Marvel Princesses

[diello]

Everyone's going bat-shit crazy over this whole Marvel/Disney union. But it's not a big deal! People think this means no more bloody scenes, no more battling Nazis, no more zombie heroes, no more awesome action sequences. People think this means more frilly dresses, more censorship, more fuzzy-wuzzy bunnie-wunnies and rainbows, more family-friendly super heroes.

Not true. Not even a little true.

I've been trying to explain to people that this isn't a bad thing. Disney are not as evil as everyone thinks (though, exactly 6 years ago, I dispatched the word about Disney being against 2-parent families).

Disney went into a partnership with one of my favourite comic book companies (Slave Labor Graphics) in 2005, and they haven't changed a bit. Except that now, some of my favourite artists and writers are taking on comic book versions of Disney trademarks (like Wonderland, Tron, Gargoyles, and The Haunted Mansion).

Oh, relatedly! The lovely Serena Valentino (of GloomCookie / Nightmares and Fairytales fame) just published a Disney novel called "Fairest of All". Everyone should buy it. It's nice :)

Anyway, it's never a good feeling to hear when Disney buys a company we know and love, but if they can help produce films like Kill Bill, if they can put out a movie directed by David Lynch, then there's still hope. They're NOT going to dull down comic books. They're not going to change anything except themselves. Probably install a few new rides at Disney World, make some tv shows, then extra product placement... They'll even get in some more comic books into the mainstream.

They've both expanded their demographic. The only ones this purchase will hurt are the shareholders. And it won't be forever.


We all gotta eat... lobster dinners ;)



Firms you might not have known are owned by Disney:

Touchstone Pictures
Hollywood Pictures
Miramax Films
DreamWorks
Buena Vista International
ABC Inc.
HULU
Lifetime Television
A&E Network
The History Channel
The Biography Channel
ESPN

And more.

Comments

[alana-ash.livejournal.com]

I'm happily looking forward to Warren Ellis doing a Science Fiction Lord of the Flies with Huey, Dewey, and Louie.

[diello.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Now I have to change my underpants ;)
But Warren is primarily DC/IDW/Avatar these days, isn't he?

[alana-ash.livejournal.com]

I'm mostly buying his Avatar stuff, so I'm not sure, but Warren will write for anyone with a checkbook that gives him a relative amount of latitude within whatever genre he's working in.

[diello.livejournal.com]

True that... have you heard about his anime shit? Ugh.
You should check out Fell with art by Ben Templesmith. It's a good one :)
So's Ben's Wormwood.

[alana-ash.livejournal.com]

I'm familiar with both Snowtown and everyone's favorite strip club attending inter dimensional corpse. ;)

[meow-tan.livejournal.com]

The problem with Marvel now being owned by Disney, is that the movies will now be produced under the Disney label, and not those. T_T I'm afraid Disney might try to "tone down" the movies. Disney obviously bought Marvel because they have zero things for their boys line, and a bunch for the girls. So you know they want to target the young kid demographic as well. :( I fear for the movies more than anything else.

[diello.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, this is a clear shot for the young boys demographic, but as for the movies, I have no fears. Like I said, if they can produce Kill Bill, there's still hope for keeping the movies the way they are meant to be... plus, no Marvel movies have been made past a PG-13 level anyway.

[diello.livejournal.com]

Oh pfft... except Punisher, and I think Blade.

[pax_athena]

I don't know what to think about it (especially since I'm kind of more into DC lately as far as mainstream goes), but I don't like consolidations in general. It will all end up with one great monopolist or so :( (I hope not ... )

[diello.livejournal.com]

I hope not, too. I'm definitely a DC girl. Batman (well, Joker, more) and Sandman... *sigh* Oh Sandman ;)
I hope Disney will NOT buy DC, just because the mere thought of it sickens me a little too much.

[pelethetart.livejournal.com]

For many of the people I know it has nothing to do with being toned down or made to be more kid friendly, because that isn't at all what D wants.

I understand this from both perspectives.
Marvel, and honestly the history of comics, is very US-centric and it has had a wretched time breaking into an international market. Marvel is going to use Disney clout and marketing strength to broaden its international audience.

Disney needs something to fill in the male Tween gap it's had for decades. Personally, I don't think this is the answer but it's worth a try.

The issue is Disney does tend to PC things and change things based on the market, not just do it's thing. Comics have always gone their own way and done their own thing, regardless of what fans wanted or thought. It's one of the awesome things about them.
Disney has had massive power clashes about creative liberties and budgets in the past. They effectively ran the Weinstein brothers (who started and operated Miramax in the 70's) out of the company in 2005 because they kept limiting the budgets and the creative direction of Miramax.
That's not to say that Disney put out crap under that name, but it didn't stay true to the arthouse nature and the increasing budgets the Weinsteins were building.

There is a very good chance of this happening with comics. Disney's push and direction is audio-visual. Comics don't fall into that. They are after the movies, the cartoons and shows that have revived the Marvel name over the years. Comics are the smallest portion of the monetary intake for the company, and honestly, I am in agreement with those who think that over time Disney will phase down the budget and push on creating comics in favor of more "entertainment friendly" options. They are out to appeal to the widest audience for the most money possible. That is simply not comics.

Hopefully they will prove us doubters wrong- but Miramax, ABC (whose focus wasn't always so "family" in scope, and who also suffered horribly for years after the purchase) and a few of their other subsidiaries have proven otherwise.