Jon Turner
New Member
What is awesome?
-
Welcome to the WDWMAGIC.COM Forums!
Please take a look around, and feel free to sign up and join the community.
Wish (Walt Disney Animation - November 2023)
- Thread starter DCBaker
- Start date
Jedijax719
Well-Known Member
Rotten scores should be reserved for movies that are SO cringeworthy, they are unwatchable. Movies that are "meh" or "uninspired" (whatever the heck the latter even means) but are still watchable overall should be able to warrant at least a 65%. Critics act like insufferable teenagers who, if something doesn't make them absolutely excited beyond control, they destroy any remote sign of virtue. Most teens can't sit through a full length movie now. The same seems true about critics.
Not sure where Disney goes from here. Everyone likes to see the king fall. What they don't understand is that without a studio that theaters rely on, theaters will crumble. Not a reason to automatically give every movie a high score. But when people start saying "well, they need to make better products" and all products fail, there really ends up being no such thing as a "better" product.
I mean, it's perfectly fine to dislike a movie. But is a 51% REALLY that called for with this one? Starting to really scratch my head and wonder if something else is going on.
Not sure where Disney goes from here. Everyone likes to see the king fall. What they don't understand is that without a studio that theaters rely on, theaters will crumble. Not a reason to automatically give every movie a high score. But when people start saying "well, they need to make better products" and all products fail, there really ends up being no such thing as a "better" product.
I mean, it's perfectly fine to dislike a movie. But is a 51% REALLY that called for with this one? Starting to really scratch my head and wonder if something else is going on.
BuddyThomas
Well-Known Member
I’m sure the usual suspects on here will find a way to twist a $75 million opening into a terrible thing.
Sir_Cliff
Well-Known Member
I liked Hunchback at the time and still love the music, but I find the film a bit hard to watch now.
For me, the gargoyles just don't work as comic relief and the line "pour the wine and cut the cheese" with fart noises still makes me cringe! I thought Meeko, Flit, and Percy and silent comic relief worked a lot better within Pocahontas which is, again, why I think it is a far more cohesive film. Still, I wouldn't hate on anyone for loving Hunchback!
As for Wish, the reviews are certainly disappointing. Unless this somehow ends up a big hit, I have a feeling there will be a postmortem coming up very soon at WDFA.
Jon Turner
New Member
I think in this case the real answer is management shakeup.
Phroobar
Well-Known Member
I like Hunchback too. It follows the book better.
Pocahontas has really nothing to do with real history but does look pretty.
Sir_Cliff
Well-Known Member
I'm rooting for Wish to succeed as I want more original animated features, but I also want them to make good original animated features. I honestly don't think there is a bias among critics against Disney as even Strange World managed a 72% fresh. What remains to be seen is whether this is a case where the taste of critics and audiences differs.
Ghost93
Well-Known Member
While both films are severely flawed, I admire the Hunchback of Notre Dame/Pocahontas era for trying to push Disney animation in a more sophisticated direction that tackles deeper themes. When I was a kid, I appreciated movies that felt a bit more grown-up in tone. Of the two I think The Hunchback of Notre Dame has much more of an emotional punch as Quasimodo, Esmeralda and Frollo are simply more compelling characters than Pocahontas, John Smith and Governor Ratcliffe.
Jon Turner
New Member
Definitely. I connected a lot more to Hunchback. Its musical score is also arguably stronger than Pocahontas.
Sir_Cliff
Well-Known Member
I will admit that Ratcliffe was not the strongest villain. I also think the character design was the weakest in that film. He is quite a meet-and-greet, though!
Jedijax719
Well-Known Member
I'm going to piggyback off of my own last post and say that if box office tallies fall across the board, critics need to at least be held somewhat accountable by studios. Critics get a free reign at crushing movies and stomping on them with absolutely zero accountability or retribution. And then we have situations where writers and actors strike? Yeah, something has to be said about the effects of online reviews these days. I'm not saying that all movies need to have ratings in the ramparts, but some rotten movies have NO business being rotten. If the movie industry falls short, critics should likewise be falling short financially. They get off scott free and that sucks. That's like teachers being fired because some students do not find their lessons as entertaining as a 3-right circus.
Disney Analyst
Well-Known Member
Me also. This movie scores far higher for me, and I honestly cannot fathom the critics reaction. This should be far higher than Strange World, imo.
Figment1984
Active Member
The percent score on Rotten Tomatoes isn’t a rating of the movie. It’s the percentage of how many critics/audience reviews either rated it positive or negative.
So the 51% it has right now doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a 5/10, just that of the 71 reviews it has, 36 enjoyed it and 35 didn’t. Some of the rotten reviews it received wasn’t even necessarily bad, I’ve seen a number of them call the film “enjoyable”, “entertaining”, even “above average”. The common theme is that it’s just not very original, and not what a mammoth like Disney should be putting out for such a milestone.
Disstevefan1
Well-Known Member
I don’t go by the reviewers, I go by the audience. Let’s see what happens.
TP2000
Well-Known Member
That's easy to do with facts and data, because a $75 Million opening at the global box office for Wish would be terrible.
Disastrous really, if Wish only gets $75 Million on its opening weekend globally.
Opening Weekend Global Box Office, Adjusted for Inflation
Frozen II, 2019 = $271 Million
Ralph Breaks the Internet, 2018 = $136 Million
Moana, 2016 = $113 Million
Zootopia, 2025 = $159 Million
You'd have to dredge up Strange World to make a $75 Million opening global weekend seem good. But if you're using Strange World as a comparison for a game called "It's Not That Bad!" then you have already lost that game.
Strange World, 2022 = $23 Million
Movie Comparison: Frozen II (2019) vs. Moana (2016) vs. Ralph Breaks The Internet (2018) vs. Zootopia (2016) vs. Strange World (2022) vs. Wish (2023)
Domestic box office comparison between Frozen II (2019) and Moana (2016) and Ralph Breaks The Internet (2018) and Zootopia (2016) and Strange World (2022) and Wish (2023)
www.the-numbers.com
Ghost93
Well-Known Member
Um, NO. As much as I often strongly disagree with critics, what you are saying flies in the face of the freedom of speech and people being able to share their opinions honestly.
Critics tend to be harsher on movies because they see way more movies than you and I and are more likely to be bothered by cliches and tropes.
TalkingHead
Well-Known Member
Yes it’s obviously the critics’ fault that Iger’s Disney has demonstrated a lack of creative vision. They should all be fired tomorrow, I mean just the ones that gave Wish a mixed-to-neg review. A very rational take.