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(A.K.A. Non-Original Rants)

–Co-opting good stuff from all over the ‘Net and maybe some original thoughts—ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

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Disney catching a clue??

ht: B

Disney has been flogging a dead horse for quite a while by doing ‘live-action’ remakes of well loved animated features. Usually these remakes include race-swapping a la Netflix.

After the trainwreck that was Snow White (and it was just the most egregious example, but far from the only recent Disney fail), they might be re-thinking their DEI culture war propaganda pieces because they are finally feeling the hit in their bottom line (there is no such thing as too big to fail).

Their latest idea was to remake ‘Tangled’, which was based on the Rapunzel fairy tale. Originally rumor has it that they were going to cast a black actress, but they seem to be rethinking that ‘strategy’.

Industry insider Matthew Belloni revealed that Disney executives told him that the anti-woke shift within the company is now well-known.

‘Disney is about to cast a new Rapunzel in the revived live-action remake of Tangled,’ he wrote in his Puck newsletter. 

‘I’ll bet you the price of that long, braided wig that the gig will go to a white actress.’

As a note, Disney’s backtracking goes beyond their animated features. After fails like ‘The Acolyte’, The Marvels, and the latest Indiana Jones movie, wherein they completely trashed the original concepts and girl-bossed the movies, they are finally understanding that for properties like Star Wars, men are a big part of their audience and that by not playing to that demographic, they are circling the drain.

They are actively looking for new original ideas instead of flaying the old ones and wearing them like skinsuits. We will see if they can pull themselves back from the brink.

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Midwest Chick

12 responses to “Disney catching a clue??”

  1. boneman1959 Avatar
    boneman1959

    It’s to the point where nobody seems to be able to come up with anything original and new. Or at least none of the “BIG” organizations.

    Disney is doing re-makes, reduxes, rehashings and whatever of Stalwart Iconic Franchises (Star Wars, etc.) and bending them to fit a narrative or an ideology. Netflix is… well… Netflix.

    When was the last time you saw any of the major confectionery manufacturers come up with anything that was not a Line Extension? How many different flavors of M&M’s or Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups do you really think we need (and they merely cannibalize the sales of the “Mother Ship” brand anyhow).

    True and real innovation is happening but on the small scale and in environments where there is “Freedom” to be able to do so. Where the creators are not having to bend their will to the “Powers That Be”… the over-educated / indoctrinated, etc.

    And they have a platform where their work CAN be seen / found and procured. The internet.

    Same can be said about the “Music” industry.

    To Big To Fail… IS a myth for sure MWC! Good call!

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  2. Werebear Avatar
    Werebear

    We also have to look at the money driving these farces, Copyright Law and the value of the IP. I believe the current law requires them to do “something” with the IP every so many years to keep the trademark and copyrights active. Someone said 15 years, am unsure of the details. But to lose control and have to compete with items going under public domain would bankrupt Disney. Most of the goods are past their sell date. And since all the truly creative new material has to be made outside of their halls due to their climate, they are scouring everywhere for fresh meat.

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  3. Big Ruckus D Avatar
    Big Ruckus D

    Even if disney has had a come to Jesus moment (more like a come to the almighty dollar moment, now that they are bleeding out financially), why should anyone but the shareholders care? They’ve poisoned the brand for anyone who isn’t an acolyte of wokeness and blatant insane leftism.

    No one who has given disney the big piss off should be returning to the fold just because the company has decided to hide away their true nature and start producing product again for the people they are known to despise. But, too many ostensible “conservatives” will be willing to go back to them, like a battered spouse to their abuser, and so at least in the short term, they will probably see a bump in their corporate financial health if they actually pursue a shift in narrative.

    Really though, there should be no redemption, and the rightfully held disgust at what they’ve done should become a permanent grudge that forces them into chapter 7. No forgiveness for being arrogant, condescending and intentionally provocative assholes who tried to force their most valuable customers to eat shit. Because they still are exactly that – their core ideology remains intact – they are just seeking a strategy to conceal that fact so they can make some desperately needed money. It’d be no different if the democrat party came out tomorrow with a press release and stated they were casting off all the insanity they’ve embraced for the last few decades, so as to appeal to a broad voter base. Who would trust them, given their established track record and pattern of behavior? Maybe some gullible schlubs, but almost no one would really be fooled.

    It makes my day to see them squirm under the intense pressure of becoming an irrelevant failure. It’s even better that a big segment of their heretofore most profitable business – linear TV – is sucking shitwater. ESPN used to be a golden egg laying goose. ABC once was to a lesser extent, but both are now suffering the effects of cord cutting due to both unaffordability, and driving away so much of their audience by being recalcitrant pricks. Meanwhile, steaming, which was to be their new savior, is also failing to deliver on the expected growth, and the theme parks have become both stale in
    their appeal, and far too costly for the intended customer base of families with young children (of which there are ever fewer to begin with).

    And since it has been company policy to drive out decent employees, most especially of the sane White conservative variety, I don’t give a damn about the ensuing job losses, either. They can pay to repatriate all the pajeets and other diversities they brought in to displace actual capable staff with low cost imposters, before they turn out the lights and hand the keys to the bankruptcy court. The remaining libtards can starve to death. I’m not remotely joking when I say my three favorite words these days are “fuck those guys”. It gets a lot of use, and the expression certainly applies to disney in every conceivable context.

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  4. Silliest Avatar
    Silliest

    Wait, there was another Indiana Jones Movie after the one with Sean Connery playing Daddy Jones? Why, wasn’t that one bad enough? Wow, apparently there have been two since that one.

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    1. Big Ruckus D Avatar
      Big Ruckus D

      Oh yeah, they gave the star wars castration treatment to Indy as well. No matter, I never much cared for either star wars or the indiana jones movies as a kid, and damn sure don’t give a whiff about them now. But then I’ve done my own thing since I was a pre-teenager, and have never followed the crowd.

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  5. Midwest Chick Avatar
    Midwest Chick

    boneman–I think they are starting to realize that it might be better to gamble on something new since remakes and the like are failing. Thanks!

    werebear–Didn’t know about that. I think people might be unwilling to sell to Disney at this point after seeing everything they did to the stuff they own.

    BRD–They have earned whatever fallout they get.

    Silliest–Couldn’t tell by me. And I haven’t watched any Star Wars outside of the original trilogy.

    BRD–I liked the first and third Indy movies and that’s it. Original trilogy for Star Wars. Pretty much it.

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  6. Big Ruckus D Avatar
    Big Ruckus D

    MWC – as a kid I saw the original 3 star wars at home on tape (even as a kid I sensed Return of the Jedi already revealed the story quality was slipping, and it was just a vehicle whoring for licensed merchandise sales). As a slightly older kid I saw Indy 1 and 2. They aren’t terrible movies, but I really didn’t get all that excited about them like .most kids my age. Never really had any of the toys, either. I recall having one of those cheap inflatable weighted base R2D2 punching bags that tore inside a weeks use. I’m pretty sure that was the only licensed product I ever had. Don’t recall having so much as a t-shirt with anything from star wars on it, Oddly enough. It just didn’t really interest me. The only 80’s classic that I can say I became obsessed with was Ghostbusters. I did have some toys from that.

    We didn’t do frequent trips to the movies, I recall going to see some of the disney animated classics (101 dalmatians, Fantasia – I still laugh at the notion of hippos in tutus – Dumbo, The Rescuers, etc.). I was always more interested in music and early tech. We had a Pong, then an Intellivision gaming console, then a couple of early computers, starting from around 1980 when I was 6. Those, and listening to music and playing piano piqued my interest far more than the popular tv and movie properties of the time. Not that I didn’t see some of them, of course. I was a tough crowd and not so easily impressed, just as I remain today.

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  7. Tennessee Budd Avatar
    Tennessee Budd

    Has to be a white girl–you don’t go touchin’ no black woman’s hair!

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  8. Old NFO Avatar
    Old NFO

    Heh, too little, too late. Disney has already poisoned that well many times over.

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  9. Unferth Avatar
    Unferth

    “flaying the old ones and wearing them like skinsuits” … perfect description.

    One of Walt’s nieces is a woke nutcase with lots of shares. I read that she was part of the driving force in destroying the company. Unless they gut lots of management and staff, any change is temporary and not to be trusted.

    As far as intellectual property goes, legally there is basically three types: copyright, trademark, and patent.

    Copyright is some ridiculously long period of time, tied to the creator’s death (or something like 75 years, too lazy to look it up). You don’t need to publish the work to still have it protected, but you do occasionally have to renew the Copyright.

    Trademark has no expiration date, but you do have to actively use it. The idle period is relatively short (2 years?), and you have to actively defend your trademark or potentially lose it (hence “we don’t have Coke, is Pepsi okay?”).

    Patent is 15 years. You are supposed to describe in sufficient detail how to achieve whatever is patented so a skilled person could reproduce it as part of the patent registration process. You do not need to advertise the patent further, nor do you need to defend it. A common tactic by “patent trolls” is to let someone infringe on the patent until they have deep pockets, and then sue them for a large payday.

    I am not a lawyer, but have played near the intellectual property space for too long.

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  10. Avatar
    Anonymous

    If they remake Tangled with a Black actress, shouldn’t they rename it Weave?

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    1. Midwest Chick Avatar
      Midwest Chick

      Anon–It would be more appropriate..

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