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Disney probably should have saved its Marvel acquisition news for this week’s big D23 Expo (”The Ultimate Disney Fan Experience”), because nothing announced at the event could possibly top it. Plus, many of us would rather now hear about Disney’s plans for the comic company’s film adaptations instead of plot details on Toy Story 3 and Cars 2 and a title reveal for the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean installment. The fact that Guillermo Del Toro’s secret “D” project ended up being just some animation production company rather than a Deadman movie doesn’t help fanboy reactions, either.
Still, I was glad to hear that the screening of the first 30 minutes of The Princess and the Frog was well received. I’m also grateful for comedian Paul Scheer for this image of a robot Abe Lincoln. Although it’s probably just a relic from the Halls of Presidents exhibit at Disneyland, I’ll be dreaming tonight of the Lincoln film I wish Steven Spielberg would make.
Oh, and umm, any update on the next Muppet movie is obviously going to put a smile on my face. Presumably this is the Jason Segal project we’ve been excited about for 18 months now. And it’s title is: The Cheapest Muppet Movie Ever Made. Hopefully this means Gonzo will be directing and that it will therefore be as silly as possible.
Check out the other film blog reactions to the D23 announcements after the jump:
We saw the first third of the movie, which looks fantastic…like those late 80s / early 90s Disney movies that helped make Disney a success in animation all over again. I thought I was past the stage of enjoying these kinds of movies, and I’m glad I was wrong.
Overall, it was sweet and fun but a very standard Disney animation. The film may feature the first African American Disney princess, but aside from that, everything else is purely out of the mold…They’re not pushing any boundaries with this.
The footage we saw looked pretty cool though, and weird enough to keep the hair from looking too out of place. And yes, the animated broom scene from the original was there. Lots of explosions, lots of catch phrases, and some sort of teen romance. (I don’t remember anyone kissing Mickey.)
We should also point out (thanks to commenter Dan) that On Stranger Tides is the name of a Pirate-related book by Tim Powers. Is Disney adapting the book for the fourth movie? Did they swipe the title? What’s the connection there, because there definitely has to be a connection.
The Tim Powers book involves the Fountain of Youth, which suggests there might be a connection, considering the ending of PotC3. Also, interestingly, the book was part of the inspiration for “The Secret of Monkey Island”.
I don’t actually know what the name would be implying, but something. Maybe that Jock Spare-Ho has sex with a lot of strangers, while on tides?
I don’t know. Never mind. Pirates of the Caribbean pornos would obviously be subtitled, in order, “The Crotch of the Black Girl,” “Hot Babe’s Chest,” and “At Cock’s End.” I don’t know what I was thinking.
As for the secret “D” project that Guillermo Del Toro was hinting at the other day? It’s called, Double Dare You. Don’t get too excited. It’s not a new film, it’s a a new production label created to make new animated films “full of chills and thrills for audiences of all ages,” read the Disney press release (lol).
The first project in development is called “Trollhunters,” an original del Toro story which he will produce. No other details are revealed. As my mother scoffs when she’s feeling meh over news. “Biigggg deal.”
This sounds more than a little fucking awesome - Guillermo has a whole Disney’s Haunted Mansion themed room in one of his houses here in Los Angeles!
It’s frustrating to know that this development means we’re that much further from the 10 other projects del Toro wants to do after The Hobbit, but on the other hand, kids these days really could use some good scary stories. It’s another sign of Disney trying to branch out into less princess-friendly markets, and for that willingness to be creative alone, they deserve some credit.
Look, if you really want to know what’s going on with the Muppets in 2010 & beyond, then you have to make your way to the D23 EXPO this coming Sunday. Where – starting at 1 p.m. in the Walt Disney Studios Theater – Lylle Breier (who’s the senior vice president & general manager of Special Events & the Muppets at the Mouse House) will be taking the stage. And with the help of a celebrity or two, Lyelle will reveal what the coming years has in store for Kermit & Co.
Trust me, folks. This is really going to be one “sensational, celebrational, Muppetational” presentation. So if you’re a Muppet fan, you really owe it to yourself to inside of the Anaheim Convention Center this coming Sunday afternoon.
It appears that the turn out for D23 has been far below expectations. People were saying that the expected body count was supposed to be somewhere between 60,000 – 70,000 people, but from what I saw, it looked more like a quarter of that. This morning, they started the Disney presentation over 30 minutes late and one wonders if they were just hoping for the room to fill, which it never fully did, even though half the people in the room has Disney employee badges.
That being said, this is there first year for the convention and it does show promise. Maybe in 10 years I’ll be able to say “I remember when D23 had no lines, everything was air conditioned, you could easily park, and the Internet worked in EVERY room.” None of which I’m complaining about, but the lack of things to do did leave us wandering a bit more than we normally would have liked.
No matter how successful Disney continues to be, it’s hard to imagine the company commanding the same shiny, mythical ethos that gave it a stranglehold over the childhoods of American children decades ago. (Or, on the flipside, made “Disneyfication” a quick and dirty pejorative for crass commercialization and emotional sanitization.) People just don’t build that kind of all-consuming attachment to a corporation these days. (With the possible exception of Pixar, which would be exception-that-proves-the-rule territory.) “Pirates of the Caribbean” was huge worldwide, but how many people saw it because of their devotion to Disney?
In somewhat related bloggery, here’s a video (via Rob Bricken at Topless Robot) from the “I’m a Marvel”/”I’m a DC” people responding to the Disney-Marvel deal:
Kevin Buist
FLAME + CITRON Review
Christopher Campbell
Happy Halloween Links. Today in Film...
Brandon Harris
5 80s Literary Adaptations Worse Than...
Kevin Kelly
John Krasinski, Brief Interviews With...
Karina Longworth
SpoutBlog, Now Available in Book Form
Paul Moore
October 31, Karina’s Last Day
Lauren Wissot
Sasha Grey Interview
We’ve had a bit of trouble getting this episode to go through the iTunes feed, so we hope this re-post will fix the problem. The original post, with episode description and embedded player, is here.
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In my opinion, Disney keeps diluting its identity with purchases like Marvel and those tired old muppets. They should stick to creating their own properties. Disney’s also tarnished its wholesome image by letting Gay Days go on in its parks. I love Walt Disney, but the Disney Company as it stands now…not so much…
Homosexual families can’t be wholesome Loren? Gay men and women aren’t allowed to feel welcome at Disney World? I’ll tell you what: if that’s what “the good old days” at Disney amounted to– if all this useless nostalgia hinges on homophobia, or any other form of small minded bigotry– I’ll take change, thanks.
No, Paul, homosexual “families” (there’s an oxymoron for you) can’t be wholesome - unless you’re trying to change the meaning of the word, a la Humpty Dumpty in “Through The Looking Glass”:
“When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, `it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.”
Humpty Dumpty must have been a liberal Democrat.
And gay men and women at Disney World isn’t the issue here. The issue is gay men and women descending en masse at a place famous for its family-friendly atmosphere in order to get in people’s faces, upset them and make a political statement. It’s crap like that that helped create the backlash that resulted in the success of Prop 8 in California. The Gay Days were created to push the gay lifestyle into people’s faces - and then gays wonder why people push back.
Gays can visit WDW all they want, I could not possibly care less. But when they try to make a scene and a disturbance, then they pay for it. Disney World isn’t the venue for inflammatory, obnoxious behavior. People with class would understand that.
People with “class”! It’s interesting to hear a person who refers to a Gay Pride Day as “rubbing it in people’s faces” talk about class. I wonder if you’d feel as outraged at an Irish American day, or a Hispanic pride day (my guess is no to the former, yes to the latter.)
And I love your Through the Looking Glass quote. Truly you have a masterful understanding and near encyclopedic knowledge on the works of Lewis Carroll. But quoting psychedelic works of fiction aren’t quite the same as making an argument. You see, no matter how much of a shit-eating grin you had on your face while putting those quotes around the word “families”, it is in fact NOT an oxymoron. After all, since when does family mean marriage between a man and a woman, or even marriage at all? What about my cousins, are they not also my family? We’re certainly not in any kind of relationship. What about people who are in a loving relationship and choose not to marry, a la Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn? Surely they’re a family. What about adopted children, who have no blood relation, and were not conceived by their adoptive parents? Are they not part of the family? Perhaps family can be defined as any familial bond. Surely homosexual relationships can be considered as such
Now, the definition of wholesome, which I thought I knew but had to double check because you raised such a strong argument here, is (among other things) “sound in body, mind, or morals.” Where is the objection here? Body? Well, they sure look like you and me. No tails or wings, I mean. Generally just people. Mind? Well, unless the assumption here is that homosexuality is a mental illness, an idea that years of (credible) psychological study have debunked, I’d say we can scratch that one too.
Ah… “morals”. I see. Funny thing about morals, though; they tend to be different from person to person. So, for example, you think homosexuality is wrong. Perhaps it’s for religious reasons, perhaps you just think “ew two guys kissing, gross”, whatever it may be. You do not tolerate homosexuality. Well, I have another word for you.
Bigot: a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices; especially : one who regards or treats the members of a group with hatred and intolerance.
Definitions are tricky!
Perfectly said Paul.