Disney are running out of ideas...

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 16 Feb 2006, 09:46

Have a look at this...

http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/thewild/

Remind you of anything?....

Shen · Post by **Shen** » 16 Feb 2006, 11:41

haha, madagascar wasnt that great anyway! di$ney sucks...

looks like they even used the same graphics lol! do they have like a archive of things of old films they made or stole, and do something like "oh new film lets use this, this, this and this, oh shit we already made a film like that, oh well shhh! no-one will notice"

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 16 Feb 2006, 11:47

I havent seen Madagascar but yeah, I hear it wasnt that great.

Shen · Post by **Shen** » 16 Feb 2006, 11:49

i watched it just out of interest, some *funny* stuff but overall pretty crap, didnt think too much of the animation either...but then again im not into animation films much...

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 16 Feb 2006, 16:38

Havent seen Madagascar either, but saw that spin-off XMAS short about those 4 pinguings, which WAS hilariously funny and very well made. Gorgeous to watch as well.

edit: just watched the trailer for THE WILD, and TBH, it looks like shit.

gojensen · Post by **gojensen** » 17 Feb 2006, 11:41

Madagascar is a kids' movie... Kids' love it, and it's not that bad... 4/6 maybe, there's a lot of funny parts in it. Or maybe the Norwegian version was just THAT much better

Anyways, this flick, THE WILD, seems like it stole a lot yeah... even the mad poodle from the XMAS CAPERS short... :-/

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 18 Feb 2006, 08:16

Di$ney ran out of ideas many years ago. Thus all the shitty DTV sequels (that were churned out by their television animation department) to classic animated films we've since like 1993.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 15 May 2006, 11:49

Disney are even releasing Cinderella III

Apparently it says something like "What if the slipper never fit" then the story goes into rewind mode - ie it basically rewrites it. Cinderella never lived happily ever after.

FUCK DISNEY.

:shock:

http://forum.dvdtalk.com/showthread.php ... ge=4&pp=25

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 15 May 2006, 12:17

I agree with Eva. If I remember correctly they've not had a new decent idea since Lion King.

the68monkey · Post by **the68monkey** » 16 May 2006, 00:03

But The Lion King is just a really good remake of Bambi and Kimba the White Lion, by Tezuka!

If we're talking original ideas, I'd say both The Emperor's New Groove and Lilo & Stitch are actually far more "original." I defended them in the other thread on Disney, and I'll defend them here, too. They're good films, even if not on par with Ghibli or Pixar.

the68monkey · Post by **the68monkey** » 16 May 2006, 00:06

Forgot to add that I do think this new film, The Wild is a really shameless rip-off. IMO, Disney has made a HUGE mistake in putting an end to traditional 2D animation in favor of copying the Pixar 3D style. BIG mistake.

2D and 3D are such different art forms, and transferring exaggeration and perspective of 2D into robotic 3D characters just takes the life out of classic characters we've grown up with.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 16 May 2006, 00:07

Does it matter? So many classic films rip ideas from other films.

the68monkey · Post by **the68monkey** » 16 May 2006, 00:10

When it's inspired by another film? No, it's a compliment. When it's a shameless rip-off that doesn't give credit where credit's due? Yes, it matters.

Of COURSE lots of classic films borrow ideas from other films. That's nothing new -- even Shakespeare re-worked plots and characters from existing plays to create his own masterpieces. I was merely defending The Emperor's New Groove and Lilo & Stitch and "decent ideas," of which you've said Disney ran out of long before they were even created.

edit: I'll check in later. I've got to go put my "under 10" test audience of the household to bed now.

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 16 May 2006, 00:18

the68monkey wrote:But The Lion King is just a really good remake of Bambi and Kimba the White Lion, by Tezuka!

Osamu Tezuka - now he's vastly overrated. Astroboy was just rip-off of Pinocchio with a heavy-handed race interaction social commentary tacked on.

the68monkey · Post by **the68monkey** » 16 May 2006, 01:20

EvaUnit02 wrote:Osamu Tezuka - now he's vastly overrated. Astroboy was just rip-off of Pinocchio with a heavy-handed race interaction social commentary tacked on.

But at least Tezuka gave credit where credit was due, and acknowledged the influence of American animation by Disney, the Fleischers, and Warner Brothers.

But back to the original topic of this thread . . .

Has Disney acknowledged any coincidences between Madagascar and The Wild? Sure, the Disney animators claim that The Wild was in the works long before Madagascar was released, but is that really the case? Geez, the plot looks the same as Madagascar's, but with the settings reversed! As long a small Disney animal doesn't start boogieing to "I like to move it, move it!"

(Oh yeah, this time it's a koala bear. That's TOTALLY different!

).

On a somewhat more optimistic note, three upcoming Disney productions don't look entirely bad:

The American Dog
A TV star dog drinks martinis with starlets and showboats on sets until he is suddenly abandoned in his trailer in the Nevada desert where he meets up with a radioactive rabbit and a one-eyed cat who are trying to find new homes.
( work in progress footage via AICN)

A Day with Wilbur Robinson
Walt Disney Feature Animation will produce a feature length animated film based on the bestselling William Joyce book, A Day with Wilbur Robinson.
The fantastic world of William Joyce's beloved 1990 book A Day with Wilbur Robinson comes to life in this comedy-adventure tale that follows one fateful day in the life of a boy-genius who creates a mysterious machine with one fantastic purpose -- to recover the lost memory of the past. What he unlocks instead is time itself, and a visit with a future, a family, and a world whose survival all depends upon him.
( work in progress footage #1 and #2 via AICN.)

and Rapunzel Unbraided:

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 16 May 2006, 08:12

I didnt know about the Kimba influences in Lion King 68M (never heard of Kimba the White Lion), but the Disney animators acknowledge influences of Shakespeare (Hamlet?) and Bible stories, probably others too.
How does Lion King rip off Bambi?

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 16 May 2006, 09:08

grim_tales wrote: (never heard of Kimba the White Lion)

Grim, that rock you've been living under is massive indeed. Tell me you've at least heard of Astroboy?

How does Lion King rip off Bambi?

I guess because both films are coming of age tales.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 16 May 2006, 09:34

Yes I've heard of Astroboy

the68monkey · Post by **the68monkey** » 16 May 2006, 09:44

grim_tales wrote:How does Lion King rip off Bambi?

Not a rip-off, but a re-telling of the same basic story:
All animals gather 'round for the birth of the new king of the forest/jungle
Cute growing up sequences
Young hero's parent is cruelly killed
All alone, young hero wanders off to grow up
A few years flash by, and hero is now a grown-up
Love story, where hero hooks up with childhood playmate
Villain re-enters the picture (humans/Scar)
Hero fights minions of the bad guy (hunting dogs/hyenas)
Final showdown; hero survives
Film ends with the birth of next generation

Killer Meteor · Post by **Killer Meteor** » 16 May 2006, 09:46

The problem isn't a lack of ideas, it's a lack of willing to take risks - the same with much of Hollywood. Walt Disney took a huge gamble on Snow White, everyone thought it would flop but it was a huge success. Even then, Disney took big risks on projects like Fantasia and Sleeping Beauty that payed off artistically if not commercially.

After Disney's death, the studio played it safe, making a few small scale animated films and mostly doing cheesy live actions flicks with Kurt Russel. Following the Reniscance of The Little Mermaid, they went ahead with large scale, unconventional projects - Pocahontas, The Hunchback Of Notre Dame - but these days have fallen back on trying to imitate Pixar and Dreamwork's CGI films without really understanding what makes them work. Disney at its best is a perfect meeting of art and commerce

the68monkey · Post by **the68monkey** » 16 May 2006, 09:48

Well said, Ivan Drago.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 16 May 2006, 09:50

Fair enough Bobbi

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 16 May 2006, 10:24

They took a risk with Lion King too. Have there been any examples where Disney have taken risks and the film has flopped?

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 16 May 2006, 10:29

Didnt they take a risk with Beauty and the Beast also? That came in the middle of the Disney revival (in 1991/2).

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 16 May 2006, 14:07

Maybe the Magic Cauldron was a risk and a flop? They took a risk by making it too dark and aimed at an older audience...
I dont know. I quite liked it as a kid. Havent seen it since though...