Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Powerful...


It appears that Haim Saban has bought back the "Mighty Morphing Power Rangers" from the Walt Disney Company...

Good riddance.

Let me make this clear, I HATE the Power Rangers. I've never enjoyed or understood the love for them since the early Nineties. Yes, I know that they're not made for me, but neither was "Phineas and Ferb," but I find that show quite a fun experience. And it's not the Anime look that the series has. I love "Gatchaman" (Battle of the Planets), but am ambivalent on "Voltron." It's always been just a cheap, badly acted, badly written, badly produced show. Not anything that I would equate with the Disney name. And Disney didn't go out of it's way to get PR either. It simply acquired them in the purchase of the "Fox Family Channel," which became the "ABC Family Channel." I wish Saban well with them, but I'm glad they're not part of the Disney stable.

Now that Iger has gotten rid of a group of characters that don't belong in the Disney world, perhaps he'll purchase some characters that are perfect for it...

33 comments:

Michael Asay said...

oh good! I hope this means they will soon be pulled from the Disney's Hollywood Studios park where they "performed" near the Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show. I worked at that stunt show while I was on the Disney College Program and we had to endure them everyday - although we did have fun laughing at the lame theme song and mocking their poses as they greeted guests.

Anonymous said...

I hate the Power Rangers too Honor!!
I'm very glad to hear this. It was such a lame idea for the Studios park to have them in meet and greets.

Pink Ranger said...

Just when you thought Disney couldn't get any gayer...

Theme Park Fan said...

anyword on how much disney made from this??

Anonymous said...

Disney acquiring them was almost too much for me to stomach, though fortunately they never featured them very prominently that I ever saw. I'd like to agree with you, Honor, and say that they are the absolute antithesis of everything Disney entertainment should be. However, nowadays with Disney having it's hand in so many different media and genre's of entertainment I don't know that that's so. I will say that they certainly are the antithesis of "Classic Disney", and, in fact, my introduction to them was in the mid 90's when the kids in my school and family had the choice of Power Rangers, The Disney Afternoon, and Tiny Toons/Animaniacs, to watch on Television. Needless to say I always chose the Disney Afternoon, but the way the shows competed with each other, and seeing which kids chose to watch which shows, helped me clearly define the show. You were either a Power Rangers Kid or a Disney cartoon kid, but nobody was both.

JValdez said...

Good riddance indeed.

Tom said...

Yeeha! First they decide to let Aladdin stay in DCA, now they sell these stupid characters, it's getting better every day :)

The Analyzer said...

LOL,I half anticipate the drama to follow from this post.

Rita Repulsive said...

Good riddance to cheap junk. Eisner overpaid for Fox Family 10 years ago, but I'm glad Disney is at least getting a little of it back.

An interseting profile on Saban in the New Yorker

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/05/10/100510fa_fact_bruck

And a talkbalk on CartoonBrew

http://www.cartoonbrew.com/business/new-yorker-profiles-a-cartoon-schlepper.html

Doopey said...

Yep, add me to the "good riddance" group. Never thought they were a good fit. The article I read in the Hollywood Reporter about the sale quoted a Disney source as saying that parents thought they were too violent for the Disney brand. I'm sure those same parents will love stuff like Marvel Zombies or The Punisher.

And Honor- George will never sell Lucasfilm to Disney. Get over it.

Honor Hunter said...

"And Honor- George will never sell Lucasfilm to Disney. Get over it."

And Disney will never buy Marvel either.

Actually, Lucasfilm's Suits have left open the idea of going public and the option for Lucas to do so would leave the company available for a takeover. George has always talked about the reasons he made the deal to have Star Wars (and eventually Indiana Jones) available to theme parks. If he wasn't doing it himself, the one company he would trust to do it is Disney. His words, not mine (paraphrased obviously).

If they're the only ones he'd be willing to make a ride with then perhaps someday they'd be the only ones he'd be willing to sell to?

Stranger things have happened Doopey...

Anonymous said...

Anon 10:35... I beg to differ, with myself as proof that you can be both a fan of Disney as well as the power rangers. I grew up on the disney classics and here I am following Disney blogs and studying to be an animator. At the same time, to this day I have boxes in my basement collecting dust filled with more power ranger toys than you can imagine. While power rangers has certainly not had as much of a lasting effect on me as a personas Disney has, they were both an equally large part of my childhood 15 years ago, as I'm sure was the case for many others. To say you can't be friends of both is just silly.

As for this news, I think this is wonderful. It's a win win situation. Saban can now have their rangers back in the right hands, and they'll finally get the heck out of Disney stores and parks. They had no business being there in the first place. Nice deal all around.

Anonymous said...

**Now that Iger has gotten rid of a group of characters that don't belong in the Disney world, perhaps he'll purchase some characters that are perfect for it...**

Or perhaps the stupid buying will STOP and Iger will continue to rid the company of wrong-headed purchases. Hopefully the Muppets will be next to go. And then maybe all that cash can be redirected into something appropriate, like the Parks (maybe the non-functional Yeti in the Everest ride can finally get fixed, for instance) or maybe - gasp! - Iger can invest in more talent and buy up literary properties to adapt in the Disney style, as per, oh I don't know, Mary Poppins, 101 Dalmations, Winnie the Pooh...you know, the kinds of purchases Walt used to make that actually enhanced the Disney stable of characters and enriched the Kingdom. As opposed to more recent purchases that only cheapen it.

I do NOT want Disney to buy Star Wars. I want Disney to create something BETTER than Star Wars. It's actually not impossible. Just takes some talent and guts and risk...but then that was Walt's way. Not Iger's way, or that of his lamentable predecessor, Eisner...

Anonymous said...

From Ricky Brigante at Inside the Magic:

"Disney spokeswoman Zoraya Suarez told me that August 7, 2010 will be the final day for the Power Rangers character meet and greets at Disney’s Hollywood Studios."

Anonymous said...

"Just when you thought Disney couldn't get any gayer..."

Oh come on now, that's hitting below the belt. :p


Its certainly possible that someday Disney could acquire Lucasfilm.
The characters have worked well Disney in the past, and are certainly a better fit than the Power Rangers...
(Again, I have to repeat that having meet and greets with them them was a LAME idea, so good riddance indeed, I'm just thankful that they were only in Disney's Hollywood Studios, and never at the Disneyland Resort.)

perfectly flawed said...

"...the kids in my school and family had the choice of Power Rangers, The Disney Afternoon, and Tiny Toons/Animaniacs, to watch on Television. Needless to say I always chose the Disney Afternoon, but the way the shows competed with each other, and seeing which kids chose to watch which shows, helped me clearly define the show. You were either a Power Rangers Kid or a Disney cartoon kid, but nobody was both."

Wow, that's such powerful statement. I'm so confused now, because I liked all those genres you had included (Power Rangers, Disney Afternoon, Warner Bros.), does that mean I'm weird? But seriously, you make it seem like it's a social status.

But in any case, Disney was in a weird situation when they acquired these spandex-wearing superheroes back in the new millennium. People would probably define this long-distance relationship (since filming took place on the other side of the world, New Zealand) as awkward and it was. Disney never seemed like a good adoptive parent to this misunderstood franchise and it seemed like they lost interest once they found out that they couldn't make money from it with teaming with other parties (Toei and Namco Bendai).

I have no doubt now that Power Rangers will now flourish given the proper care and attention that Saban and Nickelodeon will bring to the franchise. Nickelodeon is loading up with action as well - acquiring talking turtles and well known anime properties. If anything, kids will come to this revival of this old pop culture reference, just like how Transformers and Star Trek have done. I'm predicting this will bring good competition against Marvel/Dsiney XD - which in time is a good thing for us all, the consumers.

Anonymous said...

There was a moment in my last trip to Disney World (Hollywood Studios). All of a sudden this loud crappy music started playing, and these crazy looking scrawny people in coloured suits came up and started jumping around us and posing. Everyone just kept walking.

Good Riddance.

perfectly flawed said...

"Or perhaps the stupid buying will STOP and Iger will continue to rid the company of wrong-headed purchases. Hopefully the Muppets will be next to go. And then maybe all that cash can be redirected into something appropriate, like the Parks (maybe the non-functional Yeti in the Everest ride can finally get fixed, for instance) or maybe - gasp! - Iger can invest in more talent and buy up literary properties to adapt in the Disney style, as per, oh I don't know, Mary Poppins, 101 Dalmations, Winnie the Pooh...you know, the kinds of purchases Walt used to make that actually enhanced the Disney stable of characters and enriched the Kingdom. As opposed to more recent purchases that only cheapen it."

Those so-called purchases that you complain about help the company in numerous ways, most importantly such activity helps them survive against the other media conglomerates.


"I do NOT want Disney to buy Star Wars. I want Disney to create something BETTER than Star Wars. It's actually not impossible. Just takes some talent and guts and risk...but then that was Walt's way. Not Iger's way, or that of his lamentable predecessor, Eisner..."

Well Sir/Ma'am, "Tron" seems to be that franchise...

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said: "I do NOT want Disney to buy Star Wars. I want Disney to create something BETTER than Star Wars. It's actually not impossible. Just takes some talent and guts and risk...but then that was Walt's way. Not Iger's way, or that of his lamentable predecessor, Eisner..."

I respectfully disagree. There is virtually no sci-fi franchise that Disney could possibly create that could even exceed what George Lucas had done back in 1977. REALLY.

Anonymous said...

"Hopefully the Muppets will be next to go"

Dream on hater. That is NOT going to happen.

You clearly do not like the Muppets, but many people do, they are happy that the Muppets are not dead and are doing new things.

If you want proof, just to to www.youtube.com/muppetsstudio and look at all of the overwhelmingly positive feedback at all of the new Muppet videos.

Also, the following came from a recent D23 interview of Richard Sherman;

'Richard, who calls Iron Man 2 a "great, fun movie," says he thinks his old boss would be thrilled with Disney's acquisition of the Marvel label. "It's entertaining — Walt was an entertainer," he points out. "I think Walt would be pleased about this. He's smiling down."'

Azimov said...

Lucas doesn't have a monopoly on science fiction. It existed long before he cannibalized it. Star Trek, Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, John Carter, Dune... all the things Lucas stole his ideas from. I eagerly await the day when someone comes up with the next big sci-fi franchise. Disney has Tron and the Black Hole but if the execs ever had the balls and the gumption to take a chance on a new idea they could conceive of a new epic science fiction franchise all their own but the execs are lazy and fall back on tireless remakes and reimaginings.

Anonymous said...

^Wow, the Muppets are popular on Youtube, along with videos of little kids drugged up from the dentist's office, teens beating the crap out of each other and sneezing pandas. And Disney is making how much money from that? Well, when the new Muppet movie flops, that'll be the end of it, I suppose. You say it'll be a hit? Like their last movie? Their last TV special? Dream on, silly dreamer.

And as for Sherman, he's toeing the company line. Walt liked to create trends, not follow them - and one would assume BUY them would fit into that criteria as well.

Anonymous said...

"Dream on, silly dreamer."


Walt Disney was a "silly dreamer", you idiot.

The ONLY reason you are saying any of that is because you don't like the Muppets.

If Disney had bought a property that you loved, you would be completely thrilled.

And now I will be leaving here and I will not come back, I don't know about you, but I have a life.

Anonymous said...

Honor,

Seriously, what is the deal?

What is the point of using comment moderation if you just approve EVERY comment that is submitted?

By doing that, you are just encouraging people to fight.

You could at least reject comments that have insults aimed at others.

Honor Hunter said...

Sorry, I don't try to sensor comments unless they use really bad language or EXTREMELY rude. If people want to argue they can. Not trying to cause fights, but I want to keep blocking comments to a minimum.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the response Honor. :)

Anonymous said...

"Dream on, silly dreamer."


I don't see why you have to be so condescending.

Anonymous said...

Anyone who believes that Walt would approve of his company buying the Muppets and Marvel would likely also believe that he'd approve of Miley Cyrus, who once again is in the headlines, and not in a good way - seems she got caught on camera doing a lap dance with a gay man.

Is that "entertainment" too, Mr. Sherman?

Annette Funicello, Miley Cyrus AIN'T!

Anonymous said...

I know the Power Rangers and Miramax don't exactly fit in with the Disney brand. But I also know "content is king" and selling off film and TV libraries as well as rights to properties just confuses me.

They could just keep it all in a vault and do nothing for a few years.

Cory Gross said...

"They could just keep it all in a vault and do nothing for a few years."

The point of buying content is to use it. If you make a collection and leave it to collect dust, then that's considered an economic loss.

I would agree that the sentai stuff ("Power Rangers" and its derivatives in Japan, where it originates from) isn't a good fit for Disney. But I also don't think that Star Wars and Marvel are either. I'm in the camp that would rather see them buy Star Trek and DC Comics, which ain't gonna' happen anyways.

For some reason though, Disney and Sci-Fi never really catches on. It took 20 years for TRON to generate a sequel, Atlantis and Treasure Planet bombed, Black Hole and Island at the Top of the World bombed, 20,000 Leagues is an acknowledged classic that only came close to spawning a franchise in the themepark department. Lilo and Stitch was about the only one since 1954 that went anywhere. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for TRON and John Carter, but we'll see. In the mean time, the only Sci-Fi thing that works for Disney is a terrible Fantasy franchise invented by someone else *sigh*

Anonymous said...

I agree. The wildly-still-popular Muppets will NOT be leaving Disney anytime soon.

If Disney should acquire anymore new properties, I still think that they should buy back Steven Spielberg's half of the rights to the Roger Rabbit franchise, which would give Disney full ownership of that property again and more freedom to do whatever they want with Roger and Co.

Anonymous said...

I know I'm late here, but I just have some brief things to say;

Anyone who hates the Muppets has no soul.

And the Muppets fit in a LOT better with Disney than the Power Rangers...

Its not like Disney ever did anything worthwhile with the Power Rangers anyway.

Anonymous said...

To the Anonymous who comment at 9:06PM on May 13th...

YOU ARE TOTALLY WRONG AND YOU KNOW THAT YOU ARE TOTALLY WRONG!!!


End of story.