News Round Up 2016

[Disneymom1126]

Jungle Book just seemed like a very bland action movie (purely from the trailer) and I'm not really that big on "realistic" takes on fantasy concepts, just a personal preference. I also happen to be rather fond of the original story (not the movie, the Kipling story) so I don't think it's going to be my thing.

Pete's Dragon... I'm not sure what to make of the trailer really. It certainly seems like it will be very different story.

It would be easy to do another story based on the idea that Elliot goes to help kids that need him...so maybe this is the "new kid that needs Elliot"

 

[jade1]

I may be off on this one.

UPDATED, 12:51 PM: Matinee numbers are rolling in and The Jungle Book is on track right now to gross around $25M today (that includes the impressive $4.2M it brought in last night) for a high $70M three-day gross. The well-reviewed PG-rated adventure film from Disney should pick up steam as the weekend progresses with tomorrow being a strong family moviegoing day. Meanwhile, the PG-13 ratedBarbershop: The Next Cut is still in line with estimates right now for a nice three-day opening in the high $20Ms with a possible shot at $30M. Matinees are said to be playing very strong today and Sunday should see a lesser percentage decline than other films in the marketplace.

 

[luisov]

Someone mentioned that Disney is re-making these movies to secure copyrights. I am not familiar enough with copyright laws and film to determine if that is plausible, however it seemed a reasonable explanation. The studio does appear to be investing heavily. The CGI in Jungle Book isn't cheap stuff.

Most of these properties are public domain these days, so in a certain way, no, Disney cannot stop other studios from using their classic characters. I do think they are basically purchasing every single script they read just so other studios don't buy them first. Disney must have announced a couple dozen of re-makes under production over the last couple of years, but in reality that's not how studios operate. In my opinion they just want people to keep seeing those characters as ''Disney'' characters. Of course, the fact that these films are doing so well in the box office definitely helps.

But I mean, come on, who would watch a live-action film about Prince Charming?

 

[luisov]

News

A look at Frozen live coming to DCA

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...hyperion-at-disney-california-adventure-park/

I actually think this is going to be a really good show. It looks like it will have some really complex backgrounds and lots of technology involved. Definitely on a much bigger scale than the sing-alongs and such.

 

[rteetz]

Interesting note/news

http://recode.net/2016/04/15/disney-espn-mlb-streaming/

 

[rteetz]

News

JJ Abrams gives hint at Rey's parents...

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/he...micCon+(The+Hollywood+Reporter+-+Heat+Vision)

 

[afan]

Most of these properties are public domain these days, so in a certain way, no, Disney cannot stop other studios from using their classic characters. I do think they are basically purchasing every single script they read just so other studios don't buy them first. Disney must have announced a couple dozen of re-makes under production over the last couple of years, but in reality that's not how studios operate. In my opinion they just want people to keep seeing those characters as ''Disney'' characters. Of course, the fact that these films are doing so well in the box office definitely helps.

But I mean, come on, who would watch a live-action film about Prince Charming?

I would. Why does it have to always be about the princess or queen? But not if they make him an idiot like in Enchanted. I would like it more as a cartoon than live action. I haven't seen any of the live action movies because they don't interest me as much. I like the talking animals I also feel like I've already seen the story and am not interested in a rehash with people.

 

[wareagle57]

You are not missing much. It's exactly the same ride in both coasts, except for the stairs room in Florida and the Hatbox Ghost in California. I get that many people still want to see the original attraction, though.

I thought there were major differences. Isn't part of the ride in WDW actually part of the queue in DL? And the stretching room is an elevator on one coast and a raising ceiling on the other.

 

[rteetz]

I thought there were major differences. Isn't part of the ride in WDW actually part of the queue in DL? And the stretching room is an elevator on one coast and a raising ceiling on the other.

The stretching room is an elevator at Disneyland.

 

[wareagle57]

Considering they had to give away tickets for free I think it failed.

I think now that people know how exclusive it really is, it will be more popular. People didn't want to take a 150 dollar gamble that might not be much different than most late nights in MK. I know it's something I would now consider since it would mean riding whatever I want with no wait all night.

 

[wareagle57]

The stretching room is an elevator at Disneyland.

That's right. Because it had to go under the railroad tracks. Or is that Pirates?

 

[rteetz]

That's right. Because it had to go under the railroad tracks. Or is that Pirates?

Train tracks I believe

 

[skier_pete]

I thought there were major differences. Isn't part of the ride in WDW actually part of the queue in DL? And the stretching room is an elevator on one coast and a raising ceiling on the other.

No, there are different locations for some of the effects, but the rides are very similar. The author ghost addition in California is the main difference there. The Florida ride has the upside down stair room that is not in Disneyland. You are right that some minor effects are in the loading area instead of the ride, but it's fairly small differences. There's rides in Disneyland that are hugely different from Florida (pirates, space mountain, tower of Terror) but that isn't one of them

 

[skier_pete]

I have changed my mind. I would definitely consider paying for that It seems like a bargain. This would be a great thing to do on your arrival day, if you arrive later. You could swim in the afternoon, get dinner, and then ride, ride, ride However, I know this won't last

You do realize that $159 is half of the price of a week-long ticket. You can have 4 entire days for what they charge for 3 hours. I suppose if you have little time and lots of money, but no way is that a bargain.

 

[soniam]

You do realize that $159 is half of the price of a week-long ticket. You can have 4 entire days for what they charge for 3 hours. I suppose if you have little time and lots of money, but no way is that a bargain.

It was partly tongue in cheek. However, if you can literally walk onto any ride you want, then it's a pretty good deal. However, I don't think it will stay that way. It will either get crowded or get canceled. It's only a reasonable deal if you can literally walk onto any ride for a few hours.

 

[wareagle57]

You do realize that $159 is half of the price of a week-long ticket. You can have 4 entire days for what they charge for 3 hours. I suppose if you have little time and lots of money, but no way is that a bargain.

Not everyone can swing a full week, and if you have that many park days then it's probably not worth the additional price. But for some people the hotel cost or time off work is what they can't afford. I think it would be a great arrival night of a short 2-3 day trip.

 

[Travis B]

Falkor the Luck Dragon in Neverending Story was hairy so it's not completely unheard of.

The never-ending sto-o-reeeeeee... la la la, la la la, la la la...
Thanks for getting that stuck in my head now.

 

[jlundeen]

The never-ending sto-o-reeeeeee... la la la, la la la, la la la...
Thanks for getting that stuck in my head now.

me too! Love that movie.

 

[Flyerjab]

I may be off on this one.

UPDATED, 12:51 PM: Matinee numbers are rolling in and The Jungle Book is on track right now to gross around $25M today (that includes the impressive $4.2M it brought in last night) for a high $70M three-day gross. The well-reviewed PG-rated adventure film from Disney should pick up steam as the weekend progresses with tomorrow being a strong family moviegoing day. Meanwhile, the PG-13 ratedBarbershop: The Next Cut is still in line with estimates right now for a nice three-day opening in the high $20Ms with a possible shot at $30M. Matinees are said to be playing very strong today and Sunday should see a lesser percentage decline than other films in the marketplace.

For what it is worth, right now The Jungle Book has a 95% critics score and 91% audience score on rottentomatos.com. It has been doing really well up to this point. I am surprised in that I was not anticipating going to see this as the original trailer did not grab my attention at all. However, as each new trailer was released, I found my interesting growing. Now, with the opening weekend reception it is clearly garnering, I definitely want to go see this one.

As far as Pete's Dragon goes, as of now I still have zero interest in going to see it after the teaser was released. And that latest picture of the dragon has me scratching my head as I don't like the look of it, especially having fond memories of watching the original Pete's Dragon as a kid in school.

I really enjoyed Cinderella and Malificent as far as live action remakes are concerned. I always enjoy this transformation of an animated feature into a live action remake as I am interested to see how much of it is truly a remake (Cinderella) or if the story was significantly changed to make the live action translate better on screen (Malificent). The one looming on the horizon that frightens me a bit is the remake of Winnie the Pooh. That has the potential to be a disaster.

 

[Grand Admiral]

You do realize that $159 is half of the price of a week-long ticket. You can have 4 entire days for what they charge for 3 hours. I suppose if you have little time and lots of money, but no way is that a bargain.

"Bargain" is debatable. It doesn't necessarily mean something is cheap. In this case, the bargain isn't the money, it's the time savings from having no lines.

In one of the other threads about this topic, someone made the point that this would be valuable to someone who is stopping over at WDW for a day or two on their way to a cruise. Having access to MK for several hours and being able to walk onto rides would allow someone to maximize their time. Time spent standing in lines is time wasted. That's why so many of us make touring plans and go to the park at rope drop. It's why we use FPs.

I've occasionally paid extra for convenience. Last time we went to WDW we paid to stay at CR on the club level. It's definitely no bargain, but my son was 3. Being able to take a baby monitor to the lounge after his bedtime was valuable to us, as well as being able to take my son there in the morning to get breakfast while my wife got ready. Walking to MK was valuable to us. One afternoon he had a meltdown at MK and we walked back to CR and went swimming. No waiting for buses or long bus rides with a tired and cranky toddler.

Our next trip is a week long, so the evening hours aren't something we would get value from, but I can definitely see the appeal for people who are short on time.