Cars 2

[EricJ]

"Over"? Uh, by that logic, wouldn't it already have been "over" when Monsters, Inc. and Cars 1 didn't win BA either?
(Also due to rampaging audience manias at the time. Would we have given it to Shrek 1 or Happy Feet 1 today, if given a cooler-headed choice?...Possible, but doubtful.)

Another wishful Fox-News gold-panning for "The First Pixar Flop", jumping in right from the headlines. (There are a lot of folks wishing for it, and not just the grumblers on the Animation Guild blog)--
We will know there will always be two diehard crusades that will never die: One, to see Pixar win Best Picture, and the other, to finally see That First Big Flop, and prove that Pixar makers are human beings just like all the other studios that make flops, the big snooty sanctimonious stuck-up jerks....We must prove they can bleed!

(Especially when you consider that half of the tantrums at the moment are fans kicking and screaming that Cars 2 wasn't going to the next Best Picture nomination in a row....Oh, boo-freakin'-hoo! Let's burn down the studio, while we're at it!)

Many have placed their money on Rango for BAF this year, but personally I think KFP 2 has a shot as well. It got very good reviews even if it had a lackluster domestic gross, and the look was absolutely incredible.

Rango has cult status, but...it's still just too danged ugly to be mainstream, and Jack Black's betting money is still safe not betting on KFP2. (Puss is more likely to get the studio push.)
As to "Will Cars 2 be nominated?" the answer's, um...yes. Not for Best Picture this time around (live with it), but BA is as much a technical category as an open one, it's voted on by industry professionals, and Pixar did bring the technical quality. The awards, are, after all, not based on reviews, which will come as a surprise to the LA Times author. (And a complaint frequently brought up about the Picture winners.)
In fact, I fail to see his point beyond "It's not going to be nominated because I didn't like it!"

Now, the real question is, who's going to be the traditional "Obscure critics-favorite arthouse-breakout" this year, like "The Illusionist" or "Secret of the Kells"? Whoever it is, they already have a slot reserved.

[Dacey]

"Puss" is more likely to get the push from DW? Since when? KFP 2 was far better reviewed, and is almost unanimously considered the better movie.

And I think (and hope) that "Rango" has a very good chance.

[droosan]

Now, the real question is, who's going to be the traditional "Obscure critics-favorite arthouse-breakout" this year, like "The Illusionist" or "Secret of the Kells"? Whoever it is, they already have a slot reserved.

I was hoping it would be A Monster in Paris ..



.. it's currently playing in France, and is getting great reviews.

But there's been no word yet on an early 'Oscar-qualifying' theatrical run in Los Angeles (as both The Secret of Kells and The Illusionist had).

[Bill1978]

(Also due to rampaging audience manias at the time. Would we have given it to Shrek 1 or Happy Feet 1 today, if given a cooler-headed choice?...Possible, but doubtful.)

Out of the options presented for each of those years - I would still give the Golden Man to Shrek over Monsters Inc and Jimmy Neutron. I would also give it to Happpy Feet over Cars and Monster House

[Ben]

Finally caught up with Cars 2...and far from what I was expecting, I hated it...

http://animatedviews.com/2011/cars-2-blu-ray-combo/

[Randall]

I haven't seen it, and am not in any hurry, based on your review and comments my brother made to me ("Well, you might like if if you like Mater...")

Though Cars grew on me, I was also always bothered by the lack of internal logic, and I can't stand bumpkin characters like Mater. I'll have to see Cars 2 eventually, but I'm fine not owning a copy.

[ShyViolet]

Patrick Goldstein of the LA times said Lassetter might have been too distracted from directing because of running Pixar, but I think running Pixar AND WDAS AND Disney Imagineering probably took its toll on him. I think he's being spread too thin.

[Ben]

Personally, I don't think he was that involved early on and, like TS2, suddenly be came aware of how off-track the movie was under the original director very late and came in to "save" it. Whereas a total revamp worked for TS2, I guess they didn't have enough time (remember he was only announced a few months before release as director) to really fix all the major elements and only ended up making sure the new "co-director" (why not just have two directors' names?) Brad Lewis was miffed enough to leave Pixar entirely. This just doesn't have Lasseter's fingers on it enough to feel like "his" film, and I bet Lewis has a few tales to tell...

[Vernadyn]

I don't like Disney's recent trend of only including the bonus features disc with the 3D edition. I assumed Pirates of the Caribbean 4 just had lame features when I got the non-3D Blu-ray, but then I learned that all the special features came only with the 3D package. Unfortunate that Cars 2 is continuing this trend, though I probably won't be buying it anyway. But it doesn't bode well for any future releases.

[GeorgeC]

Digital Copies (the iPod versions) are also being packed almost exclusively with the 3D editions of Disney films.

It's been going on for a while... at least since Tangled was released on home video this past year.

I don't personally think the 3D editions are selling that well for the most part --- $15-$20 premium for just a stupid 3D Blu ray disc????? -- but who knows what Disney is thinking to begin with.

This is a company that is still bothering to release SKU's for both DVD + Blu ray AND Blu ray + DVD releases when the only difference between the two many times is the color of the outer packaging and order of the discs in the container!

We'll see... These guys are committed to 3D even though the majority of us are still very skeptical about the home editions.

[Ben]

You know, I didn't even realise that until after I wrote my Pirates review. I wasn't sure with Cars 2 but guessed it was the same deal.

Pretty poor show from Disney, but then again that's how they got us all over to Blu-ray, right? I'm not suggesting that everyone will rush out to buy 3D, but we will buy the discs with the features on them and then Disney can say their 3D discs are selling more.

No-one's buying them for the 3D, but it makee their figures look good.

[GeorgeC]

I'm still upset over the fact that Disney is converting older films to 3D format... At least the better-known 1990's films. And there are reasons why they are doing this that have to do with the personal greed of some of the executives but that's more speculation on my part --- but it was speculation informed by a past teacher who was in the industry.

IF Disney Home Video really is putting specific special features into 3D-only bundles that have NOTHING to do with 3D itself, bad on them.

I hope it blows up in their faces. I'm certainly NOT liking the mentality of the people who program Disney home video releases.

This is bad form and a spit in the eye of the collectors that have bought a bunch of films on multiple formats.

The fact that Disney is charging so much extra for just a 3D Blu ray disc sickens me. I've seen other companies' packages that are far more competitively-priced. Fact is, that in general, other companies' regular Blu ray packs are on average $5-$10 LESS than Disney's.

This fact of Disney home video pricing has bugged me since the DVD days...

Current-era Disney is NOTHING like the Disney that was run post-Walt. Post-Walt Disney were not scrounging around trying to figure out ways to nickel-and-dime Disney afficionados and families with children. Current Di$ney is not even trying to compete with other companies in pricing because they KNOW the hardcore fans will STILL pay "for Disney" regardless of the pricing. Kids will BUG their parents to death for Disney product unless the parents are budget-conscious AND have been smart enough not to let their kids watch everything on TV. Disney programming is insidious nowadays with the "buy, buy" mentality that's built around the TV shows now -- **not to mention the anti-parental authority that's almost always written into the current tween and family series shows on the Disney networks.**

Pay attention to this stuff, folks. There's a huge difference between the Disney of Today versus The Company as it was pre-takeover by Eisner and cronies and post-1984. There are reasons why there are a lot of us that prefer Walt-era entertainment. I've had huge, huge problems with a lot of the programming on the Di$$ channels that has nothing to do with the acting ability of the young kids on those shows...

[droosan]

Disney has always been something of a 'premium' studio .. even back when Walt was alive.

Their short cartoons were never made available for syndication on television; they were only seen on Disney's own shows (The Mickey Mouse Club, The Wonderful World of Disney, etc). Ditto for most of their live-action film catalogue.

The Disney Channel was a 'pay-TV' channel for nearly 15 years .. and was much better for it, IMHO .. their focus on 'tweens' ( a buzzword I rather loathe, BTW) didn't begin until after it became a basic cable channel. In the 1980s especially, the Disney Channel was a true family network .. with a variety of programming to interest all ages.

And on video, Disney titles have always been 'higher-priced' than average .. even on VHS, and especially on Laserdisc (though, some of the 'higher-end' Disney LD boxed sets were well worth their cost). Most 'extras' were only available on Disney Laserdisc titles in the 1990s, as well.

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I have no interest in '3D-TV' tech, for myself .. but a co-worker of mine who is an 'early adopter' has purchased one, and he showed it off to me with a viewing of Tangled on Blu-ray 3D -- which, I must admit, does look incredible.


As for Disney withholding 'bonus feature' content for Blu-ray 3D only ..

If the tactic is determined to be hurting their video sales, they'll eventually come back to 'plain-vanilla' Blu-ray.

Besides, that'll give them a 'quintuple-dip' opportunity: "New Ultra-Titanium edition! WITH bonus features, this time!!"

[Bill1978]

FInally caved in and bought the DVD this weekend. Now just need to cave in and actually watch the feature. I have watched Air Mater and was not amused, Mater annoyed me which does not bode well for the feature. Hawaii Vacation though made me chuckle a number of times.

[GeorgeC]

Droo,

I saw Tangled in theater in 3D and I wasn't impressed...

Films are supposed to be at their best with state-of-the-art projection but what I saw was murky, dark, and desaturated color. I know the spiel about bad projector settings and amateur projectionists...

It was NOT a good demonstration of "must-have" technology.

Ditto for "The Nightmare Before Christmas 3D" which was among the first post-production 3D conversions. Again, poor 3D projection and just a mess to look at. Projecting characters amidst flat planes --- same old 3D proclaimed as fixed and better than ever... NOT! (Actually worse IMHO because of the color desaturation and increased fuzziness.)

IF the studios really cared, the memos would have been passed on from the studios and we'd all have had "better theatrical 3D experiences." The reports coming back from many people like me can't all be because of improper projection and poor theater personnel training. There are serious limitations with digital 3D and the powers-that-be have to be aware of this. However, because they are businessmen with a concern for only the bottomline the final product suffers for it and is mediocre... not that most of these 3D films didn't have bad scripting, direction, and mediocre acting to begin with!

There was a time when you could count on getting unedited releases of classic feature films from Disney and have an expectation that new technology in movies would be utilized well and serve to enhance the moviegoing experience instead of detracting from it. They spent their money well and with few exceptions didn't censor their past or try to disassociate from Walt's legacy like they've been hell-bent on doing for at least 15 years now...

Nowadays, when you would think such "learned businessmen" (aka hacks) would be frugal, they STILL throw away hundreds of millions of dollars at temporary short-term fixes. And the wrong people -- the MBA's and their cronies -- are NOT being fired for running studios and development offices so poorly.

My goodness... The studios were much better when they were NOT run by Ivy League graduates or rich kids who got into the business solely through family connections! When cronyism becomes the norm, that's when things go downhill in any arena. Mediocrity and cronyism have direct correlations. There just too many historical and political examples that support that point.

*************

The whole 3D experience has a feeling of slapped together with mostly little thought (I'll give Cameron some props but the Avatar story still sounds awful) and a rush to cash in with a "revived NEW fad" (look, it's digital and digital's better! NOT!) when we all know the real problem with Hollywood are bad stories, unsympathetic characters, and a torrent of remakes and sequels that are keeping all but the most rabid movie theater zombies home.

It also doesn't hurt that basic home theater equipment has gotten so good since mid-level DVD players hit market that there's little incentive to go to multiplexes in the first place!


*********

I'll be honest... The collector in me is screwed up on what versions of some of the Blu ray sets to get. In some cases, it's real easy -- I skipped the Lion King "drum/chest" set because I don't care for its sequels and don't see the point in a BD upgrade for anything but the original film...

In other cases... Oh boy, am I scratching my head and trying NOT to base all my decisions solely on cost!!!! Unfortunately, my experience with "limited editions" and "premium sets" has been mostly negative in the recent past and saving that $15, $20, or more by getting the "regular edition" doesn't feel so bad.