'Robinsons' is first test of Lasseter at Disney

[crazy4wdw]

'Robinsons' is first test of Lasseter at Disney
Thu Mar 29, 2007 2:41pm ET

LOS ANGELES, March 29 (Reuters) - The Walt Disney Co.'s animated movie "Meet the Robinsons" debuts on Friday with modest box office expectations in the first major test of Pixar's creative influence on Disney's struggling animation studio.

The film was extensively reworked by John Lasseter, the creative chief behind Pixar Animation Studios blockbusters like "Finding Nemo," "The Incredibles" and "Monsters Inc." who now heads both studios' animation programs.

Lasseter took over last year when Disney bought Pixar for $7.4 billion in an all-stock deal, and is widely perceived as the heir to company founder Walt Disney's animation vision.

"Investor eyes will be on 'Meet the Robinsons' as this is the first Disney animated film that will have the direct influence of John Lasseter," BMO Capital Markets analyst Jeff Logsdon wrote this week in a note to clients.

Analysts pegged the film's opening weekend box office at $20 million to $30 million, well below last year's $68 million record for the weekend set by "Ice Age: The Meltdown" or Pixar's "Cars," which debuted last June with $60 million.

Sander Morris Harris analyst David Miller estimated the film cost Disney about $52 million to make and $65 million to market and distribute. He said a $30 million opening weekend should guarantee a profit over the life of the title.

"This is the first time you will see Pixar's influence on a story that had already been done," Miller said. "If the film is successful it will prove to the Street that the $7.4 billion that Disney paid for Pixar is a damn good deal."

"Meet the Robinsons," which is opening in 3,413 U.S. and Canada theaters, was No. 1 in advance ticket sales on Thursday at Fandango.com, the largest U.S. movie ticketing service with access to more than 15,000 screens, said Fandango spokesman Harry Medved.

On Thursday, "Robinsons" accounted for about 31 percent of ticket sales, compared with 23 percent for the No. 2 film, "Blades of Glory" and 18 percent for "300," Medved said.

Box office grosses also may get a boost from premium ticket prices charged at roughly 700 screens that will show three-dimensional versions of the film, in the largest-ever release of a modern 3D film.

While reviewers generally praised the film's cutting-edge animation, they had mixed opinions of its story and characters.

Associated Press reviewer Christy Lemire described the digital 3D effects as "pretty spectacular" and "eye candy," but added that "it's hard to feel too emotionally engaged by any of this."

Entertainment Weekly reviewer Lisa Schwarzbaum rated the film as average with a grade of "C," calling it "one bumpy ride."

But Fandango.com columnist Richard Horgan saw "Lasseter's fingerprints all over this thing because it pops the way a Pixar film does."

"It just has that bounce in its narrative step," Horgan told Reuters. "It's a great heralding of the Disney-Pixar era. It's just really encouraging."

 

[wbk]

It was a nice story, but it sure isn't one I'd buy for my collection once it's released in video. Sure hope this isn't the beginning of a trend.

 

[*Robin*]

I was impressed by the art, not the story...though it has a good beginning and a decent end, the meat of it was long, rambling and really needed direction. It was also pretty perdictable in my opinion.

I'll buy it, if for nothing more than the last few minutes, and the Walt quote...but I really hope it can only go up from here.

 

[MJMcBride]

its not doing well right?

http://www.mouseextra.com/

 

[*Robin*]

its not doing well right?

Seems to be doing ok critically...so far, so good. It really isn't that horrible, it just seems to wander too much, and trys to do too much for one movie.


Here's a link for Rotten Tomatoes

 

[WDWPinCollector]

I caught the 4:50 PM show in 3D at Downtown Disney yesterday and thought it was quite good. At one point it was a little hard to follow, but the image quality and detail, especially in 3D, was stunning. The theater was jammed packed.

Looking forward to watching it again on DVD.

 

[EUROPACL]

I caught the 4:50 PM show in 3D at Downtown Disney yesterday and thought it was quite good. At one point it was a little hard to follow, but the image quality and detail, especially in 3D, was stunning. The theater was jammed packed.

Looking forward to watching it again on DVD.

Got to wonder about a movie made for kids that adults have trouble following.

 

[YoHo]

Yeah, no kidding.

I like the utter lie that is the Article title.
Lasseter had exactly 2 things to do with this movie and Jack left town.

Remember, if Meet the Robinsons tanks, then the middle manager idiots that brought you Chicken Little and Home on the Range will lose all power in the company. Lasseter and Catmull will actually have control in more then just name.
If you love Disney, you won't see this movie.

Also

It was a nice story, but it sure isn't one I'd buy for my collection once it's released in video. Sure hope this isn't the beginning of a trend.

Again, I draw your attention to the two previous cow patties released. The trend is ongoing.

 

[MJMcBride]

Yeah, no kidding.

I like the utter lie that is the Article title.
Lasseter had exactly 2 things to do with this movie and Jack left town.

Remember, if Meet the Robinsons tanks, then the middle manager idiots that brought you Chicken Little and Home on the Range will lose all power in the company. Lasseter and Catmull will actually have control in more then just name.
If you love Disney, you won't see this movie.

My only issue with your post, is I actually liked Chicken Little

 

[WDWPinCollector]

Got to wonder about a movie made for kids that adults have trouble following.

Well, not really. My mind isn't as sharp as it used to be...

 

[mickeyfantroy]

Saw it today in 3D at Downtown Disney and though it was just OK. I liked the story line at the beginning but it went downhill and became real cheesy. In that line it reminded me of Chicken Little.

 

[Captain Hook]

I think its going to tank, especially if the reason everyone is going to go see it is because of the 3D effects. Any time I see "reworked" in the discription of the movie you know theres trouble. Story is what sells not gimics and what type of animation is used

 

[MJMcBride]

here's a bad review. I have still yet to see it

http://www.mouseextra.com/

 

[Carnotaurus]

Just saw this with six intelligent adults of diverse tastes. We all LOVED it. (The five kids with us liked it, too!)

The plot was fast-paced and twisty, but really smart and charming. And funny.

It didn't feel like a Disney movie, per se. But it didn't feel like anything else that's out there right now ... no overt pop culture references, no gross humor, really stylized characters, lots of really quietly funny jokes (which tend to be my favorite kind).

Maybe it did feel like an old-school Disney movie. It's the first non-Pixar kids' movie I've seen in a long time that embraces sincerity and warmth without getting too drippy.

Don't judge it by its trailer, which shares the lamest jokes and gets the tone of the actual movie all wrong.

(For context, I hated "Brother Bear," thought "Chicken Little" was horrible and thought "Home on the Range" was a visually interesting failure.)

 

[Sarangel]

Please remember that posts should have some bearing on the topic at hand (even if not the original topic), and should not attack individual posters. Be polite to your fellow posters.

Sarangel

 

[mjstaceyuofm]

Took the family to see this on Saturday night. I thought it was one of the worst Disney theatrical movies I've seen in a long time. It was pretty bad....

There weren't even any funny "adult" jokes / innuendos in the movie at all. Very dissappointing.

The best part about it was the 3D Donald Duck/Chip&Dale cartoon beforehand.

 

[Viki]

Entertainment Weekly gave it a "C." My partner tried to talk me into it over the weekend, but I wasn't having it. We saw Namesake instead. Now, there's a good movie.

 

[All Aboard]

$25 million opening weekend. A little better (inflation adjusted) than Brother Bear and Treasure Planet. A good step up from Home on the Range. Much worse than Chicken Little. Might struggle to do $100 million domestically. If we were arguing two years ago whether Chicken Little was a failure at $130 million, this shouldn't be much of an argument.

Too bad. In my opinion, only Lilo and Stitch was better amongst the eight 21st Century Disney Animated Features.

 

[ChrisFL]

I thought it was a very well done movie, a bit over the top and crazy in places but I still really enjoyed it.

 

[perdidochas]

It was a nice story, but it sure isn't one I'd buy for my collection once it's released in video. Sure hope this isn't the beginning of a trend.

I agree. The best parts of it were shown on the commercials. The rest was just ho-hum. I'm glad now we didn't spring for the extra money for 3-d.