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Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Disney Fans also Question LEGO Deal

So most of you know by now that Disney and LEGO have signed a deal to produce sets based on Toy Story, Cars, and Prince of Persia.  Now, I like the MEGA Block Car sets and was mad that MEGA Brands had the license deal.  And I'm looking forward to doing a Radiator Springs display.  And I'm really looking forward to see what LEGO does with the Toy Story brand.  But what threw me was the Prince of Persia announcement... I didn't know another movie based on some video game was coming out; generally these movies don't do well at the box office (see Doom, Tomb Raider, etc.).  Why would you produce product based on a untested brand (even though Disney is behind it, doesn't make it an automatic hit).

And now looking at some of the Disney fan blogs , they're not to happy with the idea as well.  My favorite quote:
Jones: Persia, sir. It’s what they used to call Iran.
Exec: Hmm, Iran, not too sure about that. Aren’t we at war with Iran?
Jones: Not yet, sir. Maybe you’re thinking of Iraq?
Exec: Bah, they’re all the same. But excellent, that means there’s still time for us to exploit the country’s history and culture for our own personal gain.
 and:
Jones: ... And people love Lego for some reason. ...
 Looks like it'll be the next Avatar or Galidor fiasco.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

When I first saw the words "LEGO" and "Disney" I was excited at the prospect of getting some Disney stuff made into LEGO. This stuff isn't Disney, its Pixar and Ubisoft.

What would be wrong with some real Disney LEGO? Beauty and the Beast, Lion King, Peter Pan, Snow White, Dumbo, anything that is actual Disney.

These are doomed to fail I fear.

Michael said...

I don't see the Disney/Pixar sets doomed to failure... Pixar has been the only recent saving grace for Disney in terms of broad kid appeal. I would really HATE to see LEGO sets based on Disney's High School Musical or Hannah Montana franchise! But then again, HSM & HM are apart of that tween demographic that has "grown" out of LEGO. And a part from the recent Bolt movie, Disney hasn't produced a decent kids movie since the 2nd golden age of Disney (ie. Beauty & the Beast, Little Mermaid, etc.)... and I feel Bolt's success was due to John Lasseter (Pixar's) influence.

Joe Meno had some ideas on the subject...

But I agree, I'd like to see more Disney-centric sets. The recent Beauty and the Beast musical box looks wonderful.

Unknown said...

Mulan, Treasure Planet, and Emperor's New Groove were all great kids films. But, that isn't the point.

Cars might be a great film, but it doesn't have the appeal that I think a LEGO line needs to succeed. It needs to be popular with both the kids and parents. I don't think something like Cars or Prince of Persia will work in LEGO, or at least not as well as Classic Disney.

Maybe Toy Story, but not the others.

Michael said...

I really liked Treasure Planet... Mulan and Emperor's New Groove were forgettable.

And have you not seen Cars?!?!? It's a great movie! ...Even if it's just a animated remake loosely based on Doc Hollywood. I can see where LEGO sets base on it would be a big hit... The die cast Cars are very popular in the die cast car collectors.

But getting back on point, I think we both agree to (some degree), LEGO sets based on Pixar movies maybe = good, Prince of Persian = bad.

I want a monorail set, or some sets based on some of the rides in the theme parks as well. :)