Walt Disney Co. Acquiring Marvel

Jacca5660 · Post by **Jacca5660** » Sep Wed 02, 2009 11:29 am

Maybe instead of the Hall of Presidents we'll have the Hall of Justice!!

elizabethswann · Post by **elizabethswann** » Sep Wed 02, 2009 11:39 am

Wasn't that for the DC comics?

MmeLeota · Post by **MmeLeota** » Sep Wed 02, 2009 11:48 am

It will be interesting to hear what Mr. Iger has to say about this topic at the expo...unfortunately, I won't be there for his address, but I'm sure someone will take notes.

Future Guy · Post by **Future Guy** » Sep Wed 02, 2009 2:55 pm

elizabethswann wrote:Wasn't that for the DC comics?

Yes it was. Superfriends, actually. Marvel has the Avengers' Mansion, though. What I'm really going to hate is the inevitable merchandise featuring Disney characters like Mickey, Minnie, and Donald dressed up as Marvel characters. Spider-Mouse, Invisible Minnie, Iron Goofy, The Punish-Duck. *shudder*

DisBeamer · Post by **DisBeamer** » Sep Wed 02, 2009 7:33 pm

Mr.ToadWildRider wrote:Pixar and Disney characters are kind of like cousins, if not siblings. The only reason they don't fit more seamlessly into the parks is because of how Disney has integrated them. Toy Story Mania works, why? Not just because it's awesome but because it's in DHS and even more now that they made a land for Pixar (which is exactly what they should have done to begin with). Laugh Floor Inc. and The Seas with Nemo don't work. Why? Well aside from the Nemo ride being a crap-fest (sorry fans if you even exist) itâ€™s the placement. They jammed Nemo into a place you shouldn't or wouldn't expect to see him. Futureworld.

You've pretty much hit the nail on the head in terms of the source my personal vitriol when it comes to the Pixarification of the parks. If they'd been smart about it, I think a lot of Pixar content could have been big, big pluses to the parks rather than the ... well, let's not sugar coat it, crapfest that we have now.

The Muppets are very well integrated into MGM (DHS, whatever). They were also, as has been pointed out by others here, integrated a long time before the current regime came into power - for lack of less dramatic terminology. If they'd been acting responsibly with the integration of Pixar for the last ten years then I'd be over the moon at the concept of them incorporating Marvel (I would so buy a little Donald!Wolverine...). They haven't, and that's why I'm currently extremely skeptical about the notion that this won't be fumbled as well.

I'd love for them to prove me wrong, and as I said in my previous post, if their plan is to use the currently very hot properties Marvel as they are to rake in more cash, more power to them. The red flag to me is:

Captain Schnemo wrote:
agingerbugg wrote:Okay, why is everyone thinking Disney is going to stuff the characters in the parks?
Maybe because Iger is talking about it.

Is he just blue-skying? Maybe. But they've obviously considered the possibility, and have proven in recent years that they're okay with cramming properties into places irrespective of theming if it appeals to their consumer base - with the emphasis on dollars, not experience.

yodiwan1 wrote:I would never believe a community of Disney followers would be so closed minded about something new to add.

If they were to go the route of a separate area within MGM (DHS..), a la Muppets or (when they had them back there) the Power Rangers, I think they have the opportunity to do some really cool stuff with this acquisition - and hopefully I will be able to buy my little WolverDonald. If I head into Tomorrowland some day and see a Wolverine/Colossus fastball special-themed Dumbo-type ride, the first aid station will need to provide me with complimentary Valium.

I don't begrudge them trying to make a buck, but I am wistful for the days they seemed more able to do it without compromising what they already have.

elizabethswann · Post by **elizabethswann** » Sep Wed 02, 2009 7:56 pm

Future Guy wrote:Spider-Mouse, Invisible Minnie, Iron Goofy, The Punish-Duck. *shudder*

I'm not going to lie, I would like to see how they would pull that off...

Soarin08 · Post by **Soarin08** » Sep Wed 02, 2009 8:36 pm

Future Guy wrote: What I'm really going to hate is the inevitable merchandise featuring Disney characters like Mickey, Minnie, and Donald dressed up as Marvel characters. Spider-Mouse, Invisible Minnie, Iron Goofy, The Punish-Duck. *shudder*

No no no no no!!!!!!!!

Just NO!

disneylizzy · Post by **disneylizzy** » Sep Wed 02, 2009 9:16 pm

I think it just depends on if/how the characters are added.

If you're like me, you're automatically thinking of the theming in Universal and imagining that in one of the Disney parks which would be terrible.

We just have to wait and see

Captain Schnemo · Post by **Captain Schnemo** » Sep Thu 03, 2009 5:04 am

Robert Iger wrote:Marvel characters have already proven to be strong in terms of theme park attraction and we believe there are a lot of opportunities around the world, not in every one of our parks because there are some existing agreements that we obviously have to honor, but in a number of places for us to use the Marvel characters to basically help us grow our theme park business and better entertain people.

In English, that's "We will cram Spider-Man everywhere legally possible."

(Sounds like the sort of thing that would make Spider Sense tingle.)

Anyway, I read somewhere that Universal has rights to Marvel stuff east of the Mississippi, but it didn't explicitly say "exclusive" rights. The statement didn't make sense without that implication, though, so I suppose that's what it means. If you trust the people who write news articles.

Which you shouldn't. About anything.

PureDisney · Post by **PureDisney** » Sep Thu 03, 2009 9:09 am

My son is terrified about what Disney will do to the Marvel characters. He's afraid they will be all "goody goody" I told him that Disney is not stupid and they will not do anything to change the branding of these characters. I think it was a smart business move.

Future Guy · Post by **Future Guy** » Sep Thu 03, 2009 10:07 am

What really worries me here is that the Marvel characters are simply not compatible with the family-friendly atmosphere that Disney parks try to cultivate. I can't think of any "hero" characters who have a personal code against killing the way Superman and Batman do. Heck, many of them (Wolverine and Punisher, for example) are beloved by comic book fanboys precisely because they won't hesitate to kill someone if they think it's necessary. And overall, the Marvel characters are a violent and dysfunctional lot. Ant-Man is a wife-beater. Ultimates Hulk actually eats people. Tony Stark is an alcoholic. Ultimate Quicksilver and his twin sister Scarlet Witch are in an incestuous relationship. I could go on.

Since I seriously doubt that Disney will actually let this stuff into their parks, what we'll actually get will probably be something like the presence of the Power Rangers at DHS. That, and lots of merchandise.

Jacca5660 · Post by **Jacca5660** » Sep Thu 03, 2009 10:49 am

PureDisney wrote:My son is terrified about what Disney will do to the Marvel characters. He's afraid they will be all "goody goody" I told him that Disney is not stupid and they will not do anything to change the branding of these characters. I think it was a smart business move.

Did you really tell your son that "Disney is NOT STUPID"? We shouldn't lie to our children like that!! LOL

Future Guy · Post by **Future Guy** » Sep Thu 03, 2009 11:37 am

^ Well, they're no stupider than any other gigantic multinational corporation

Jacca5660 · Post by **Jacca5660** » Sep Thu 03, 2009 11:43 am

True!! ;+>

kcarts · Post by **kcarts** » Sep Thu 03, 2009 3:49 pm

Since Toy Story Mania opened up in DHS, I see Buzz Lightyear being transformed into something Marvel-ish in Tomorrowland. That and the Monster's Inc attraction. Those two areas seem to roll over quite a bit with whatever Disney is trying to sell at the time. Now it would seem that something from Marvel would slide right in there so that they can capitalize on the new acquisition.