Big Hero 6

[ibrmacf]

Will "Big Hero 6" be part of the Disney Canon or will it be released by another branch of Disney Animation? It just seems weird for a Marvel comic book movie to be part of the Disney Canon!

[EricJ]

It's a mostly self-contained side story and not really "part" of the Marvel Canon (except for Silver Samurai, who will likely be written out, contingent on whether he shows up in "The Wolverine"), which is why Disney picked it for "their" movie.
That, and to silence the whole "Will Disney do Marvel? Will Pixar animate The Avengers?" crossover-happy fanboy rumor mill, by just doing it once for the experience.

And because the stereotype-gag "Wacky in-joking spoof of J-pop culture" appealed to John Lasseter, even if it'd been an original story. He'd wanted to get more of it into Cars 2, but there just wasn't time, and if someone hadn't already come up with the idea, he'd have probably done it himself by now.

[Bill1978]

That doesn't answer the question about whether it will be an official part of the Disney Canon

[Ben]

Looks like it'll just be an animated Marvel movie released by Disney, but not animated by Feature Animation/WDAS.

But Eric's obviously involved not only in the production, and not only with Disney's strategy but also, it seems, in the inner-workings of John Lasseter's actual brain (!), so he's probably best primed to tell us more about what Disney has planned, and why, for the next seven years or more.

[TitusTodd]

Disney has a "canon"? What exactly is it and why is it important to know whether or not Big Hero 6 will be part of it? I've never considered Disney to have a "canon".

Marvel does have a canon, however, with most of its characters having crossover connections and existing in a common "universe" for the most part. Marvel characters have extensive back stories and interactions.

Disney is releasing a movie based on a Marvel story that has very little interconnection with the rest of the Marvel universe. That doesn't remove its Marvelness and doesn't permanently affix it to Disney's many disconnected casts of characters.

[ibrmacf]

The Disney Canon aka The Disney Animated Classics refer to all the animated movies produced and distributed by Walt Disney Feature Animation from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" to its most recent addition, "Wreck-It Ralph". These are the animated films that are worked on SOLELY by Disney's animated department and doesn't include animated Disney films made by or co-made with other companies (i.e. Pixar films, DisneyToon Studios films, Frankenweenie, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Gnomeo and Juliet, The Wild, etc.).

I find it important, or at least interesting, to know whether "Big Hero 6" is part of the Canon (well, it's now been officially confirmed to be) because the Disney Canon are the films that come to mind, or SHOULD come to mind, when one thinks of animated Disney films.

Check here for more info about Disney's theatrical animated movies: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney_canon

The first section, "Walt Disney Animation Studios" refers to the Disney Canon.

[Macaluso]

It looks like Big Hero 6 IS being made by WDFA?

edit:

"Although Big Hero 6 will be produced solely by Walt Disney Animation Studios, several members of Marvel's creative team will be involved in the film's production including Joe Quesada, Marvel's chief creative officer.[11] Regarding the film's story, Quesada stated, "The relationship between Hiro and his robot has a very Disney flavor to it...but it’s combined with these Marvel heroic arcs"

[Ben]

Yep, surprisingly it's a Disney Animation Studios release: when released it will be the latest film in the "canon" that started with Snow White.

I'm not sure of the "authenticity" here: I'm racking my brain to think if Disney has ever made a film from someone else's property...the nearest one I can think of being Tarzan.

I'm not sure what to think: on the plus side this is a lesser-known Marvel property, so in a way it's like it doesn't even matter that it's Marvel, it could just be a property that Disney liked and wanted to make a movie from, like Tarzan. But on the other hand, it does feel a bit like the Disney Animation brand - a brand that should be recognized as a brand or franchise just like Marvel or Pixar is - is being "loaned out" or simply used for the better of another company division.

The end result may feel like the movie isn't really a Disney film or a Marvel movie, which is why I also think Pixar took their name off John Carter, since it wasn't an original property. Then *again* there are lots of books and stories that Disney has adapted from other sources, from the fairy tales to novels. In a way this is a bit like this, but my slight concern is that this will be Disney doing a Marvel comic, not that this movie is the Disney version of a Marvel comic like all of the other translations have been.

[ibrmacf]

I too am not satisfied that this film will be part of the Disney Canon. To me, it feels like if Disney would make an animated "Star Wars" movie and be part of the Canon. It just doesn't seem authentic. Oh well, what can we do?

[James]

Yep, surprisingly it's a Disney Animation Studios release: when released it will be the latest film in the "canon" that started with Snow White.

I'm not sure of the "authenticity" here: I'm racking my brain to think if Disney has ever made a film from someone else's property...the nearest one I can think of being Tarzan...

I assume you mean "from someone else's property" created within our lifetimes? Otherwise just about everything would qualify! And not just the fairy tales. Oliver and Company, The Great Mouse Detective, Winnie the Pooh, Treasure Planet, The Jungle Book, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan...

The thing that might be most analogous to this case is Meet the Robinsons.

[EricJ]

I'm not sure of the "authenticity" here: I'm racking my brain to think if Disney has ever made a film from someone else's property...the nearest one I can think of being Tarzan...

I assume you mean "from someone else's property" created within our lifetimes? Otherwise just about everything would qualify! And not just the fairy tales. Oliver and Company, The Great Mouse Detective, Winnie the Pooh, Treasure Planet, The Jungle Book, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan...
The thing that might be most analogous to this case is Meet the Robinsons.

Depending on how long you define a "lifetime", but Great Mouse Detective, The Black Cauldron, The Rescuers, Robinsons, Princess & the Frog and Mulan (credited as based on the Robert San Souci picture book) are all from are all from 60's-70's and beyond.
And even The Lion King, if you want to get nasty about it.

[James]

I meant someone else's property created before most people today were born. So not counting fairy tales and the like: Sherlock Holmes, Oliver Twist, Peter Pan, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Treasure Island, etc. I think Meet the Robinsons is the most recently created original property made into a Disney canon movie.

[Ben]

I guess y'all missed this:

Then *again* there are lots of books and stories that Disney has adapted from other sources, from the fairy tales to novels.

What I was trying to get at was them basing a movie on something more akin to its own franchise. Robinsons may be the most recent, but it was again just another book, like Great Mouse Detective and The Rescuers before it.

Tarzan was the best example I could find: a property that existed long before Disney made it popular (which, it can be argued, they have done for many other stories and books). Tarzan, with its many adaptations, sequels and merchandising is the closest I can think of in it being a franchise (as is the Marvel brand) in itself, hence why the copyright was assigned as "Disney and ERB".

This one will be the same, probably, along the lines of "(c) Disney, all Marvel characters and elements (c) Marvel". Again, Tarzan is the only animated film in the "canon" where the copyright hasn't purely been Disney's, and where they share the proceeds.


Which reminds me: it's amusing to think that, after DreamWorks Animation just bought Classic Media, that a good percentage of Disney's profits for The Lone Ranger will end up with that company if the movie is a hit. Disney should have jumped in there: several of their live-action comedies in the 1990s were based on Classic Media characters and, although they weren't all big hits, any monies generated by those films will have to be shared with DreamWorks Animation!

[Macaluso]

I meant someone else's property created before most people today were born. So not counting fairy tales and the like: Sherlock Holmes, Oliver Twist, Peter Pan, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Treasure Island, etc. I think Meet the Robinsons is the most recently created original property made into a Disney canon movie.

Wreck-it Ralph? Despite having tons of cameos from actual video game characters the story wasn't based on a preexisting story.

Also Bolt

[James]

...a property that existed long before Disney made it popular (which, it can be argued, they have done for many other stories and books). Tarzan, with its many adaptations, sequels and merchandising is the closest I can think of in it being a franchise (as is the Marvel brand) in itself...

I knew you couldn't mean what it sounded like you meant!

I meant someone else's property created before most people today were born. So not counting fairy tales and the like: Sherlock Holmes, Oliver Twist, Peter Pan, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Treasure Island, etc. I think Meet the Robinsons is the most recently created original property made into a Disney canon movie.

Wreck-it Ralph? Despite having tons of cameos from actual video game characters the story wasn't based on a preexisting story.

Also Bolt

Looks like I didn't do a good job of being clear in what I meant either! I meant an "original property" owned by someone else and then adapted by Disney.