Originally Posted By dagobert >>>That’s the big question at the moment. It sure looks like it was simply to bribe government officials, but it’s hard to say. Disney hasn’t really done much to dispel that rumor (other than getting some unflattering articles removed from websites, which only reinforces the idea)<<< I have a bad feeling about this. Doing business with China in China might be tricky. >>>In addition, Disney likes to promote that there are 300 million people living within a 3.5-hour trip of SDL. However, with the ticket prices they’ve announced (fairly cheap by Disney’s standards), I wonder how many of those people can actually afford a trip to the park. Although China’s middle class is growing, the overwhelming majority of the country is still very poor. International visitors are unlikely to visit the park (though the government did just change the visa rules, so many international travelers can visit the Shanghai area for 6 days without a travel visa), so I really wonder where the guests will come from, and just how many there will be<<< I guess we have to wait and see, but I'm confident that it will not be such a desaster like Euro Disney. If they did their homework, unlike with DLP, the park might be a success. Hopefully they didn't make the same mistake like they did in the 80ies with Paris, where they used US metrics to calculate attendance.
Originally Posted By dagobert I should read my posts before I post them, so many mistakes. I'm sorry for you guys who have to read it.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros Oh, I'm pretty sure that SDL will be a “success” regardless of its popularity. The “good” thing about having the government involved is that they can force people to do things, or simply “adjust” the numbers until they’re what they want them to be. For the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai, the government bused in people from all over the country in order to have the highest-attendance ever at an Expo (I think it ended up being about 25% higher than the next closest); many days in the summer had more than 1 million people in attendance. Having been there myself, I can say that most of the people there were miserable due to the crowds (many pavilions had 4-6 hour waits to enter) and the heat. I really hope that SDL is better, but I’m prepared for the worst
Originally Posted By Yookeroo "Disney is no longer known for being high quality in whatever they do," When has this ever been the case? When they were producing movies like The Worlds Greatest Athlete and the Aristocats? Or when they were making documentaries that spread deliberate falsehoods like the mass suicide of lemmings? How about the 1955 version of Tomorrowland? Disney always has had its share of crap.
Originally Posted By dagobert >>>Oh, I'm pretty sure that SDL will be a “success” regardless of its popularity. The “good” thing about having the government involved is that they can force people to do things, or simply “adjust” the numbers until they’re what they want them to be.<<< At least that means a steady revenue for Disney.
Originally Posted By skinnerbox <<I'm kind of tired of the recognizable voices doing basically riffs on their existing persona. I know it's nothing new (radio star Jerry Colona in Alice and Wonderland comes to minds but one of many examples) but it would be nice to instead try having actual voice actors acting.>> Ditto! The only time in recent memory where I've applauded the use of a well known actor doing voice work was Jeff Bridges in Surf's Up. Zeke was essentially the surfing penguin equivalent of Lebowski, so having Bridges do his voice was perfect. Otherwise, it's definitely getting old. Baloo is Murray in CGI fur, beyond any shadow of doubt, and his voice took me right out the moment. Idris Elba as Shere Khan works (at least for me) because his voice isn't as distinctive as Murray's. Seems like a good fit. But I don't know how well the entire film will work, with the Baloo/Murray problem.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA Well, '2 Broke Girls' continues to get renewed season after season too...so
Originally Posted By Dabob2 Never seen that, but point taken. Still, critical raves and popularity don't always go hand in hand. Critics hated Batman vs. Superman and it's a huge hit. Whereas movies that critics love much more flounder. I'm just saying I never expected the movie to get reviews like this. No one's saying it's Citizen Kane, but there are quite a few with remarkably nice things to say (as well as some lukewarm and even worse). Overall, though, much better than I anticipated based on the trailers.
Originally Posted By ecdc Yeah I don't think you can equate popularity or commercial success with critical approval. I'll always trust the latter over the former. I had no intention of seeing this movie but now I'm intrigued.
I remember reading about that Expo at the time (or just before it opened) and thinking it was the first World's Fair in a long time that sounded like something I might really like to see... and then I read about what FA talked about and I thought "no thanks."
It was pretty incredible to see in person. I've never been to another one to compare, but it sure seemed to capture the excitement that I associate with the 1964 NYC World's Fair. There was some incredible (temporary) architecture, and a huge variety of themes covering an enormous geographical area. And given that the vast majority of the attendees had never left mainland China, it really did give them an opportunity to see new cultures and parts of the world that they might not otherwise have access to That said, the crowds were kind of insane. We got front-of-line passes that worked for most pavilions (though not all!) because we were performers, but even with that it was a struggle. Presumably Disney could limit the number of people in the park to help with this, but that would naturally limit their potential profits as well. The weather was also among the most inhospitable I've ever encountered (40 Celsius with 90% humidity, not to mention the pollution), and that's something that Disney will also have to deal with. People did their best to find places to rest (literally any open space in the shade or AC became a rest camp), which makes me wonder if Disney has enough of those areas built in; there appear to be lots of scenic places to take a break and look at the gardens, but few of them seem to offer any protection from the weather
I would have never expected The Jungle Book to be such a huge success. The movie is passing 700 million Dollars at the global box office. https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/disneys-the-jungle-book-roars-past-700-million-globally/
The Jungle Book comes out on digital download on August 23, and DVD and Blu-Ray on August 30. Exclusive: Disney's 'Jungle Book' is heading to homes August 23
Scarlett Johansson brings some much-needed female energy to The Jungle Book. In Walt Disney Pictures' live-action/CGI movie (on Digital HD Aug. 23 and on Blu-ray Aug. 30), Johansson voices Kaa, a deceptive and alluring python; Sterling Holloway first voiced the character in the studio's 1967 animated classic. When Jon Favreau agreed to direct this film, he saw it an "opportunity" to let someone as adept and talented as Johansson reimagine the role. Exclusive: How Scarlett Johansson Revamped Her Jungle Book Role
Rented The Jungle Book the other night, and I liked it much more than I thought I would. The little boy playing Mowgli did a great job, especially considering he was likely acting with props during filming. The CGI is pretty incredible, and I liked most of the voice work. Though Kaa has a much smaller role in this film, I like what they did with that. The action scenes work really well, and the more menacing Shere Khan is just as good as the George Sanders version in its own way. Having him with a personal reason for zeroing in on Mowgli adds to the tension. Other than Bill Murray, I wasn't ever really pulled out of the movie wondering who was playing which animal. (Well, Christopher Walken can only ever be Christopher Walken.) For me, I didn't like the inclusion of the songs from the animated classic. They felt largely added in, perhaps after an early test audience screening. (Maybe not, but it sure seemed like that sort of thing.) And the songs pulled me back to the much better animated version, and made me miss Phil Harris' deep, easy going voice, the crazy cool Louis Prima. I willed myself to get used to the Bill Murray version of Baloo, and just when I did, he starts singing. And the father bear/cub bonding from the animated version never really happens in this one, which is a missed opportunity. But overall I thought the deeper sense of danger and a few of the twists and turns made it much better than expected.
I watched this one with the kids last night and was also pretty impressed. The kid playing Mowgli did a wonderful job and the animals and environments looked fantastic. It was some of the best realistic CG I've ever seen. The kids really liked the songs when they came up. They were surprised. The nine year old though Kaa was really creepy. When I told him the animated version of Kaa sounded just like Whinny the Pooh he thought that was even creeper. We watched the Trust in Me sequence from the original on you tube. He wants to see the original now.
