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About LinkBacksWhatever else one may say about the Disney Corporation, the notion that it would purposely try to submarine its own merchandise sales is a myth.Originally Posted by Malin
Whatever else one may say about the Disney Corporation, the notion that it would purposely try to submarine its own merchandise sales is a myth.
"With the acquisition of Marvel and now of Lucasfilm,
Disney may have finally found the grail. You don't need
imagination or art. All you need is a brand."
- Neil Gabler
I'm not too convinced with that. This "One Disney" initiative has me questioning if WDW which has up to now been far more aggressive in its approach in pushing Duffy and are the ones that want to make money out of the Bear while the Disneyland team are just following behind going with the flow and not caring if it becomes a suscess or not.
Disney can (and has) blown financial and creative opportunities and shot itself in the foot with the same bureaucratic, often toxic, interdivisional politics that plague many large corporations. But purposeful submarining of a merch launch? Not a chance. If there's money to be made, everyone hits the dance floor, whether they like the tune or not.
Meaning no disrespect to Duffy fans, they should remember in their frustration with Disney not doing right by the bear, that many people think the bear is a dumb idea -- generic, uninspired, insipid and faddish. If those folks are consumers, it translates into lack of purchasing. If they're Disney management, it translates into lack of inspiration -- which means awaiting marching orders from higher up the chain.
Remember too that in toys and consumer fads (and Duffy is both), what markets well overseas doesn't automatically guarantee the same in the U.S. Nobody's going to risk a big domestic push on an essentially Oriental toy fad without plenty of domestic testing data -- nor should they.
Last edited by Mr Wiggins; 12-18-2010 at 05:34 PM.
"With the acquisition of Marvel and now of Lucasfilm,
Disney may have finally found the grail. You don't need
imagination or art. All you need is a brand."
- Neil Gabler
A couple of days away with the family and I see the Duffy thread exploded including a few tizzy fits about other people's opinions being "personal insults." Wow, the polorizing power of Duffy. Anyway...I do honestly hope that Duffy fans enjoy him, and i will keep my own opinion about the "character"...if some take that somehow as an insult, that's your problem, not mine.
I also have to say I find some Duffy fans waaaaaay too sensative in the fact that I see a separate "Duffy thread" was started and many folks over there are really pouring it on and whining about being "attacked" in this thread, which never happened and calling people who didn't share their personal enthusiasm for this bear "trolls." Having people hold a different opinion than you about something but telling you, do it your way if you want to is not an attack, and it is not trolling, seriously. In fact holding different opinions and expressing those various opinions is what this site is all about, at least it used to be. Maybe things have changed during the time I was away and everyone is supposed to go on to each thread with a bland smile and agree 100%?
Last edited by Goofy Daddy; 12-20-2010 at 03:06 AM.
Epic Post...Someone shoulda pointed me at this topic sooner. I may edit later. This will surely be my longest post ever. I’ll just say that up front, so there’s no need to discuss it later. If you don’t like long posts, skip this one. Seriously, it's looong.
Also, I’ll be double posting in the Disneyland Resort thread and the new Duffy thread in the Collectibles forum. I think now that the conversation has shifted (appropriately) to the Collectibles area. However, I’m quoting a lot of folks here whose responses to this post might go against the terms of service as antagonizing in that thread, and I don’t wish to silence them by hiding somewhere they can’t see what I wrote or feel free to respond as they wish.
Let me also say at the outset, that I am personally, as a HUGE and committed Duffy fan, very grateful to every poster in this topic. I think that exactly, precisely this conversation, with all of its viewpoints is a necessary part of Duffy reaching his full potential, as well as being what Duffy is all about. My excitement is immense to see so many people reacting, no matter the reaction.
Let me also start by introducing my old translation of the unabridged Duffy storybook from Japan. It’s not clear to me how many Japanese fans have actually read the story in its entirety, but it showed in the work of “Team Duffy” throughout 2008 and 2009 that they believed in it. Duffy fans (Janell, flylikadove22, Kritter, MatterhornJ, Dustysage, FutureImagineer183…) have likely already read this in one of my earlier posts or on my blog, but it may help others understand more about Duffy’s very apparent-but-not-overly-pinned-down personality. Then again, it may not. I have always thought that Duffy has a “get it or don’t” element that is one of the things that makes him so unique and special, particularly in the context of corporate Disney’s “play it safe by the numbers for the masses” approach to character. Duffy, even in Tokyo, grew from a grassroots “underground” support of a product to the phenomenon we know now, and it took several years, not a few months.
GoofyDaddy, this is for you:^^
*the word choices are my own, as is natural with any localization of translated work, and I chose to have Goofy speak the line, “That Duffy sure is one special teddy bear!” to create impact at the end of the story, but with these two caveats in mind, this translation is an accurate picture of the charm and heart of the original Japanese version.
Here’s the neutered US version, courtesy Duffy’s official Facebook page. I know that the Japanese version of the story tagged on the dolls is also truncated, but in the US, no larger version even exists so far, officially:
Duffy’s magical message-in-a-bottle is gone. His ability to travel through dreams vanishes. His mysterious power to come to life on his own seems implied more heavily to Minnie than in the original, rather than love’s unexplainable (and brilliantly unstated! – you either get it or you don’t!^^) power to transform. With the release of Shellie May and My Friend Duffy, Minnie’s role has felt stronger in Tokyo, too, and demand, though still booming, has fallen with overexposure and wider availability. Takara/Disney’s cannibalizing “Cuddly Bear” and “Minnie Couture” projects don’t help much, and effectively take away from the specialness of both Duffy and Shellie May. Disney UniBEARsity, despite all my hopes, is a sad, sick joke…but it will probably make a lot of money here. All of these work in Japan because of Japan’s affinity for “cute for cute’s sake,” but Duffy was never about Minnie’s “strange new power to make living dolls.” What made it work, initially, is that the Disney characters themselves were surprised and fascinated (like the public), but fans understood – what animated Duffy was love itself, deeply expressed from the heart. Duffy was also presented as a plucky and playful adventurer himself, who goes where he pleases on his own voyages. Now, Duffy is very clearly presented as Mickey’s tagalong, which besides being boring, leads very quickly to the thought “not mine.” The original author of the Tokyo story had a brilliant solution – make it clear that every Duffy, including yours, is Duffy and every Duffy is unique while at the same time, still Duffy. Instead, we are now just all supposed to want to carry around Mickey’s bear. That’s (part) of what didn’t work for the Disney Bear, and it’s not working here. Finally, instead of showing us ways Duffy creates connections with people through a charming story, they just switch to “marketing mode” and tell us what to do. Nobody likes that.
I disagree with those who think the solution is to associate Duffy and Mickey more strongly. In fact, I think it’s the opposite. Duffy needs to be a character in his own right, and not the “idiot child” version we see in the My Friend Duffy show in Tokyo. Duffy is a fashionable adventurer, stylish and daring, magical and mysterious, the bear of happiness and luck…and love. Classic Duffy is full of both personality and that rare quality called “Disney magic.” All those people who feel Duffy has no personality – that’s not Duffy’s fault; it’s Disney’s. This makes me even more convinced of my old suspicions that the new stories (Happiness & Luck and Sweet Duffy) and the year of incredible costumes (2008-9) were engineered by a Japanese team, or at least a different team than whomever’s steering the boat now. Duffy looks more and more like the Disney Bear (even in Tokyo), and fans of Duffy have no one to blame for that except Disney. I totally get where the naysayers are coming from.
But in fact, Duffy is the redemption of that worthless and insulting marketing gimmick, not its continuation, and nothing Disney does to ruin that is gonna change my mind. The failure of the Disney Bear (which really was nothing more than likely an hour or two of design once the basic concept sparked) was reborn like a phoenix in the hands of a design team who very clearly LOVED what they were doing with Duffy. I wish these people were also clearly being given credit for their inspired and inspiring work. What they did was not only genius, it was brave and bold! From the new story and its incredible artwork to the Photo Points and Meet & Greets and Sweet Duffy campaigns in the parks to the photo contests and “Duffy Stories” from fans (that are still part of the Japanese site) to the amazingly high quality official costumes to, of course, the unprecedented and unpredictable enthusiasm of all the fantastically skilled fans who made a BOOMING cottage industry of Duffy clothes on Yahoo! Auctions Japan, Duffy really did Bring Love. At every level, it was a character full of heart and soul that was – not in some imaginary on-screen way – but quite literally, connecting people. We were all working together to breathe the character to life...and it worked! Disney magic in the real world!
The fact that when Minnie (Disney) made Duffy she had no idea that he would come to life is a crucial element of the story for me, as is the fact that later the Duffys were mass produced by friends working together not to make money, but because they all actually wanted one themselves and the only way it could happen is by pitching in together to share the work. All this is lost in even the new version of the US story. What Duffy did in transforming the Disney Bear concept was much like his own transformation into a mysteriously living being in the story, and for me he will always be full of the promise that Disney as a brand, a company, and a concept still means “a place where artists create magic and wonder to inspire us to dream,” even when they start with banal directives from a bean counter. Mickey can’t even do this for me. It is shocking, inspiring, and beautiful…and no one could have engineered it. That’s Disney’s real problem – they can’t make it happen; they can only properly plant the seeds and nurture them to let it happen. In Japan, it happened because people were genuinely excited and working together for something that made them happy. It took a lot of love, and a healthy dose of luck. For me, watching just what’s happened during the past two years has felt like nurturing the birth and growth of a very special character who represents, simultaneously, everything offensive about Disney and everything I want it to be. I would love to see Duffy’s success in America exactly because it would be so surprising – it would mean that we are far less cynical and prone to violence, far more comfortable laughing at ourselves, and far more quick to embrace love than I often fear we have become. It is true that it takes a very special, and probably, sadly, very rare kind of heart to accept even the fundamental elements of the Duffenomenon.
See above. I really believe that the problem is deeper than “throw Mickey at it.” It seems like the people calling the shots are only in it to sell merchandise, which severely limits any long-term broader appeal. Characters need love. If they don’t “get it” or they don’t feel excited about it, how can they sell it? Seems obvious. You can’t fake genuine enthusiasm, and there is no other reason to spend hard earned money on a character except that we genuinely connect with it.
Of course this is part of the problem! In Tokyo, and even on MiceChat’s TDR boards, there is always some new release to anticipate. Something is always happening. There can be speculation, criticism, dreaming… With the US launch, they seem to have released all the costumes they ever plan to right away, on the cheap and with no story (although the EPCOT/world traveler attempt was headed in the right direction). The lack of expense/investment speaks volumes to the much-more-critical/skeptical-than-Japanese consumer who is not interested in buying a product the manufacturer/seller clearly doesn’t believe in/use. The Duffy release looks like it’s “testing the water” rather than confidently offering you a treat. As Dustysage has said elsewhere, each costume ought to be tied, a la Teddy Ruxpin, to a particular story and available for a limited time at a particular location. Duffy didn’t take “a couple of years” to blow up in Tokyo; the “Disney Bear” arrived in 2004 and became Duffy in 2005, clearly blossoming in 2008 with the Sweet Duffy campaign. As Dusty also rightly said, too much product and self-produced hype creates an impression of failed attempt, which leaves distaste for both the product and its seller. But again, this is not Duffy’s fault, but Disney’s. In Japan, he is an overwhelming success, and, as he should be, the embodiment of the Disney park fan experience – at this point – more than any other character. If he fails in the US, it is not because Duffy failed to transform the “Disney Bear” gimmick, it is because Disney failed to notice.
I couldn’t agree more. It really is a shame.
For me, too, this is inspiring. Don’t give up!^^ The Duffy phenomenon, even in Japan, has always reminded me of Anton Ego’s review at the end of Ratatouille – to date, my favorite Pixar and one of my all-time faves:
The reason this works so well in the film is that it wasn’t just a tacked on moment; it was part of the underlying themes that held the film together. It wasn’t just clever packaging. The current US Duffy (and increasingly, the Tokyo Duffy, too) is more a repackaging of the Disney Bear rather than an actual Duffy launch. Duffy’s primary themes are: love, self-awareness and community connection, magic and mystery, fashion and photography, traveling and adventure, happiness and luck. Without those elements in clear focus, what you have is not Duffy. In Japan, the fans put these elements in place with their interactions with the Disney Bear BEFORE “Duffy” was ever officially launched or that storybook existed.
The Ego review so clearly expresses how I have felt about Duffy since Day 1. It was designer toys (and post-rave aesthetic) that brought me to Duffy and Duffy that brought me to the parks. Before Duffy and getting into the park experience, I actually hated Disney as a company. I saw it as a serial abuser to artists who married young and committed years, believing someday their prince would come. I saw it as commoditizing real human emotions and ambitions and selling people fantasies to make them to docile to actually chase their own dreams. My time at MiceChat has been a revelation for me, which never would have happened had I continued thinking “all those Disney fans are a bunch of freaks and sheep who waste their money on a corporation hell-bent on exploiting the human heart for profit,” as I used to. Thanks to this community, I have restored a love for a truly American pioneer in Walt Disney, and a very reluctant pride in Disney as a global arthouse from America. While there are still many things about the man himself and the corporate empire his company has become that I absolutely abhor, Walt Disney’s vision and commitment are still alive and well in many of the artists still working at Disney; and this legacy is inspiration worth holding onto and celebrating. As always, thank you MiceChat…and Duffy.
Again, that was the Disney Bear. Duffy is the redemption of this, and quite successful in Japan. I can see why Disney wouldn’t play it that way, though.
I understand exactly where you’re coming from, but you’re wrong. You might not be wrong about Disney, but you’re wrong about Duffy. He is – precisely and by design – the absolute opposite of exactly this. Duffy is for the Disney park experience and park merchandising what Epic Mickey promised to be for Mickey Mouse. He is unlocking the past and liberating the future. Still, I think you’d be right to say that Disney continues to fail to understand that. Fans know.^^
I guess we'll see. Either way, Duffy and the fans win. Better official support is awesome, but underground fandom is fun, too.
I like him being there enough to spend way more than thirty dollars, and I appreciate you not judging/labeling/attacking/lynching me for it. I think fandom’s always better without schisms. Especially with the Disney fanbase, I can’t understand why someone who feels totally comfortable to join a chat community to talk about cartoons, plastic toys and pin collecting suddenly draws the line at a teddy bear character and everybody who likes it…???
As I said repeatedly when I heard about the US launch, EPCOT should have offered a “Minnie’s Co-op Workshop” experience where fans could actually build their own Duffys, complete with certificates, hearts, and (perhaps) limited seasonal offerings of the old rainbow assorted colors. This would have built on the Tokyo story rather than hacking it (and also presented a bonafide destination for many Japanese fans), and it would make a lot more sense to American consumers whose plush expectations are far more influenced by the Build-A-Bear experience than the Japanese. I’m sure Build-A-Bear Japan is actually deeply grateful for Duffy’s existence and prays for his continued success. This concept could have even paved the way for design contests, with winners receiving a free trip to Disney World and their costumes made and sold for a limited time. *sigh* I wish this was my ship to sail… Shellie May would have a story, too, and her heart-shell would mean something. Alas…
I also completely disagree with the idea of Duffy on the Disney Channel or in any media outside of park property. “Sucking little ones in” is not what I hope Duffy is about and being perceived that way will not endear what is basically an overly branded generic emblem to anyone. Duffy being a badge of the theme park experience is the BIGGEST unique feature of the character. That’s his trump card. When we see him outside the parks, we think instantly of the parks (and everything we associate with that) because that is the ONLY place he’s available. Just like the skyline at WDW, nothing else gets in to break our dream or interfere with the image. Mickey’s oversaturation makes this impossible for him. For Duffy, this is an incredible power. For Disney, if managed well, it could be a powerful opportunity. I smile every time I see Duffy out and about around Tokyo, which is at least ten times a day. While I doubt American Duffy fans can be relied on for the level of constant free advertising that Tokyo fans provide, I still believe that any of this media stuff needs to be available only in the parks and on the official park sites. That said, a webisode series is a good idea. I think Dustysage or Malin said that, too, and I concur. I also think, as we’ll get to later, that a global “social networking” site of Duffy fans is a great idea. If people had other ways to interact with fans around the world, could get to know each other and share the park experience and Disney love, while associating that with Duffy… I think that could really be something. “The new needs friends.”
Like I said, there’s a “get it” factor to Duffy. Clearly, Flylikadove22 gets it.
Actually, children are a HUGE audience in Japan, probably much larger than even the potential in the US. The difference is that in Japan, teens and twenty-somethings are near equally interested; while in the US that would be difficult to replicate, which brings me to a point I’ve been longing to make…
Totally, totally no. Duffy is not Pooh. Until the inanity of the “My Friend Duffy” show there was no reason to even imagine that Duffy was anything like Disney’s aimed-squarely-at-children Pooh. Pooh is a toy bear, sure, but Disney Pooh is really a cartoon bear who lives in a forest. Part of my hesitation with making Duffy media is that another awesome thing about Duffy right now is that any and every Duffy plush is Duffy, not a “likeness of Mickey’s Duffy.” I think this creates a much more compelling stage for children’s creativity, as each Duffy’s personality is expanded and refined by the owner. Duffy is always a toy and always mass produced and always simultaneously alive and independent and never fully understandable. Give too much story beyond this, and you limit the possibilities of the character. I love the idea of an official character whose fanfiction is canon. Duffy has a sense of mystery and an adventurous spirit that are nothing even remotely like Pooh, and Duffy loves to create things – like his Sweet Duffy Café – on his own! That’s very different from lazy Pooh. Duffy is not animated by Mickey the way Pooh is, really, animated by Christopher Robin and it is a real loss if people just lump the two together because they are both bear dolls. Duffy has unexplained magical powers and travels the world. Pooh likes to eat, sleep and stay in his forest. Duffy is the embodiment of the Disney brand. Pooh, whose origins have nothing to do with Disney, can never be this. I love Winnie-the-Pooh, but he is not Duffy, and Duffy is not him. The fact that someone who actually supports the character would just throw them in the same pile is a real failure on Disney’s part, in my reckoning. Since the song was also played in English at the US launch, I get the sense that “My Friend Duffy” was developed in the US as part of the beginning of the US vision for “One Disney” Duffy, a vision that quite simply does not seem to understand this at all. Duffy cannot be both adventurer and teetering toddler…and Duffy is an adventurer. Just ask Flylikadove.^^
…Oh, right. That point I had been so longing to make. I almost forgot. (If you’re still reading, thanks and wow.^^) Yeah, Duffy needs to be seen with people. But it has to be the right people. In Tokyo, it’s the Disney geeks, for sure. But it’s also – and moreso! – the “Disney fashionistas.” The Tokyo girls dressed to the nines, whether high school or just-off-work; along with their cool boyfriends who are expected to carry their bag (with Duffy strap) and their Duffy (in the park) and have the Duffy half of a Duffy/Shellie pair set on their phone (even though Shellie is, in my mind, Duffy’s sister, not his sweetheart…I hope that remains undefined forever). If it’s just “a bunch of weirdos in mouse ears and Disney tees” who adopt him, it’s not gonna do much to convince anybody.
I think the real audience would have been, and may yet become, the American otaku. Not only does the American otaku immediately and easily understand Duffy’s design sense, but unlike the Japanese otaku, the American tends to have a simultaneous joy for the material and for branding and yet thrills at seeing corporatism subverted. As more people know the Disney Bear/Duffy story and understand what it meant, and as they see the charm and power of the metastory it creates with the Japanese backstory, plus connect TDR with other Japanese cultural exports; this could really be a very devoted audience who knows how to do grassroots marketing very, very successfully. Thing is, it can’t only be the “geeks and freaks.” That turns mainstreamers immediately off. On the plus side, though, if the mainstreamers don’t get it, it belongs only to them.^^
Oh, I imagine they are very interested in his financial success. As far as his success as a character, no, I don’t think they care. I don’t think they even understand it. And if they did, I still don’t think they’d appreciate or respect it, so I don’t think they could envision a campaign that actually works. Disney’s failure to connect or be relevant is not limited to Duffy. The idea of one shop was smart in that, as has been said many times by many people, oversaturation of an undesired product looks like failure. But how they present that shop is equally important. At TDR, it’s Aunt Peg’s as “home of Duffy” after the character was already quite popular and McDuck’s, for which there could be no possible better themed Disney park shop, in my mind. The others are just to make the crowds lighter.
Not only is this very smart thinking, this is one of – perhaps THE – only post that manages to remain absolutely neutral about presenting a personal opinion of Duffy and yet still be on-topic about his success. Impressive, and keen.
Doesn’t get it, but the screen name alone seems to reject everything that Duffy’s actually about, so that’s okay. Duffy doesn’t have to appeal to everyone. Mickey Mouse doesn’t appeal to everyone, either, nor does everyone agree about what he represents, but I think most reasonable people would agree that he’s a success. In Tokyo, this conversation takes on a similar level of absurdity. Time will tell.
Another definite “gets it.” I’m so happy to see more posts like this from Americans! I guess that’s one good thing about the US Duffy launch. I wish I could meet all of you! It’s true that any concept like Duffy will rely on word of mouth, but Disney Parks should also be engaging in some official campaigns to encourage people to get involved. Americans are not about to start sewing costumes the way Japanese fans did; the potential for that kind of exposure is not there the way it was/is in Japan, and this was a HUGE part of Duffy’s success. Duffy = fashion. The US Disney Parks have completely missed the boat with this by producing such crappy costumes and dumping them all at once with no clear idea about what else, if anything, to look forward to. The fact that there was no TRON/TRON:Legacy costume release, either through the parks or through collaboration with Build-A-Bear, suggests that a monkey is making all these choices. I’m sorry; that’s not fair. Monkeys are totally awesome.
I know you get it, Janell!^^ I still totally disagree with you about tying him to Mickey. Not only is it not what I think he needs, it’s also the easy way out and taking the easy way does not lead to innovation, especially for Disney. Duffy is the opportunity for a new classic character with Mickey-level appeal to be born, as has already happened in Japan, in its way. I don’t see Disney achieving it Stateside, but Duffy does not actually need to ride Mickey’s coattails in order to succeed. I know a lot of people think the Mickey connection is important, but that’s not what Duffy had that made him different from the Disney Bear. There is no way that being Mickey’s teddy bear could account for what has happened/is happening in Tokyo. Duffy is an undeniable superstar in his own right. For me, he actually made me like Mickey marks; I see them as “Duffy faces.” In Japan, Duffy became more independent, with Mickey almost a supporting “guest star” for his stories, and he had strong visible support from a fan culture that could both love Mickey and accept this at the same time. I see American Disney fans having a very difficult time with this. It would be like simultaneously practicing all of the Abraham religions – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam – side by side with no problem, much like the Japanese have no problem blending any of these religions with Buddhism and Shinto, which are almost always blended in actual practice. In America, though, a bear who could eclipse Mickey if he got out of hand will probably be perceived as a threat…or even a sin!^^
Again, I think the first part is absolutely true, while the second paragraph presents a slippery slope that quickly leads to wondering why anyone would be a fan of a “prop.”
Actually, this is exactly what Disney UniBEARsity is and I hate it. Duffy is/was(?) the opposite of that crassness, and if it goes full circle, I have every reason to believe that it’s because US Disney wanted a piece of Japan’s pie. I really believe – though I can’t prove it – that Duffy’s name, backstory, designs…everything that led to his success in Tokyo was born in Japan, by a Japanese team. I’d love to be proven wrong, to think that American artists designed last year’s raincoat or cat costume, or conceived of the “Sweet Duffy” event, but I really don’t think so. Ironically, it’s been my experience that the same people who dismiss Duffy as some kind of marketing ploy are the ones quickest to drink the Disney Kool-Aid in other arenas…funny, that. They also tend to be mean and snarky, but that sorta makes sense. I mean, have you ever met a mean and snarky person who actually likes teddy bears?^^ …One does wonder what draws these folks to Disney, though.
What’s to understand? You don’t like Duffy and you think being creative is “work” that you would opt out of. I think that’s okay. Duffy fans tend to like being creative. I think there are actually a lot of Disney fans who don’t view creativity as “work,” at least in a negative way or as something they would make the conscious choice to avoid. You don’t have to do the work. He’s not popular with you and never gonna be. Got it. But if you’re so uninterested, why keep talking about him? This thread is clearly labeled and you might, in fact, have the highest number of individual posts. It seems to me like you’re already putting in quite a lot of effort, yet you’re also “experiencing maximum happiness” as you continue to comment here, so you must be getting something of value out of your posts. Good for you, because I have to say, I really can’t figure out what that might be. I do love the highly appropriate screen name, though.
As for what Walt said, Duffy is, again – by design – the solution to exactly, precisely this problem, which was originally created by the Disney Bear. Duffy is not the Disney Bear (nor is he Pooh). Duffy is the park fans. At least the ones who aren’t afraid of having their manhood or maturity measured by whether they carry a teddy bear or not. I have such trouble with that as a rubric…
Such a surprising question from the sediment – I thought you were opposed to work?
“The world is often unkind to new talents, new creations.” Some people cannot wrap their heads around “cute for cute’s sake” and some cannot hear something like “keeping the childlike heart beating and the childhood eyes open” without dismissing it as hokey. It’s nice not to be some people, but rather be comfortable with who you are. It’s difficult to be one of the few who notices or understands something before everyone else agrees or someone explains it to you. It’s difficult, but it ain’t bad.
This is like saying that we should celebrate the Disnefication of classic stories into “Tangled” messes. I actually find what I’ve seen of the film charming – juvenile, but charming. But the idea that the name of a classic fairy tale should be changed for marketing purposes (despite what they say now) is as absurd as mining the classic stories for whatever you can take and then copyrighting your version of them and psychotically enforcing your “intellectual property” rights. Oh, wait… By the way, that title is only for America – Japan and Europe did not board that crazy train and ship the film as variants with “Rapunzel” prominently in the title. Duffy is the park experience and its fans. If you’ve never been to Tokyo Disney Resort or read about its fandom, if you think of the Japanese as “weird” or “funny,” if you just don’t get it; fine, you just don’t get it. But to give kudos for art theft and then appall official support of a largely collaborative fan-made phenomenon is just plain crazy. Duffy is a total progression of the Disney marketing machine on some kind of crazy “they’ll-buy-anything-with-Mickey-on-it” drug into a bonafide character that many Disney fans have identified with in a very powerful way. Duffy has very specific, fully developed and interesting character traits. You need to read more about the Tokyo history. It is, after all, as FutureImagineer183 said, part of the Disney legacy. All I can tell you is that I would still hate Disney for exactly the reasons that you hate Duffy if Duffy did not exist. He is, for me, the symbol of Disney’s redemption, and its potential. Because what it takes to sell Duffy is to have a genuine sense of heart and love in what you do. OLC has it; until Disney does, you’re all right – it will fail. But it won’t be Duffy’s fault. It will be Disney’s. Again. The Japanese fans were lucky; they didn’t have to fight the company. Although there are signs of that changing…
Heya, Dusty. I think ideas #2, #5, #6 and #7 are great, and describe the Tokyo model pretty precisely, except that there are no games on the Duffy site…for now, which I prefer (although it is very subtly “interactive”). The problem with the first is a matter of opinion, surely, and I think it’s clear what mine is. You are one super moderator, Mr Sage, but I think the third is a terrible idea – giving people something they already don’t want for free is not a way to convince them of its value. It just makes you look desperate. No, no NO to this. You might get a few more people to accept it, but getting them to love or respect it – no. We sacrifice for what we love.
I like the event-based ideas of the fourth, but Duffy does NOT need to be a franchise with tons of little living plushies. My stomach turning the more I understood about Disney UniBEARsity proved that for me. The presence of Shellie May has led to people in the parks trying to carry both bears. There is no need to bring an entire plush army to the parks or on attractions with you, and the power of these bears is that they are an integrated part of a day in the park – you see them everywhere! Almost literally every other person/group has one or the other or both. And then you see them on a bag or a phone in the city and you remember the parks. It reminds me of when I used to see folks with “phat pants” or “candy jewelry” out in the streets, outside of rave/club situations. (Does anybody here understand that?^^) There’s a sense of instant connection to the parks, and also between me and the person with the goods, because we both “get it.” Ah, Duffy magic at work.
Without that, they are just another Disney franchise. That seagull added for “My Friend Duffy” was unnecessary. Duffy becomes less special if there’s this flood of magical living plush and other distracting characters. Shellie May was a gamble that fortunately paid off (and I was wrong about) – many collectors, probably most (including me now) – have both. But if there’s a “cooler” male bear or a “cuter” female, people will begin to feel the need to choose a favorite, and the originals lose what makes them special now. As you can see in this thread, there are already a lot of people who can’t and don’t want to understand. Dividing the fanbase is unwise. Dilution is not the solution.
Tokyo does photo contests from time to time, but with no prizes. They just post them on the site. That’s enough for Japanese fans. It would be nice to see a global Duffy photo album. By exclusive clothing, I figure you mean for the bear. While matching the area would be difficult unless the contest was predetermined for some particular area, rare clothing items as incentive does sound intriguing. I think I’d wanna see these contests limited to the parks most of the time, with special rare contests out in the “real world.” Good ideas!
On the other hand, super NO to this, but with total love!^^
This and the lack of any form of TRON costume really does have to make you wonder who’s calling these shots?
And the pirate! And the fully sculpted popcorn bucket! I’m thinking some of these are never coming if he doesn’t “magically” become an unparalleled success.
All of this is true, but for the last. The first thing they did was a HUGE in your face push that no one understood. Word is, they’ve actually toned it down in recent weeks. If the leadership was genuinely inspired by more than the insipid idea of making money off an engineered fad, if they did truly believe in and care about what they were doing, something bigger than any marketing research of a Japanese/Asian toy fad could predict becomes a possibility. The best things are unpredictable. But intention is important. The Japanese intention was to make cute stuff cos “we like to make cute stuff and people like to buy cute stuff so we can sell it and make more cute stuff.” We are so cynical in the US that we just shrug that off as impossible, but everyone I have ever met working in any division of the Oriental Land Company spoke openly about the rigorous expectations of the Company, but was absolutely committed, heart and soul, to their job. The US intention stinks too much of “make this thing we think is stupid as cheaply as possible and sell it for as much as we can cos these stupid people will buy it if we do.” But just cos that’s true, doesn’t mean Duffy’s a bad character. It doesn’t mean he didn’t transform the Disney Bear concept into something truly infused with Disney magic in Japan. It just means Disney’s a bad company that doesn’t believe in its own product or like its own supporters. And what it would take to make Duffy successful, again, would be for Disney to be a good company. Good like Duffy, full of happiness and luck…and love. So, good luck, Duffy!^^
Duffeteer Society of Tenders, Artists & Romantics
Check out the MICECHAT Duffy Forum
Bringing the Love since January 10, 2011
Disney's Duffy was not the sort of major marketing push I was referring to. Disney Princesses was (and is).
Although I'm not a Duffy fan, I have to say I feel badly for those who are. Seeing a character that you love mishandled by a corporation that has no connection to its heart, hurts.
Sadly for the future of Duffy and his fans, the quote about Disney executives in DuffyDaisuki's signature says it all.
"With the acquisition of Marvel and now of Lucasfilm,
Disney may have finally found the grail. You don't need
imagination or art. All you need is a brand."
- Neil Gabler
"Oh, Bother." Where is classic (Milne/Shepard) Pooh when you need him?
^ Turned into brainless toddler-fodder by Disney Consumer Products.
"With the acquisition of Marvel and now of Lucasfilm,
Disney may have finally found the grail. You don't need
imagination or art. All you need is a brand."
- Neil Gabler
What's wrong with a cult following? Several things have become cult favorites. A Disney example is Tron and the slew of 80s sci-fi films that Disney produced. Heck, even the Black Hole is getting a remake.
When did this forum turn into an "us vs. them"? Seeing as I am a fanboy of several topics (comics, video games, etc.) I know how high passions run, but this site has always been pretty "we'll agree to disagree," but man, people really love/dislike/hate their Duffy. I enjoy the character, but my only real GRIPE with his back story is that I believe that he should have belonged to Donald instead of Mickey, seeing as Donald is the sailor and not Mickey, but that's nitpicking.
I am, when it is foisted on me by those who were supposed to do the work (in this case, creating an interesting story). I was asking for other folks. Because, I like to be helpful.
"Here You Leave the World of California Today and Enter the World of, um, er, California Today."
Re: How popular is Duffy at Disney California Adventure? Wait, I think I hear "My Friend Duffy" cueing up…bop bop bop!…blech.^ Turned into brainless toddler-fodder by Disney Consumer Products.
Wow, Mr Wiggins, THANK YOU! For someone who doesn't personally get into Duffy to take a moment and actually understand what this means and how it feels (and to express it^^) - no one has ever posted anything that meant so much to me, and I love a lot of MiceChatters and the things they say!^^ Thank you, deeply.
I can't talk about Princesses. The fact that they killed it the very moment they would have to add a black girl to the group shots with the "real" Princesses (Mulan?! Hello...Kida?) is appalling, disgusting, and not an accident or coincidence. Ok, putting the wormy can back down...
Saying too loudly that I love Duffy has been an issue for me since I first joined MiceChat a couple years ago. Recently, on the Tokyo boards, it's become a non-thing, and actually a LOT more people are openly excited and contributing to talks about Duffy. But when I first came here and talked about the Duffy love, instantly there were negative comments about "that stupid, useless" bear. It's hard not to take such strongly worded comments personally when they're about a character you believe in, because of the nature of what believing in a character involves, especially one who's still so young.
But in this thread, people were starting to tag team, with the peanut gallery offering up "Go! Win!" jeers to egg on as the others kicked the fans, and then when the fans tried to call them out on the behavior, yet more said, "Stop your hissy fit crying, little baby! Why don't you just go hug your teddy bear!" And none of this seemed to register as a problem for the moderators. But clearly, something was going on here, as many have been posting. I think it's great when that kind of energy can just run its course and dissipate, but it's dangerous left unchecked and unresolved. I know all too well that everyone doesn't love Duffy (yet), but some of that sure looked like bullying to me. Just because it skirts the ToS, doesn't make it right.
I have no problem with acult/underground/grassroots following. In fact, I sometimes miss those days in Japan. I came in a little late, and didn't have too many of them. The over-the-top superstardom of Duffy in Tokyo is very difficult to replicate in a culture that is largely afraid that older people - especially men - who embrace cute too strongly are deficient in some way. And since Disney doesn't make it clear to people about the transition from Disney Bear to Duffy, few will be aware of how he is actually the antithesis of the insultingly blatant marketing ploy. Being a small group of "get it" people is no big deal, but I don't think Duffy fans should have to curb their enthusiasm any more than any other fans do. If TRON fans had done that, there would be no TRON: Legacy, and that would be sad, indeed. That's actually a really appropriate parallel.
It seemed like a lot of - maybe all of - the haters just didn't actually know anything about Duffy. My hope and faith is always that, given enough information, people will tend to make the better choice; and also that most people, given enough peace and quiet, can easily recognize that the better choice is always acceptance and love. No one has to love Duffy, but Duffy fans are a part of Disney culture, history and legacy. That should be accepted and celebrated, not dismissed. Duffy fans in Japan have already built a creative culture around this character comparable to no other in Disney history. Duffy's contribution is absolutely unique and deeply fan-based. Given the chance to find his audience, I promise you, America, Duffy really does bring love, happiness, luck...and a colorful playfulness that absolutely enhances the park experience. The people who "get" Duffy, get Disney - the way we all want it to be - as a creative powerhouse of dreams rather than just a corporate producer of commodities. They understand that at its best, Disney knows how to be both, simultaneously...like Duffy. You want these people in the parks; they make fun!
Instead of just blindly buying and having (although there's a lot of that), they also make and share. More than any other Disney character, Duffy is a collaboration of love between the company and the fans, or at least he was. No matter what Disney does now, this history is Duffy's legacy, and the people who understand that are definitely deep Disney fans, who deserve to post and share and ask innocent questions about how Duffy sales are going without expecting to have to defend against aggressive wholesale dismissals of the character and those who like him. The thing is, if the character is "worthless," what does it say about me that I like him? That's why people take it personally. Well, that and also the clearly personal attacks, like "enjoy life with your bear, loser!" Just cos you don't type "loser" doesn't mean you didn't say "loser." We all know that.
As far as being Donald's bear, no, I don't think that would've worked. Duffy does need the Hidden Mickeys in order to be the embodiment of the Disney brand, and he does need to be that embodiment in order to have power. So, in that sense, he really did need Mickey. The design, generic and obvious though it may be, is also perfect and balanced. Duffy needs the initial Mickey connection, which also calls back to Steamboat Mickey and Mickey's Admiral costume for DisneySEA, but Duffy's story and character development are already bigger and deeper than just being "Mickey Mouse's teddy bear." On his own, those are not Hidden Mickeys; they are proudly flaunted Disney Brands. Duffy is about fashion and branding and adventure; he's not about hiding from anything or being in anyone's shadow. For his origin to work, it had to be Mickey. Donald wouldn't do.
The whole point of Duffy is that he's a character with just enough background to be charming, yet leaves plenty of room for the imagination of fans. I don't think his story is lacking; I think it shows careful restraint. He is an opportunity to do the work and to be part of the work, for people who don't just want their characters in prepackaged microwave consumer servings. That's not everyone, of course. Thanks for helping.
Last edited by DuffyDaisuki; 12-20-2010 at 10:17 PM.
Duffeteer Society of Tenders, Artists & Romantics
Check out the MICECHAT Duffy Forum
DuffyDaisuki...THANK YOU!!!!!!! I still do not consider myself a "Duffy fan" but at least now I know who/what the character is, how it is connected to disney and Mickey, and understand his story.
I still personally see him as a glorified teddy bear, but i think part of that is because, as Mr Wiggins said, his creation and introduction was (at least in the west here) mishandled by the company.
Thanks again!!
Again, making up words and putting them into people's mouths. That's some imagination, huh? I'm sure this indiscretion will be ignored by moderators as well, so no worries.
"Here You Leave the World of California Today and Enter the World of, um, er, California Today."
I love Duffy, so much that once I found out about him I had to search for a way to get him to me straight from TDL. Same thing with ShelleyMay. I think there is something special about him, and I am content in being a supporter of Duffy even if he doesn't do well in the states again. I would hope though, that they would keep him around even in a smaller form if he were to fall below their overall expectations.
And since I have had my Duffy (which I "bought" for my little girl) friends and relatives have asked where they might get one for their kids too. Unfortunately at that time I was only able to point them to eBay. I am very happy that now they can get one at DLR or WDW.
Really? Because using this logic, I could go to the police and say you're harassing me and threatening my life.
Wake. Up. No one is attacking you. If you truly feel someone is attacking you with words they're not saying, but you're hearing - you need to get some help.
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