Category: Movies

Disney just cannot win with remakes.

Most folks who are into movies like good movies, and dislike bad movies. If a movie is a remake, and is good, folks like this may like it. If the movie is an original, but is bad, folks like this may dislike it.

Then there are the haters that simply hate something because it is a remake, regardless of if it is a good movie or a bad movie.

Disney has put out a number of live action remakes of their animated films. Some have done better at the box office than the original animated version, and others have … not.

When a remake happens, and the content is changed too much from the original, some folks will dislike it. It could be simple — “why is her hair straight?” — or more involved — “why did they completely leave out the dragon? he was a major part of the original!”

With the live action Moana being discussed, early reviews of it I have watched have not criticized it for changing things too much … but … for making it so close to the original it falls into the “what’s the point” category.

Honestly, I think I am on the side of “make it like the original” unless there is some universally hated aspect of the original that a remake could fix. You know the types… “I loved everything about this movie except the ending.” A remake could change the ending and, perhaps, make people happier.

But for Disney, if they change too much, haters hate. If they make it too close to the original, solving that issue, apparently haters hate.

Which reminds me of Wargames…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpmGXeAtWUw

Darned if you do, darned if you don’t.

Good luck, Disney!

Wizard of Oz at The Sphere is Las Vegas

Wizard of Oz at The Sphere in Las Vegas is an interesting attraction. It would fit right at home with classic Disneyland/World, though on a scale you could never do inside a theme park. It was very much like one of the Disney 4-D theater attractions, except instead of a 3-D movie, you see a huge surrounding dome image and “real” theater effects. There is wind, blowing “leaves” (paper), falling (foam) apples, flying monkeys (yep, a really cool drone thing) as well as some huge butterflies that fly around during one of the sequences. Add to that fog and fire and lighting effects and you have something far beyond just seeing an old movie upscaled and “special edition-ed” to fit a dome screen.

And, the seats also vibrate.

One real clever thing they do is project this on the dome as you are entering the theater:

The Sphere – Las Vegas

I wish I had not already know about this. The transition from what appears to be a stage with a curtain and speakers hanging around to this…

The Sphere – Las Vegas

…us truly a “wow” moment.

When I get some time, I will write up some thoughts about it from a theme park perspective. It was quite the unique experience.

More to come…

Haunted Mansion product placement

Haunted Mansion, not to be confused with The Haunted Mansion (2003), opened in theaters today. Since most of the movie is set in the mansion, product placement was not as easy to do. Watch for verbal references to:

  • Zillow – there really is a Zillow listing for this mansion, a very clever movie tie in.
  • Amazon – though perhaps just a joke…
  • CVS – This one was blatant. The medium brings out a notepad and says that she got it at CVS.
  • COSTCO – I forget where this was mentioned.
  • Burger King – a Burger King fry bag is passed around in a car, and references are made to its contents.

What others did you notice? Please leave a comment and I will update the list.