Another box office bomb?????

[Peter_noPan]

Is Disney's summer release "Lilo and Stitch" going to be as bad as "Altantic"?

I saw the trailer for this move and am not excited at all in going to see it.

Is it possible to have another summer box office bomb?

If you have seen the trailer also or any other comments on this movie, let me know.

 

[OnWithTheShow]

They have been working on that film at the Studios for over a year (in the guest visible areas) and I think that the film looks to be really fun and interesting with a unique story line. Personally I think it will do well but we will have to wait see, Animation has been very hit or miss lately.

 

[Mickey76]

I think it might be a bomb. I don't have any interest in seeing Disney's version of Pokemon. Maybe there is a good story to it, but in the trailer that I saw in the theater, it didn't look like there is one.

Mickey76

 

[All Aboard]

Another Voice says it shows alot of promise. That gives me hope.

 

[lrodk]

The buzz surrounding Lilo and Stitch has been very positive over the last year. This film has surprised many executives at Burbank, whose expectations of the film were originally luke warm. I'm optimistic that it will do quite well, certainly much better than Atlantis' box office take last year.







.

 

[Luv2Roam]

I think what made that not as popular is it just didn't have cute furry characters that kids love.

 

[All Aboard]

What made it not so popular with my family was its lack of story and character development. To quote JeffJewell, "it's an empty shell of a movie." I concur.

 

[Feralpeg]

The kids I've talked to can't wait to see it. They love the commercials for this film using Beauty, the Beast, Aladdin and Jasmine!

 

[Safari Steve]

Besides involving a smallish furry creature with big eyes who makes funny noises, how is this anything like Pokemon? You may as well call Knight-Rider a copy/clone of Herbie the Love Bug...
A dear friend of mine (who organized and ran the annual animation event 3 years in a row saw the story reels for L&S and said that it was "Priceless." She had the same reaction to the Monsters Inc. reels that she viewed, so I trust her judgement.

 

[Another Voice]

Part of the reason for the ‘Lilo and Stitch’ trailers is to get out the word that this movie is closer in spirit to ‘Beauty’ and ‘Aladdin’ than it is to ‘Atlantis’, but that it’s still a summer. The original release plans was for ‘Lilo’ to come out during the holidays (when people are looking for “softer” movies) and for ‘Treasure Planet’ to be released in the summer (when people are looking for action). But ‘Treasure’ is in a world of hurt and the movies were flopped. Disney’s trying to hype up the “action” content in ‘Lilo’ to make it fit the summer mood.

The story, from what I’ve heard, is very different from any other Disney animated film and seems to have tremendous potential. It certainly seems to, again from what I’ve heard, have a lot of nuances and facets that one doesn’t expect in a Disney flick. It picks up a lot of the themes that ‘Tarzan’ didn’t have the nerve to touch.

This one might have a rough time at the box office for two reasons. First, the competition is going to be fierce. Not only with ‘Star Wars’, but Dreamworks’ ‘Spirit’ will have been released a month early (having won the theater battles thanks to ‘Shrek’). ‘Men in Black 2’, ‘Spiderman’ and a couple other blockbusters will be around as well. Second, even Disney isn’t sure how big of a market there is for “serious” animation is left. Between ‘Atlantis’, ‘Recess’ and ‘Peter Pan 2’ – the market niche for traditional animation has been seriously degraded over the last year. The concept of getting adults-on-dates out the see a traditionally animated movie is fairly hard. Computer animation is for grown-ups, the cartoon stuff is for kids. That’s not my idea, but that’s the “buzz” that’s floating around Hollywood. It even has Dreamworks worried about their movie.

 

[JeffH]

I completely fail to understand this statement.
This certainly wasn't the Atlantis that we saw.
I can't think of a film that had better character development than Atlantis.
Atlantis created, defined and developed almost a dozen characters, including Milo, Kida, the King, and ENTIRE rest of the team. EACH characters backstory (back to childhood for most) was seamlessly (and with humor) worked into the story, EACH character had a distinct and well defined personality, which developed thoughout the film. I have never liked the character of Guido Sarduchi, but I loved what he did with the voice and character of Vinnie.
Character development of this degree (both number and depth) are normally unheard of in todays films.
Tasha loved the characters and we spent hours with them at the meet and greet over the last year (the darker skinned Kida knows us personnally, noticing us during the parades and in passing).
As far as the story goes, it only managed to tell the whole story of Atlantis, the history of the book, and the lifestories of each of the characters.
We found the animation to be quite unique (in a good way), and the action in the vein of an Indiana Jones adventure.
Far from a bomb, it did quite well (except when you consider the cost to make it) in the box office (and after all is done <worldwide box office and video sales>, I'm sure it will make a good profit). If Shrek (loved this film as well) hadn't been out, I'm sure Atlantis would have done much better.

As far as "Lilo and Stitch" being a Pokemon clone...I see know such link?
I've seen Pokemon and its animation is like SouthPark (The Simpsons has better animation than Pokemon). L&S show no such lack of quality.
Everyone here seems so upset over Disney's lack of originality with all the sequels being put out recently, and when they DO create 2 NEW and DIFFERENT characters they are immediately slammed!?!
And as far as the sequels go...the stories are ORIGINAL compared to the remakes that most of the originals were, and in most cases new characters are developed in unison with the established characters.

 

[Lurker]

After two viewings here is my take.

It is a solid piece of entertainment. Very good writing and very rich animation. However, it also has characters and environments that fall outside the "Disney norm" so it does take a little while to acclamate yourself to the fact that this is a Disney movie. Due to this, I feel they are having a hard time marketing the film....it really is a tough movie to put your finger on. That being said, it does have a lot more heart than "Atlantis" and as such, I would predict that it would easily exceed those numbers at the box office. However, I wouldn't predict "Monster" size results from it. A "Mulan" type performance, at around $120M, is probably a good guess at the upper range.

Also, many of you know about the final sequence being re-animated after Sept. 11. For those who don't, I won't reveal any spoilers here but simply say that the revised sequence blends perfectly into the movie...as far as I can see, the movie lost no story impact due to the change.

As for "TP"....once again, it pushes into new territory in both character and place. From all I've seen (much unfinished) is seems pretty solid. My only real problem was with the voice of Jim Hawkins played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt (3rd Rock from the Sun). It was a little dry. Overall, jury is still out. One thing to note: there is a new song in the film by John Rzeznik (Goo Goo Dolls) that is fantastic; Oscar caliber stuff.

"Finding Nemo" - very, very, very solid story. A long way to being finished but looks fantastic thus far.

 

[Testtrack321]

You decide....
http://www.apple.com/trailers/disney/lilo_and_stitch.html

Also, many of you know about the final sequence being re-animated after Sept. 11. For those who don't, I won't reveal any spoilers here but simply say that the revised sequence blends perfectly into the movie...as far as I can see, the movie lost no story impact due to the change.

Could you PM me the stoy there. I would like to know the changes and why they changed them.

Thanks.

 

[raidermatt]

..it (L&S) does have a lot more heart than "Atlantis"

I maintain that this is the key. I just saw Atlantis over the weekend for the first time. I agree with a lot of JeffH's comments. But, it quite simply was not what most people were looking for from Disney. It was a good action-adventure story, but didn't have the strong element of "heart" that most of us expect and want from Disney animated films. I wouldn't mind Disney continuing down the action path as a SUPPLEMENT to their more traditional G-rated "heart" material. I think Atlantis was a good first stab at it. I'm just not sure Disney has the patience right now to hone their skills in this type of animation.

As for L&S, I am looking forward to it at this point. The trailers are interesting, and the comments from AV and now lurker and Steve are encouraging. If it has the Disney heart, and is an interesting story, it can do very well, even in the Summer.

 

[DisOrBust]

I consider our family Disney's target audience with a 4 and a 7 yo. We, as parents, loved being able to go toa family movie and enjoy it as much as our kids. The animated movies that have come out in past few years just aren't as good. I miss the great sound tracks for one. They all seem like cheep tries at recreating the magic of Lion Ling, Addladin etc.... I personally think Walt is rotating in his grave after seeing Peter Pan II and Cinderella II . What next Dumbo and SNow white II.

 

[wvrevy]

I know you were joking with your "What's next Dumbo or Snow White II ?" comment, but you have NO idea how frighteningly correct you are. If you get a chance, check out the special edition DVD of Atlantis. There are trailers on the DVD for SEVERAL sequals, and yes, if I remember correctly, Dumbo was one of them.

I love Disney...But another poster had it right. If Walt could see what has become of his innovative, creative giant of a company, he'd not even recognize it.

Sad. VERY sad.

 

[kamgen]

Dh and I bought Atlantis on DVD sight unseen (it is a Disney film, ya know?). We really liked it. Thought the story was great and we sorry we hadn't seen it sooner.
As for Monsters Inc, we have seen it 3 times! LOVED IT!!! Thought it was one of the best Disney films in years. (Way better than that "so called big hit of 2001 SHREK"..which we hated.)
As for Lilo & Stitch, we got to see some drawings from it on our last trip and have enjoyed the trailers. Looks like a great movie, with new characters and original story.

As for the sequels, what's so wrong with it? The movies they are bringing out again are helping a new generation fall in love with the characters we grew up with. I don't think they should be compared to the originals, just looked at as entertainment.

JMHO.

Kamy

 

[King Triton]

It's hard to tell without seeing the movie. The furry little blue creature looks like something from Japan. I'm getting mixed vibes about this one. The good news is Lilo and Stitch will have some cool Elvis songs. I'm a big Elvis fan. I love Elvis! If the movie is bad, then us older folks will still be tapping our shoes to the notes.

I agree about Walt would be turning over in his grave seeing a Peter Pan II and a Cinderella II. The original Disney animation is missing.....they look more like saturday morning cartoons instead. Disney needs to go back to quality and stop this cookie cutter make a movie fast system. I can hear Walt now...."If you can't do it right, then don't do it."

King Triton