Comcast is reportedly in talks to acquire DreamWorks Animation in a multibillion deal

[lockedoutlogic]

Ahhh...boy are they grumpy in the dwarf building right now...

Remember what Comcast needs: content.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

UO will never topple WDW, if that's their goal, they will fail.

Their goal should be to take a day or two extra off of a disney vacation and move it to Universal. They've done that for years, but I think they are going to be able to do that with more and more guests in the near future.

I don't think that's their goal...

I think their goal is to saturate that corridor around I-4 and pull market share.

But here's the kicker: the way Iger has stupidly steered the ship, pulling market share from wdw could be a huge blow in the future...much more than ten years ago.

They have shown the "timidity" in the theme parks business that Roy Disney hurled at Eisner in 2003

 

[rteetz]

UO will never topple WDW, if that's their goal, they will fail.

Their goal should be to take a day or two extra off of a disney vacation and move it to Universal. They've done that for years, but I think they are going to be able to do that with more and more guests in the near future.

I wouldn't be so sure that universal can never be on par with Disney. The way they are spending and investing in their parks on time and on or under budget is extraordinary.

 

[ChipnDale79]

I don't think that's their goal...

I think their goal is to saturate that corridor around I-4 and pull market share.

But here's the kicker: the way Iger has stupidly steered the ship, pulling market share from wdw could be a huge blow in the future...much more than ten years ago.

They have shown the "timidity" in the theme parks business that Roy Disney hurled at Eisner in 2003

That's what I mean, sorry if my post was confusing, but pulling market share from Disney is what they should be trying to accomplish.

 

[ChipnDale79]

I wouldn't be so sure that universal can never be on par with Disney. The way they are spending and investing in their parks on time and on or under budget is extraordinary.

I don't disagree with you on that, I think the content Disney has, and the land will make it extremely hard for UO to ever overtake them.

UO can build the hotels and parks, and people will go, and they are, but they aren't on their own little "island" like Disney is.

 

[rteetz]

I don't disagree with you on that, I think the content Disney has, and the land will make it extremely hard for UO to ever overtake them.

UO can build the hotels and parks, and people will go, and they are, but they aren't on their own little "island" like Disney is.

I think Universal really becomes a huge Disney competitor when they finally announce that third park as they have the land for it now.

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

Ahhh...boy are they grumpy in the dwarf building right now...

Remember what Comcast needs: content.

Ahhh...but that "content" is DreamWorks.

Yuck.

 

[ChipnDale79]

I think Universal really becomes a huge Disney competitor when they finally announce that third park as they have the land for it now.

I agree 100%, they didnt buy that land to not build a third park. That also makes this Dreamworks deal interesting to follow IMO.

 

[rteetz]

I agree 100%, they didnt buy that land to not build a third park. That also makes this Dreamworks deal interesting to follow IMO.

Exactly that would give them even more content to put in that park. They also have Nintendo in their back pocket don't forget.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Ahhh...but that "content" is DreamWorks.

Yuck.

Woah woah...

Avatar SUCKS...but I've heard 6 years of excuses there

 

[mikepizzo]

Woah woah...

Avatar SUCKS...but I've heard 6 years of excuses there

I completely agree, and couldn't care less about the Avatar IP. Unfortunately content is not directly correlated to the box office. DreamWorks has released some bad films and some flops. So far the Avatar IP has been a pretty weak story, but has been nothing but profit (obviously not saying much since it's only one film but I'm sure you get my point).

 

[rteetz]

I completely agree, and couldn't care less about the Avatar IP. Unfortunately content is not directly correlated to the box office. DreamWorks has released some bad films and some flops. So far the Avatar IP has been a pretty weak story, but has been nothing but profit (obviously not saying much since it's only one film but I'm sure you get my point).

I think as a brand yes I'd agree avatar is definitely not good. Now for what Disney is doing with it in the parks I think it's going to be huge. I'm not sure if you saw the sneak peak close up of the avatar animatronic but if they can pull that AA off wow it's going to be the most advanced and incredible AA ever done.

 

[mikepizzo]

I think as a brand yes I'd agree avatar is definitely not good. Now for what Disney is doing with it in the parks I think it's going to be huge. I'm not sure if you saw the sneak peak close up of the avatar animatronic but if they can pull that AA off wow it's going to be the most advanced and incredible AA ever done.

Ah now we are talking. Yes, I've seen the video. Regardless the brand I can appreciate feats of engineering. That AA did look remarkable, but I'll reserve all judgment for that area until I experience it.

 

[rteetz]

Ah now we are talking. Yes, I've seen the video. Regardless the brand I can appreciate feats of engineering. That AA did look remarkable, but I'll reserve all judgment for that area until I experience it.

Exactly. I think as a theme park experience avatar could prove to be remarkable. As a movie visually it was remarkable, story wise not so much.

 

[luisov]

I think you guys are just seeing the theme park side of the deal. From a studio perspective, DreamWorks is not exactly the best player out there. Avatar might not be the best property, but DreamWorks has a bunch of bad properties. When they really want to they can do some really good animated films (How to Train Your Dragon), but most of the times they build properties everyone forgets about one year after the films' release, and they release 3 bad sequels with the expectation of creating a billion dollar franchise like they once did with Shrek.

Their most recent films have been quite poor, with a couple of exceptions. Looking at their slate of future films, I really doubt things are going to improve for them anytime soon.

 

[Josh Hendy]

UO will never topple WDW, if that's their goal, they will fail.

If Disney ever topples it will be mostly their own doing, like Kodak or GM.

I do however think that the "plucky orphaned princess/robot/alien overcomes adversity" formula is ripe for the picking, with much box office and theme park remuneration soon to follow. All it is, when you get right down to it, is Shrek or Harry Potter fine tuned down the age ladder to pick up the demo for Toy Story, Finding Nemo et al.

I don't want Disney to topple but I would like there to be two very strong competitors in a similar space ... namely wholesome family vacations for the masses.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

I completely agree, and couldn't care less about the Avatar IP. Unfortunately content is not directly correlated to the box office. DreamWorks has released some bad films and some flops. So far the Avatar IP has been a pretty weak story, but has been nothing but profit (obviously not saying much since it's only one film but I'm sure you get my point).

I'm just pointing out the irony of statements:

1. Avatar is fine...any ip can be good rides...can you imagine what Disney will do with it? It's got a bazillion Facebook likes and Chinese dvd sales (the silliest argument out there...even for DIS)

2. It's dreamworks...yuck...bleh. Who likes shrek, how to train your dragon, Kung fu panda, or Madagascar?

Funny...huh?
And what if you combine them with minions, dispicable me, etc?

...funny...huh?

Way more DVDs sold there than avatar

 

[lockedoutlogic]

And katzenberg is leaving when the deal goes through...

If Disney really wants to kill Eisner/get his shares back...I think I know how

 

[lockedoutlogic]

If Disney ever topples it will be mostly their own doing, like Kodak or GM.

I do however think that the "plucky orphaned princess/robot/alien overcomes adversity" formula is ripe for the picking, with much box office and theme park remuneration soon to follow. All it is, when you get right down to it, is Shrek or Harry Potter fine tuned down the age ladder to pick up the demo for Toy Story, Finding Nemo et al.

I don't want Disney to topple but I would like there to be two very strong competitors in a similar space ... namely wholesome family vacations for the masses.

Perfect

 

[Planogirl]

I'm just pointing out the irony of statements:

1. Avatar is fine...any ip can be good rides...can you imagine what Disney will do with it? It's got a bazillion Facebook likes and Chinese dvd sales (the silliest argument out there...even for DIS)

2. It's dreamworks...yuck...bleh. Who likes shrek, how to train your dragon, Kung fu panda, or Madagascar?

Funny...huh?
And what if you combine them with minions, dispicable me, etc?

...funny...huh?

Way more DVDs sold there than avatar

OMG... Just thinking of these stories combined with what Universal already has. I'm hopeful for The Secret Life of Pets too.

I think that DreamWorks just needs a bit of steering and Universal would be good for that job.