LogFAQs > #925039263

It's certainly an interesting situation Disney finds itself in now. 2019 will be a year for them to remember forever (and though it has exceeded even high-end expectations so far, it certainly looked that way from the outset), I suspect in part because of them wanting to get things rolling for Disney+ quickly, but at what cost?

2020 in particular looks peppered with question marks, quite unlike this year: will the new Mulan's serious take on a comedic musical straddle the fine line of drawing nostalgic general audiences and Chinese moviegoers, for whom such a take on the Mulan legend is nothing new? Will people care about a prequel starring a dead character? Jungle Cruise seems like basically a family-friendly version of Jumanji 2, complete with sharing its big star, but it lacks a franchise's built-in audience. Will its similarities bolster its event status over a somewhat light summer, or will the project prove to be too transparently formulaic for audiences? Can Cruella spin a Maleficent-level success in perspective-twisting from a villain whose mission in the source material is to skin puppies to make a fur coat? The year has not one, but two original Pixar movies, which are major question marks at this point. Finally, what's the untitled Disney Animation movie scheduled for November? Zootopia 2 has been something the fans have looked forward to for a long time, would fit into Disney Animation's sequel phase, and provide Disney one 100% safe bet for the year.

Beyond that, of course, is Avatar 2, which is the biggest question mark on Disney's whole schedule. Looking at it as a guaranteed $2 billion+ and revived franchise would be a huge mistake: the first movie hasn't lasted culturally as well as you'd expect, and who knows what James Cameron's great technological innovation will be this time? In that sense, I definitely concur that Avatar isn't necessarily the savior Disney needs. Neither is any other individual movie or group of movies forthcoming, really. It's striking to me that, for all of Disney's success, only Marvel has managed to build up a brand and stand on its own as a major draw without the benefit of nostalgia. And Disney, of course, is running low on opportunities for their other major subsidiary studios to exploit nostalgia. Another concern: Disney habitually overspends on their movies, which could become a huge problem when the nostalgic gravy train stops rolling after 2019 ends, and especially with Disney+ likely to run at an operating loss in its first few years. Speaking of which, in an increasingly crowded and expensive streaming market, can Disney+ acquire the type of traction in an that you'd expect from the strength of Disney's franchises and general brand? All in all, a surprisingly mixed outlook considering Disney's bordering on a 45% share of studio box office this year and, as you mentioned, is typically very good at marketing and polishing their movies.

And now for something completely different...

I watched the movie of the same name a few hours ago, and it really made me appreciate how Monty Python and the Holy Grail worked so well. I have no inherent opposition to the sketch-comedy-without-a-story (very deliberately in this case) format, but the resulting movie at least ought to be funny, especially considering its everything-and-the-kitchen-sink approach. Even its best sketches (the marriage counselor and mountaineering ones) were only fitfully funny, right about on par with Holy Grail's weakest moments. I felt like the movie would have done well to let certain other moments breathe a bit longer, but then there was the restaurant sketch reminding me that longer isn't always better. All in all, "And Now for Something Completely Different" is a flawed work-in-progress at best, but you can definitely see how Monty Python reached The Holy Grail (which was still sketch-focused even with its overarching plot) from it.
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