Originally Posted By AutoPost This topic is for Discussion of: <a href="http://www.laughingplace.com/w/news/2014/12/03/frozen-fever-to-premiere-with-disneys-live-action-cinderella/" target="_blank"><b>12/3/14: Frozen Fever To Premiere with Disney's Live-Action Cinderella</b></a>
Originally Posted By basil fan Sorry, not enough to make me see this picture. Speed Buggy Glitches <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.whatsitsgalore.com/glitch/sbglitch.html">http://www.whatsitsgalore.com/...tch.html</a>
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA 'You can't top pigs with pigs' - Walt Disney 'We really believe that The Walt Disney Company is a very able company with great depth and a great set of franchises.' - Bob Iger
Originally Posted By JeffG Fans like to toss out that Walt Disney quote whenever Disney announces a sequel or remake, but it really isn't a particularly meaningful quote since, after saying that, Walt went on to re-use characters in hundreds of shorts. Like any good business man, Walt had a skill for minimizing failures like the "Three Little Pigs" follow-up, but that was hardly a philosophy that he held to going forward.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros But there's a difference in having characters designed for a series or multi-part story, like Mickey and the gang or the Harry Potter kids, compared to ones who have a linear story that is told in a single installment. Even in today's sequel-obsessed Hollywood, it's hard to find a sequel that is on par with or better than the original. For the most part, their story has been told and given a decent resolution; there's not much else to be done with them, other than attempts to retell the same story with new ancillary characters (Rescuers Down Under), draw out a storyline that had been neatly resolved (POTC sequels), or tell a story that's completely a complete departure from the logic and storytelling of the universe (Cars 2, Toy Story shorts) When originally intended for ongoing stories, like a TV show, I have no problem seeing characters used over and over. But when it happens because they think that's what the public wants, it usually ends up being pretty shoddy. Then again, some people are so blindly obsessed with Frozen that a shoddy product is probably fine by them
Originally Posted By JeffG I actually don't really disagree with any of that. My point was that the Walt quote mentioned is often used in a context that likely wasn't even on his radar at the time. The quote really was nothing more than an "oh well" after something he produced didn't do too well. I doubt Walt ever had a strong opinion on sequels to features as sequels to the kind of film he made really weren't much of a thing in his time.
Originally Posted By CuriousConstance And for all we know, the Cinderella movie will be really good. It could happen.
Originally Posted By Yookeroo With Kenneth Branagh directing and a pretty good cast, I think there's a pretty fair chance it turns out quite good. And Chris Weitz also wrote About A Boy which I liked a lot.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA “I’ve never believed in doing sequels. I didn’t want to waste the time I have doing a sequel. I’d rather be using that time doing something new and different.” - Walt Disney
Originally Posted By TheRedhead "I’d rather be using that time doing something new and different" Can you imagine what a non-Disney-obsessed person would say to that quote though? They'd laugh hysterically. We get what it means, and we can read some lofty integrity into it, but seriously, the man made a career selling the safe and the familiar. At best, he found new and different ways to tell stories based on properties everyone had heard of. Walt's Disney appropriated every story not nailed down. Iger's Disney just swallows its own tail.
Originally Posted By leemac It was inevitable that the studio would opt for the Frozen shorts route. This will gee up the box office for Cinderella which is tracking soft at the moment. It will be interesting to see how restrained the company can be with this IP. It is clear that the momentum sees no sign of abating even a year on. I just hope it is better than Toy Story That Time Forgot. That was a waste of 22 minutes that I'll never get back. Formulaic and unoriginal. Felt more like the dire CarToons than the previous TS shorts.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros >>...Cinderella which is tracking soft at the moment.<< I can't say I'm surprised by this. There are already so many well done version of Cinderella, and Disney's animated one (see what I did there?), so I just don't think that people are interested in another one. Then again, I didn't see the appeal behind Maleficent, but that seemed to do reasonably well >>It is clear that the momentum sees no sign of abating even a year on.<< Although it's still incredibly popular, it appears that the madness has died down some. I don't think people would spend $500+ for an Elsa dress on ebay, but I bet it's still at the top of many Christmas lists. It just seems like Disney is finally catching up to the demand, which surely means that it will start to peter off soon. I've read several articles recently showing the parallels between Frozen and Lilo & Stitch, which makes me wonder if it will have a similar trajectory now that it's everywhere all the time >>Felt more like the dire CarToons than the previous TS shorts.<< I've never liked any of the TS shorts, but perhaps that's because I'm still lukewarm on most of the TS characters. They have great moments in the feature films when their motivation is based on their humans, but I never found the toys to be very compelling characters on their own
Originally Posted By leemac <<There are already so many well done version of Cinderella, and Disney's animated one (see what I did there?), so I just don't think that people are interested in another one.>> Yup it was a head-scratcher to me too. I am intrigued by the creds behind this one though - Simon Kinberg is producer, Chris Weitz is the writer and Branagh the director. All 3 have had critical successes. It can't be as bad as Oz that much I'm sure.
Originally Posted By leemac <<Although it's still incredibly popular, it appears that the madness has died down some. >> Definitely don't agree with that one! It is way worse - they have licensed the characters to death and virtually every store seems to have tacky Frozen merch now. And consumers are lapping it up left, right and center.
Originally Posted By leemac <<I've never liked any of the TS shorts, but perhaps that's because I'm still lukewarm on most of the TS characters. >> You and me both - but there was something engaging about Small Fry and Partysaurus Rex I thought. Toy Story of Terror underwhelmed for me and this new one is way worse. It isn't even a holiday short. I'd have preferred a new Prep and Landing for sure.
Originally Posted By Yookeroo "Although it's still incredibly popular, it appears that the madness has died down some" I would think so. It's been over a year. " I don't think people would spend $500+ for an Elsa dress on ebay, but I bet it's still at the top of many Christmas lists. It just seems like Disney is finally catching up to the demand, which surely means that it will start to peter off soon." I'm not sure I follow the logic here.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros ^^It just seems like any time there's a super-popular piece of merchandise, the popularity of it dies down right around the time that they finally make enough of them, like the Furby or Tamagotchi crazes in the late 90's. It seemed like part of the appeal of those was that they were impossible to find, rather than being something that people actually wanted. I suspect that their exclusivity was part of the draw, much like a name-brand purse or a rare baseball card I can't imagine that people were paying $500 for a dress from ebay because they wanted the dress that badly; I'm sure it played into the "I have it, and you don't" mentality. Now that everybody has the chance to get one for a reasonable(ish) price, I wonder if the appeal will drop off Obviously, a lot of the popularity is driven by little kids, who probably don't care or know about exclusivity. But they also hold their parents' purse strings, and it's not uncommon for parents to try to outdo one another, especially among certain circles
