9/1: Spider-Mouse

[Al Lutz]

Disney & Marvel, A Marvel-ous Opportunity? Discuss it here...

DIRECT ARTICLE LINK: MiceAge.com - A different look at Disney...

[TheDude]

nicely said Kevin. Ever since I met Bob in anaheim at the holiday party, I felt comfortable with him at the helm. He has an eye to see talent and let them "run with it" when the rest of the world disagrees. Look at him allowing Lasseter to have as much creative control as he does in the parks. I will even go as far to say that Igar is allowing Rasulo control over marketing because I believe Igar has figured out that Rasulo is able to get people into the parks... including during one of the worst economic times some of us have ever seen.

Who knows what he is thinking in regards to Marvel, but it can lead to something amazing.

[RLS Legacy]

It certainly fills a void in Disney's teen offerings - but odd they chose a franchise that apparently can't be used in their fifth gate (assuming a fifth WDW park will be aimed at teens).

Maybe Iger's next move is to buy and install a new monorail segment to Islands of Adventure!

[craig]

Some of my concerns revolve around Marvel's comic division. I pray that Disney will step in and bring Marvel comics back to all ages. Currently, the majority of the comics line is for mature audiences with mature content. Marvel (along with DC) has seemed to forget that they need to bring in new readers. Hopefully, they will bring back comics to the masses and not just offer them in comic shops and a few bookstores. (Bring them back to the grocery stores!) Comics have been dying a slow & painful death for the past 20 years.

Another concern is comissoned artwork. Many artists make extra money doing sketches for fans. As protective as Disney is with their properties, will they allow artists to continue this practice that Marvel has allowed in the past?

Lastly, I hope that they replace Joe Quesada as Editor-in-Chief. He has alienated many great writers & artists from Marvel's glory days and allowed to many "fans" to become writers & artists who don't know how to work in comics only how to create "fan fiction". Marvel has forgotten what made them great.

[EchoThree76]

I hear alot of people concerned about Disney ruining Marvel. But I for one am concerned about Marvel invading in on Disney. I thought the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay on Haunted Mansion was bad enough. But the second I hear that you can see any Marvel Character at a Disney Park, that to me is a TOTAL deal breaker. I go to Disney to see Disney. If I want the other I can go to Universal. Marvel does NOT fit in with Disney. I would have to think seriously about going to DL again if this were to happen

[hockeyland]

As usual, some good thoughts in Kevin's article, mixed in with a lot of errors:

• Box office numbers are the gross; the Studio takes in, at very best, 50% of those dollars.
• Fox Family was purchased because of the cable channel (distribution) and had very little to do with characters
• Iger specifically mentioned that certain parks could take more advantage of the Marvel characters; IOA will have a long-term lock-up on the characters they use (you don't spend hundreds of millions of dollars building rides you don't have the rights to though the full expected life of the attraction); that leaves WDW out; there is no immediate fit or room in Anaheim; so, think Hong Kong, Shanghai and maybe Paris to see Marvel attractions/characters (look at the Hong Kong Alien themed Halloween promotion in Hong Kong -- it's much edgier than Disney normally is, just as Marvel is)
• WDW is cutting overhead to the bone -- any 5th park will be small, exclusive and expensive. Not likely a fit.
• Marvel purchase a response to Harry Potter? When they can't use the characters in WDW. That makes no sense. Even if they did, Potter would be five years old before Disney could open anything meaningful.
• Disney didn't have $4B sitting around and decided they had to do something with it; they made a big investment based on their ability to leverage the Marvel characters through much of the Disney Empire; Return on Investment is the goal and a 5th park or major additions to WDW don't have those potential ROIs.

You have to think bigger than just WDW on issues like this.

[vfire]

Everyone keeps saying that Disney needed to do this to bring in boys, and that's true for Disney Channel and its film division, but for the parks it is unnecessary. Stars Wars and Indiana Jones fill that role already quite well, and are a much better fit with the Disney image than Marvel.
In any case as long as they keep Marvel out of Disneyland and confined to DCA I'll be placated.

[bayouguy]

"What about the boys?"
I hope Disney isn't really thinking about a demographic boy which doesn't exist. In truth, the boy gender is about constant change and willingness to try things just to give it a try. Disney really needs to consult some good developmental psychologists for Disney to realize that the elusive demographic boy is not what the girl demographic is. The Marvel chat should give a clue to Disney exec.

[Mikado]

One thing I'm still not clear on, from any source I've seen, is just how restrictive the existing agreements are with Universal Orlando. Clearly, Spider-Man and the Hulk are effectively locked out of WDW, but does IOA have a similar lock on all Marvel characters, or just those to which IOA has an attraction (or presence in the park)? At least one article seemed to suggest it was just Hulk and Spider-Man for which Universal had "perpetual" rights.

Whichever is correct makes a world of difference for Disney, and which - if any - characters can make appearances (attractions, shops, etc.) within WDW. Certainly Disney should have full rights to any characters and/or concepts created by Marvel henceforth. It's quite possible to envision some legal confrontations over this. If we really want to nit-pick, there are three incarnations of Spider-Man characters I believe - does Universal claim all three?

[Disneykin Kid]

Maybe Disney should buy Lucasfilm. I really think they should do more with the Star Wars characters...

[KevinYee]

Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer.

It seems to me that Disney could build Hulk and Spider-Man rides once they owned Marvel, if they felt like it, but they couldn't force Uni to close the existing rides. That's what implies to me that Disney will either wait until Uni re-themes, or will focus on alternate Marvel characters.

But most of this deal is about movies, DVDs, and merchandising, not theme parks.

[rwsmith]

There were rumors in the not so distant past about a third Anaheim park. A Marvel park with young boy incentivized rides would kick butt. As would Pixar flavored Marvel films. I pray that they don't ruin Disneyland with Marvel rides. I like Indiana Jones, I hate Star Tours. I'd much prefer Adventure Thru Inner Space back.

[craig]

Stars Wars and Indiana Jones fill that role already quite well
**************
Lucas has such a strangle hold on those franchises that its almost impossible to get anything new. How long has Star Tours 2.0 been in the works? How much longer will the Stunt Show last at Florida? Lucas needs to let the creative team keep his characters fresh and viable.

The movie rights to Spider-Man, X-Men, Iron Man, Hulk and a few others will be tied up for years with other companies until Disney will be able to do anything with them.

[aimster]

A friend of mine used to work at Universal. She told me yesterday that back when they were building City Walk, they had a contract with E! to use some of the upper level space as their studios. Then Disney suddenly bought E! and cancelled the contract.

So it'll be interesting to see what happens.

Oh and I have that Stitch as Yoda figurine. I saw it at World of Disney last month and laughed so hard I had to get it.

[Mr Wiggins]

Originally Posted by craig

Marvel has forgotten what made them great.

What a coincidence! So has Disney.