Live action adaptations aren't anything new. Even anime live actions nowadays are just a part of the process that I hardly cared much about it.
Now, most people said these live-action adaptations of Disney classics aren't really necessary, not when the original is right there for the taking. I agree. Some of these movies are its niche fanbases such as Aladdin although that movie is now really dated. Whether the audience like it or not, these remakes and reimaginings are still going to happen in the years to come. Come on, not just on the big screen but also in the new streaming site. We're not going to shake it off. Besides, there are far better things to worry about than a stupid movie that the general public would forget anyway within months.
To be honest, I'll rather worry about Disney's growing empire and monopoly. When One Punch Man criticized Disney for that, you know that is bad. Just Disney... You are making enough money already. Allow yourself to have competition because you need it. Having one sole monopoly makes everything so damn boring. Hey, Coke Cola doesn't expand this much.
Having live-action adaptations to their classics are the least of Disney's problems. We cannot change these decisions as well as the fourth Toy Story movie. Unlike Frozen movies which I refuse to watch, I will continue to watch anything Toy Story because the story they're making is interesting. If that ending is true, then... that is anticlimactic and goes against what is TS3. And I don't like TS3 as much as others do, preferring the previous movies. I would've thought they would make it even and their ideologies are so different they can't be together as before with a cynical yet world-weary Bo and still kind yet wise Woody and their ways of helping toys are different too. I hope they did that instead of having Woody leaving Bonnie and the others too soon. But I hope to God, that those who watched the animated movies at the Oscars give other studios a chance just like what they did to Into the Spiderverse.
These films can make mistakes - Lefou's homosexuality fell in the domain when you are gay, you also just happened to be the bad guy and Ella's Gandhi-like approach was criticized as not that feminist. The bi erasure of Shang for a character that many did not find interesting. Again, this is in the American western spectrum of social issues. Not the Korean, Japanese, etc.
The main part of these movies is its expansion. Why else would Donald Glover say it would more into Simba's angst? They could show his PTSD that the Broadway and sequels would later show because Simba is Disney's first character whose PTSD has been explored heavily. Frozen's Elsa's depression was not even explored as well. Yeah, I'll keep hammering just how bad that movie's depiction of depression is.
I'm sorry about that digression.
Hell, given how much Will Smith is going on about self-worth of Aladdin, it would focus on that personal journey. Revealed through elsewhere, it's also about Jasmine who wanted to be more than to marry. Since she's the Princess, she should be Queen or rather Sultana in this case. Considering Aladdin's official title should be Prince Consort rather than Sultan. Not even the sequel movies and tv show say a thing about Aladdin's title upon his marriage to Jasmine. Kiara is pronounced queen-to-be so many times in her original movie and Lion Guard that Kovu has to be Prince Consort. Now, Tiana is Princess Consort unless she wants to accept the title.
I understand where they are going with this, history bedamn. Because in the current social climate of America - where I might add, the original Disney movie Aladdin is being released, they have to get points for these depictions. Their depiction of Elsa's depression and status as queen is very superficial. Just like VLD, they are scraping the bottom of the barrel to get undeserved points so I refused to award Elsa just for her queenhood or supposed status as an independent woman because there are others before her and done better. Mulan and Tiana are what I would throw back to those who throw around Elsa as if she's the pinnacle of feminism when she really isn't.
They really have to ignore some historical details in order to get into this social climate. It's nothing new to cast POC, LGBT, disabled, and mental issues like PTSD into main roles. It's just pushed as of the recent years since the beginnings of Trump administration at least in America. We have to acknowledge that in America's social climate.
Because they have to expand on the female roles a lot more and add POCs in roles they should've been cast in. I heard whitewashing or casting of whites in the remake of Aladdin though. Er... seriously, casting director, you didn't think of sending out casting calls for Indian, Middle Eastern, and other brown people to be extras. I can see why a biracial cast member may cause controversy, particularly one that is half white. Miles Morales didn't have this because he's half black and half Puerto Rican, both sides of which are POC so...
They have to reinterpret it for the modern audience and expand it to make a more cohesive sense. Historical accuracy could be a bonus though. Though that same accuracy would not be the same for something like what we have now. Actual history would make things too dark. Because our reality is anything but sugar sweets.
Of course, nothing could stand the greatness of the original's A Whole New World. Seriously, Naomi Scott and Mena Massaud don't have a chance. Mena Massaud is hot as heck though. Naomi Scott looks good too. Remember, I'm only commenting on their hotness because I don't know a damn thing about them. I appreciate new additions to the song list as most would just as I love what the Broadway add in their musicals.
Just as long they don't adapt Pocahontas, then it's all good. No matter how memorable the songs are, people would lambast the original film more. Just don't. They have better hopes of adapting Treasure Planet than Pocahontas because that movie has a fanbase that many bemoaned the lack of plushies and merch from that movie.
If there is a live-action Frozen, you can bet your tush I would refuse to touch it. Even if they corrected the stuff I mentioned back in my review, I still refused to give the damn Frozen movies time of the day. That is how the glorification of the movie soured my opinion so much I refused to even touch it. That's right. I won't watch the damn sequel even if I want to save my life.
As a whole, these movies aren't exactly groundbreaking. It's just okay with the then and there attractive people and people who can act in a Disney movie. Some of them are musicals and some not. They just exist. In a world where people would drop something pretty quickly and move onto the next new thing... yeah, nobody has to worry about them much. As a whole, these movies are just existing. They're just there. Nothing horrible about these movies to call them the scum of live-action adaptations. Their only crime is that they seemed to exist.
When Disney's increasingly problem is its monopoly. Does anyone see this? It's bad that Disney has a monopoly now and too big at that! These live-action adaptations is a blip when Disney's main problem is its monopoly in media to the point Frozen was won precisely it's a Disney film! Why are you even worrying about something as frivolous as live-adaptations of Disney classics when you should worry more about the growing empire?! I am so wary about Disney as of late with their acquisitions. They should at least stop being too big on the same level as Amazon and Google. We don't need this level of capitalism on top of our bigger issues.
Just to clarify, those who love the originals like Doug Walker, you guys don't even have to worry about these movies as much. Why are you even worrying as if it would take over? The Disney classics are called classics for a reason. I don't see the live actions being any kind of classic any time soon. Why worry about the live action taking over the animated version? Yes, they are making them modern and to befit the mindset of this day and age. But you don't have to worry about them. Just because you hate them does not mean others can't enjoy it. Your opinion isn't the best thing in the world and respecting others' opinions and enjoyment is the first rule in any media people wanted to like. Seriously, I'm not even worrying about a live-action ATLA or Your Name because, at this part of the process, it's just normal to have them. Think about the superheroes films of today. The comic fans don't seem to care much as seen with Linkara. Having live-action adaptations aren't new and won't take over or become the classics of the original or gain that level of a classic. They coexist and that's it.
I do have a question for Doug Walker. Since when you morphed your opinion from "everyone's opinions are valid" to "my opinion is better than yours. Your opinion on this movie is no match for my opinion! This movie sucked, therefore, you sucked for liking the movie!"? Just why? What happened? I have this inkling ever since the Frozen/Tangled review. But many more pointed out that you made fun of people for liking movies you don't like the Happy Madison movies and the Disney remakes. Why poke fun of these people? They don't deserve anything like that nor do putting down their intelligence levels. Their only 'crime' was to like a movie you don't. What the hell happened?
To be honest, I'm more focused on how are they going to retell these fairytales than it being remakes of Disney films. They are still Disney and they are still making fairytales so that is the least of my problems. That's the only thing I'm even thinking about the fairytale or anything that retold myths and famous stories. I don't care much of the CGI remake of Lion King or any of that.
What I do wish for these darker and edgier movies to do is just to have fun. Both Disney and their audience knew they can't take themselves too seriously when these movies can't measure up against the classic anyway. Just have fun with the adaptation! You guys can have your modern social activism while still having fun!
The flash animation is really jarring. I understand why they're using Flash. Much cheaper and quicker. It pops on the screen but not in a good way. It's not as good as it looked like before. I miss the original animation so much.
I'm not surprised about this at all. Like I said before, it's not new to have the marginalized as protagonists or portrayed in a good light or in starring roles with respect to their cultural identity. I have to comment on this: people would get to decide what they are, especially if they have descended and are POC. They are allowed to call themselves Americans, French, etc because that what they decided. It does not mean they hate their ancestry. If Marinette is French, she's French. It doesn't mean she hated her Chinese ancestry. My brother definitely thinks himself American even when he knew he has Vietnamese and Chinese ancestry.
I grew up with PBS with Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, Reading Rainbow, Between the Lions, Sesame Street, Arthur and Liberty's Kids to name a few. I do watch 4Kids with Pokemon and Yugioh on the air. My interest in anime did start there.
I'm also not surprised by some states or countries banning or censoring. Changes would not be immediate that every prejudice in the world disappeared in an instant. Again, the world isn't America-centric. It would take generations for respect towards the marginalized to become normal...as well as global warming to become harmful than it already is. Each country has its own cultural identity and the last thing America can do to any of them is to posture our western ideals on it and make it worse or make what is good turn bad. Cultural imperialism, people, we must not practice that in our day and age. And people tend to do that everywhere in America.
No matter how much Koreans or Japanese try to have any say in the western stomping grounds like Tumblr, they are ignored and get thrown off the site just because they have a different opinion. For example, Japanese feminism is different from American feminism so it's really cringey whenever I see Americans look at Japanese products with western ideas instead of approaching it with the culture and everything that goes with it in mind. That is cultural imperialism, America-centric people, you are not doing anybody justice in Japan.
I avoid any criticals towards any Japanese media in Tumblr for this reason alone although the main fandom still has those rose-glasses on. Either way, it's hard especially in the excessively progressive-liberal that is Tumblr that can be toxic to anybody that disagreed and I'm not talking about the conservatives and hate groups. I'm talking about the people who are in the same group as Tumblr prided themselves to be in...just in their own cultural identity and what that entails. I avoid this for any foreign media really because I do not want to insult the people over there. I avoid this in any fandoms I'm currently in and skipped over any criticism not made by a Japanese mindset or approached in that angle.
Watching the 4Kids dub of One Piece is better than the cultural imperialism going around in fanbases.
Yes, an appalling dub of an anime that is dark as fuck which destroyed everything OP is made of is better because I know its copyright and licensing is what made 4Kids the way it was back when it began.
I don't call them villains of my childhood because they are part of my childhood as well as my cousins and younger brother's. They don't make fun of 4Kids and still cherished things like Power Rangers and Pokemon till this day. Hell, Pokemon is one of my favorites kids shows on the anime side of things and I am unapologetic.
I understand their situation because at least they aren't practicing cultural imperialism, but commercializing it for their target audience. They may have rid of Japanese things in the edits but by Godoka, at least they aren't doing it because they feel they are better than them or ignoring their wishes. I don't think Oda would even care about that dub anyway because he is still making money off the merch everywhere.
It's not posturing one's culture over another as if that culture is inferior or does not matter. It's trying to make a fucking dark show that is extremely goofy in appearance into something for kids, even if it meant taking away so many things essential or nonessential really.
Yes, jelly-filled donuts are better than cultural imperialism.
Yes, the blockage of uncensored anime by 4Kids is better than cultural imperialism.
Yes, the fucking catchy One Piece rap is better than cultural imperialism.
As much as it is amusing to see the 4Kids memes and listening to the memorable songs they write, the 4Kids dub of One Piece would honestly feel like water in a desert.
That is how cruel cultural imperialism is.
To end in a happy note.
I know this cup noodle brand. I saw enough of it from childhood visits to Asian supermarkets - my mom bought them too before she switched to udon - and their labels are so iconic that I recognize it instantly. I ate this brand and I considered it bland and just fulfilled its purpose as an instant noodle. I'm never an instant noodle eater so I can't say much of quality. And I grew up in an Asian household, knowing Asian products. Which reminds me a cousin, who grew up in a definitely Asian neighborhood, actually had no clue about Asian products so much so my brother reacted in amazement that he didn't know these products even by accident even if he saw these products before but never connected them. Not even Lotte or Ramune or Calpico.
I never knew they began their Hungry Days adverts this way. Either way, it's unique among Japanese commercials. And you would forget they are selling cup noodles. And you would be forgiven. I concentrated on these high school aus that I forgot they are selling cup ramen. Hey, the funny Old Spice/The Man Your Man Could Smell Like is just as awesome. When great commercials concentrated on creativity, then it's better than to simply sell the product. Sometimes, it's good to have a mascot than and there like the Progressive Lady.
This instant ramen advert is gorgeous and the details, as an OP fan, makes me squeal and hugging my figures. I never thought I would see Katakuri, Ace, Bonney, and Kuma eating in the same table, in school uniforms and no inhuman body proportions. For God's sake, Kuma and Katakuri are bigger and taller than Ace and Bonney.
I love everything about this! From Bump of Chicken's music to the animation and the references! I need more and we're getting more!
But I hope to Godoka, that there is no romance in these commercials. Ship teases are fine but definite endgames are not. Especially in a series such as OP.
