBuford]

If you haven't seen it, "Barbie" mocks the movie's mopey "woke" character, Sasha, who learns in the end that life is better when you put on a cute little sundress, put on make-up, do your hair, and stop sitting around lecturing people about male patriarchy and other such nonsense as when Barbie first meets her.

At the end, Sasha is singing and dancing with her mom as her arc from miserable angry victim to actually happy person is complete.

The film works precisely because it mocks "woke" nonsense (and everything else in sight) and can be enjoyed by everyone (hence, $1.4B in global box office). If you haven't seen it you should, it's hysterical and a lot of fun.

But back to Wish and the Disney brand....

Your reading of the film is at odds with what the writer, Greta Gerwig, set out to do. I for one understood her message as intended.

 

[mickEblu]

I'll take one for the team and bite. "Forward" in this sense is commonly associated with the "progressive" movement, in that "progress" is being made in a "forward" direction. But you probably already knew that.

One could argue that not all change is progress and not all changes are good, which is true. But in this particular case, I can't see what being uneasy in the presence of other human beings (unless, of course, those humans are actively threatening you) actually buys you. You'd have to fill me in on that. What's the gain in wanting to keep children in the dark and/or feeling uneasy about homosexuality? And more to the point, what is so uneasy about seeing cartoon depictions of it? None of it's even kind of real.

How many kids ya got?

So do you think everything associated with the Progressive movement is progress?

 

[brideck]

How many kids ya got?

Relevancy? But I'll answer anyway so you can tell me all about yours. Zero biologically, but our guest room is filled by a continuous stream of young adults who have been screwed over by their parents.

So do you think everything associated with the Progressive movement is progress?

I'm just telling you where the name came from. I could never hope to speak for everything that makes up the Progressive movement. I even used "scare quotes" to show that I was trying to abide by commonly held definitions.

 

[mickEblu]

Relevancy?

Seriously?

 

[DKampy]

Mos

Please define forward. Poor word choice considering Disney is losing a ton of money.

I didn’t see Barbie. But I do know it’s not an animated PG Disney movie. Not the same audience. People have, or at least had, certain expectations from Disney.

Most of the Disney films that did not do well…it was because the general population felt those films were not up to the quality standards that has been set for Disney… I have seen all these films and I would agree… Lightyear and Strange World were not great films… any “woke” messaging had nothing to do with the quality of the movies… it just so happens those with agendas use that as an excuse to hide their biases…I did enjoy Wish…but I feel I am in the minority there… even here among some of the Disney fans that don’t really have an issue with any so called “messaging”… so I will concede the majority did not care for wish, but I don’t think there is any woke messaging what so ever in that film

 

[LittleBuford]

I’m baffled by the idea that you have to have kids to have any hopes for, or thoughts about, future generations.

 

[BuddyThomas]

If you haven't seen it, "Barbie" mocks the movie's mopey "woke" character, Sasha, who learns in the end that life is better when you put on a cute little sundress, put on make-up, do your hair, and stop sitting around lecturing people about male patriarchy and other such nonsense as when Barbie first meets her.

At the end, Sasha is singing and dancing with her mom as her arc from miserable angry victim to actually happy person is complete.

The film works precisely because it mocks "woke" nonsense (and everything else in sight) and can be enjoyed by everyone (hence, $1.4B in global box office). If you haven't seen it you should, it's hysterical and a lot of fun.

But back to Wish and the Disney brand....

Believe me, Greta Gerwig was NOT mocking “woke”.

 

[TP2000]

Anecdotal, but worth sharing:

My partner and I were in the Emporium last night, and he overheard a group of CMs discussing Wish. One of them was comparing Star to his Nintendo counterpart; none of them had actually watched the movie. These were young, “diverse” people, and at least one of them was a gay man. While significant, their having not seen the film clearly has nothing to do with an ideological objection to Disney.

To paraphrase Dr. Freud, sometimes a box office bomb is just a box office bomb.

And Wish certainly qualifies for that.

 

[MoonRakerSCM]

I’m baffled by the idea that you have to have kids to have any hopes for, or thoughts about, future generations.

Well, you can have thoughts or hopes, but you're not partaking in it.

Regardless of what your thoughts or hopes are, you have no right to impose those thoughts or hopes onto other people's children.

That's that agenda thing again.

 

[TP2000]

I’m afraid you missed the point of the film. Believe me, Greta Gerwig was NOT mocking “woke”.

So how do you explain Sasha's obvious character arc then? From scowling, all-black wearing, bullying, condescending, angry, and spouting mindless slogans about patriarchy and capitalism and declaring anyone who doesn't agree with them to be a "fascist"...



to happy, smiling, wearing colors and pretty outfits, appreciating her mom, and having some fun with life!

Barbie poked fun at all sides, but Sasha's character arc was an obvious dig at the humorless woke crowd.

 

[drizgirl]

My 22 year old daughter saw Barbie with a friend on opening day and came home telling me it really wasn't "woke". I saw it with her the next week and loved it. And I didn't come out describing it as "woke" either.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Well, you can have thoughts or hopes, but you're not partaking in it.

Regardless of what your thoughts or hopes are, you have no right to impose those thoughts or hopes onto other people's children.

That's that agenda thing again.

Being a biological parent also does not give you the right to demand your thoughts and hopes be imposed onto OTHER people’s children. It also does not legitimate attempts to define other people (and other children) as abnormal and less human.

Being a parent is not an excuse for bigotry, and it’s disgusting to use something so beautiful as a shield for something so vile.

Society is under no obligation to reinforce the thoughts and hopes an individual may seek to impart to their children, especially if those thoughts and hopes are widely seen as socially destructive. More importantly, children are free to develop their own thoughts and hopes as they grow and learn, and if those do not perfectly reproduce their parents’ thoughts and hopes it is not a legitimate reason to launch a vitriolic moral panic agains institutions associated with childhood development - institutions like Disney.

 

[BuddyThomas]

My 22 year old daughter saw Barbie with a friend on opening day and came home telling me it really wasn't "woke". I saw it with her the next week and loved it. And I didn't come out describing it as "woke" either.

I suppose you don’t remember all the right wingers setting fire to their Barbie dolls when it came out because they viewed the film as pure woke. And woke is a good thing, not a bad thing, in my opinion.

 

[Casper Gutman]

I suppose you don’t remember all the right wingers setting fire to their Barbie dolls when it came out because they viewed the film as pure woke. And woke is a good thing, not a bad thing, in my opinion.

This is the (nonsensical) backup plan after the noise machine failed to significantly impact Barbie’s box office - absurd misreading to pretend that they were never bothered anyway.

 

[mickEblu]

Mos

Most of the Disney films that did not do well…it was because the general population felt those films were not up to the quality standards that has been set for Disney… I have seen all these films and I would agree… Lightyear and Strange World were not great films… any “woke” messaging had nothing to do with the quality of the movies… it just so happens those with agendas use that as an excuse to hide their biases…I did enjoy Wish…but I feel I am in the minority there… even here among some of the Disney fans that don’t really have an issue with any so called “messaging”… so I will concede the majority did not care for wish, but I don’t think there is any woke messaging what so ever in that film

I agree there is no woke messaging in Wish or at least it’s not very noticeable. It does have Woke optics though. I’ve shared my thoughts on the 7 friends. Also if you’re someone who perhaps is not a fan of them race swapping the Blue Fairy, Tinkerbell and Ariel in one short year then Asha might be enough to turn you off. It’s not racism. It’s a reminder of politics, DEI etc which = not an escape in the mind of the movie goer. This is why I say DEI at Disney sucked at their job. Not very savvy with their choices and the timing of their releases in the grand scheme of things. Wish suffered from the compounding loss of trust/ faith from the audience.

Wish also suffered from the movie being De-Woked mid production. Disney fans don’t have a problem with the messaging? And you re saying that after Bobs interview from a couple weeks ago where he said that messages need to take a back seat again? Ok obviously I’m speaking with people who can’t connect the dots or are just in denial.

 

[BuddyThomas]

This is the (nonsensical) backup plan after the noise machine failed to significantly impact Barbie’s box office - absurd misreading to pretend that they were never bothered anyway.

Exactly this.

 

[Casper Gutman]

I agree there is no woke messaging in Wish or at least it’s not very noticeable. It does have Woke optics though. I’ve shared my thoughts on the 7 friends. Also if you’re someone who perhaps is not a fan of them race swapping the Blue Fairy, Tinkerbell and Ariel in one short year then Asha might be enough to turn you off. It’s not racism. It’s a reminder of politics, DEI etc which = not an escape in the mind of the movie goer. This is why I say DEI at Disney sucked at their job. Not very savvy with their choices and the timing of their releases in the grand scheme of things. Wish also just plain suffered from the compounding loss of trust/ faith from the audience.

Wish also suffered from the movie being De-Woked mid production. Disney fans don’t have a problem with the messaging? And you re saying that after Bobs interview from a couple weeks ago where he said that messages need to take a back seat again? Ok obviously I’m speaking with people who can’t quite connect the dots or are just in denial.

You can try to dress it up any way you like, but if Asha’s race impacted your enjoyment of the film - its racism.

 

[mickEblu]

You can try to dress it up any way you like, but if Asha’s race impacted your enjoyment of the film - its racism.

Do you lack basic reading comprehension? Where did you get that?