Does Disney Feel Threatened by "Mario"?

[Mandouga]

(posted here because it involves more than just Disney)

As you all know, The Super Mario Bros. Movie was a huge commercial success, going on to beat the original Frozen as the second best selling animated movie of all time worldwide, with only Frozen II having made more.

However, before I go any further, could we please, please, please not bring The Lion King from 2019 into this? That’s a different topic altogether. For the sake of argument, let’s just say that “Mario” is the second best selling movie of all time.

Now while a third Frozen movie was announced this past February (two months before “Mario” came out), it was a couple of weeks ago that Bob Iger announced that there “might” be a fourth movie in production. I don’t know if Disney has done this before, and it’s been months now since “Mario” came out, but personally, this sounds too coincidental to me.

With all this in mind, does anyone feel that Disney might be doing this because they somehow feel threatened by “Mario”’s near dominance? One thing that is certain, I think, is that Disney isn’t doing themselves any good in the long run by making a (if only even a partial) parody movie that tries to make the villain(ess) look more sympathetic…


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Goldstar!]

Honestly, I think that The Super Mario Bros. Movie is irrelevant to Disney's current situation. The reason why Disney is now lagging behind the other studios is because they keep recycling the same formula ad nausea. Stuff like Frozen and Tangled were great when they were new, but we've seen that formula many times now. Audiences are yearning to see something new.

The reason why Dreamworks' The Bad Guys and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish as well as Sony's Spider Man: Into/Across the Spiderverse are killing it right now is because those studios aren't afraid to experiment with different types of storytelling and different art styles. If Disney Animation want to reclaim it's throne, they need to get out of their comfort zone and step their game up. Disney needs to expand it's horizons beyond it's princess movies and Pixar sequels.

 

[Pooky]

I'm sure they wish they were more successful than their competition. Everyone in business does, especially when they're all spending $150-250million a pop.

Do I think Disney announced more Frozen specifically to compete with Mario? No, I think that's just how the industry is now sadly at the moment; when I doubt, swing for the biggest, safest IP you can find. If they had anxiety about Mario specifically they'd probably buy the rights to Crash Bandicoot or something.

 

[Silverstar]

I agree with @Pooky: if Bob Iger wanted to compete with The Super Mario Bros Movie head-on, he probably would've greenlit a third Wreck-It Ralph movie.

Disney should be less concerned with Mario and Luigi and more concerned with how the other studios are pushing the boundaries and redefining what animated movies can be, while they're stuck in the slow lane rehashing the same formulas and visuals they've been sticking to for the past 30 years.

 

[harry580]

I feel like disney is going through a dark age (the third time) like how nintendo was in a dark age with wii u from 2012-2017 until nintendo switch put nintendo back into the spotlight

 

[Ace]

Most things that will succeed either look good from a visual perspective or have a large name attached to it. Mario is more of the later than the former.

The thing I think is that Disney isn't willing to innovate visually for a lot of their new IPs. The special effects in their superhero movies have regressed in quality and the animated features look visually generic now. I think people have gotten bored of typical generic looking CGI.

They've gotten as far as they have by pushing better graphics and visual effects but what I think is going to succeed is having smart visual people who know how to make things interesting and visually stimulating. Different visual styles and art styles. Graphics have their limits. There's a ceiling to how good graphics can get.

 

[JMTV]

No. Disney should not be concerned about being "threatened" by Mario. They should be more concerned about their quality of their films. Right now, people were getting tired of the Mouse being a one-trick pony. They need to do something different like their competitors.

You wanna know why Dreamworks and Sony are doing well with their animated films was because they offer great storytelling and look visually different. Not just sticking to their comfort zone and expected to become a hit right away.

 

[harry580]

No. Disney should not be concerned about being "threatened" by Mario. They should be more concerned about their quality of their films. Right now, people were getting tired of the Mouse being a one-trick pony. They need to do something different like their competitors.

You wanna know why Dreamworks and Sony are doing well with their animated films was because they offer great storytelling and look visually different. Not just sticking to their comfort zone and expected to become a hit right away.

yeah I agreed, if disney want to start doing that, maybe they should bring back the atlantis/treasure planet formula but better, I mean, if these films came out today, these would have been big hits for disney

 

[Peter Paltridge]

If Disney really felt threatened by Mario, they would have created their own character like Mario but with more tude. Like a skateboarding dinosaur, or a bobcat that can't stop yelling voice clips.

 

[Dr.Pepper]

Why would Disney be threatened by a single movie by another studio that was successful?

 

[Mandouga]

Because it overcame the original Frozen as the second best selling animated movie of all time worldwide?

In any case, it would seem that the general consensus is that it’s not necessarily "Mario" they should be worried about, but rather doing the same thing over and over again, and by that, I mean the sequels.

I mean, let’s face it. Fantasia aside*, there’s a reason why Walt Disney was against doing sequels in the first place.

a bobcat that can't stop yelling voice clips.

Let me guess, Bubsy, right?

In any case, they wouldn’t need to necessarily create an “alternate company equivalent” (TV Tropes) as a response to “Mario”. I only brought this up because “Mario” is sandwiched between the two Frozen movies, and wondered if there was a connection between that, and the fact they are apparently planning a third Frozen and “might” be planning a fourth. Maybe there is, maybe there isn’t, but I do think we can agree that it would be a bad idea if Disney were to keep doing sequels.

*He originally planned for Fantasia to be an annual series of movies, but it didn’t work out that way.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Silverstar]

I only brought this up because “Mario” is sandwiched between the two Frozen movies, and wondered if there was a connection between that, and the fact they are apparently planning a third Frozen and “might” be planning a fourth.

There isn't. Disney has its' share of problems, but fear of the Mario movie's success isn't one of them. They're not planning to pump out more Frozen sequels in order to compete with Mario. Trust me. That's not a thing.

 

[Darklordavaitor]

yeah I agreed, if disney want to start doing that, maybe they should bring back the atlantis/treasure planet formula but better, I mean, if these films came out today, these would have been big hits for disney

Disney tried that last year, with Strange World. It did just as well as those did back in the day (i.e. not at all).

 

[harry580]

Disney tried that last year, with Strange World. It did just as well as those did back in the day (i.e. not at all).

well, that was bob chapek fault, Im sure Disney will try that again

 

[Leviathan]

I don't know about Mario specifically, but Illumination has been the box office leader post-COVID, and I'm sure that irks Disney brass.

People blamed Encanto's low gross on the pandemic, but Sing 2 hit a few weeks later and did just fine. Minions 2 almost made a billion, and Mario made over a billion. The only other unqualified box office hits post-COVID are Puss in Boots, Across the Spider-Verse and too-cheap-to-fail fare like Paw Patrol 2.

If Migration makes more than Wish despite being lower-budget, they'll definitely feel theatened by that.

 

[harry580]

if that the case, disney might make a film that feels like a illumination movie like a movie that feels like a blue sky studios movie because disney owned blue sky studios (maybe disney can finally make ice age 7 or rio 3?)

 

[Silverstar]

well, (Strange World) was bob chapek fault, Im sure Disney will try that again

Strange World failed due to weak writing and being more about the lead characters' daddy issues than the high-flying pulp adventure. Chapek didn't write or direct the movie.

if that the case, disney might make a film that feels like a illumination movie like a movie that feels like a blue sky studios movie because disney owned blue sky studios (maybe disney can finally make ice age 7 or rio 3?)

More pointless sequels aren't the answer; that's what Disney's doing now. They have to give the public something they haven't seen 100 times already. I'd get you'd like that personally, but that wouldn't put Disney back on top.

 

[harry580]

Strange World failed due to weak writing and being more about the lead characters' daddy issues than the high-flying pulp adventure. Chapek didn't write or direct the movie.

well, bob chapek said he hates animation so disney marketing may have heard him and give little to no marketing to this movie

More pointless sequels aren't the answer; that's what Disney's doing now. They have to give the public something they haven't seen 100 times already. I'd get you'd like that personally, but that wouldn't put Disney back on top.

not I saying I want to see something like a sequel to ice age or rio (although this is something I wanted to see it happen), I saying that disney should make a film that feels like a blue sky studios movie like ice age or robots or rio or epic or Ferdinand or spies in disguise, chicken little feels like a blue sky studios movie & since disney owns blue sky studios & its assets, maybe they can make something like that and makes millions, maybe get in big name celebrities & some pop culture references and boom, that's a money maker for disney

 

[Silverstar]

^^Again, Disney needs to innovate; directly copying another studio (especially a now defunct one) wouldn't be the slightest bit innovative.

 

[Dr.Pepper]

I don't know about Mario specifically, but Illumination has been the box office leader post-COVID, and I'm sure that irks Disney brass.

People blamed Encanto's low gross on the pandemic, but Sing 2 hit a few weeks later and did just fine. Minions 2 almost made a billion, and Mario made over a billion. The only other unqualified box office hits post-COVID are Puss in Boots, Across the Spider-Verse and too-cheap-to-fail fare like Paw Patrol 2.

If Migration makes more than Wish despite being lower-budget, they'll definitely feel theatened by that.

A part of me wonders if this has to do with Disney +. Like a lot of the general public decided that they don’t need to see a Disney movie in theaters because they can easily stream it at home in a month. I guess Illumination movies are on Peacock, but I think far fewer people have that service.