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The Atlas Obscura article linked at the end has some other interesting quotes, including another one from Tolkien Scholar, Trish Lambert, that “Here you have a

The Atlas Obscura article linked at the end has some other interesting quotes, including another one from Tolkien Scholar, Trish Lambert, that “Here you have a brash, American entrepreneur who had the audacity to go in and make money off of fairy tales.” https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/tolkien-cs-lewis-disney-snow-white-narnia-hobbit-dwarves https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/tolkien-cs-lewis-disne...

Semiapies 8y ago
And yet, when the well-bred Englishman sells his books about dwarves and dragons to a publisher, it's totally different. Isn't that always the way?
- 6nf 8y ago
  Tolkien wrote stories, Disney did not. At least that's how I interpret it.
  - ChristianBundy 8y ago
    Disney as a company was also completely built upon old stories in the public domain, but as soon as they became successful they started tightening the screws on intellectual property laws to make sure that others couldn't do the same.
    - Semiapies 8y ago
      And yet, weirdly enough, you can find a slew of second- and third-rate animated movies about the very same fairy tales Disney based their movies on...
  - eeZah7Ux 8y ago
    Not only Disney did not, they butchered stories that existed.
ardent_uno 8y ago
Why should he not make money off fairy tales? By making money he built a company which has brought joy to millions of people over a near century, employed thousands and created value all without doing any real damage to the fairy tales which inspired him. It's a classic win-win.
- rangibaby 8y ago
  > real damage to the fairy tales which inspired him What about the next Walt Disney? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_Term_Extension_Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_Term_Extension_Act
  - ardent_uno 8y ago
    I'd say that's more an issue with current copyright law than Disney.
    - jonreem 8y ago
      Current copyright law is the law in large part due to Disney’s political influence.
  - hahla 8y ago
    What does this have to do with the next Walt Disney? The next "Walt Disney" is not going to be copying Mickey Mouse they will be creating something new... Inspiration != copying.
    - snaily 8y ago
      Except that at least of the source material for Disney classics was based on public domain sources that was younger than Mickey Mouse is today. Pinocchio (the book) was released in 1883,and thus only 73 years at the time of the Disney movie (source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/derekkhanna/2014/02/03/50-disney-movies-based-on-the-public-domain/#1e69a2f4329c https://www.forbes.com/sites/derekkhanna/2014/02/03/50-disne...) It is somewhat hypocritical to lobby for removal of the same protections that enabled your own success.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
BLKNSLVR 8y ago
In a post Game of Thrones world, I think we're due for some (re)brutalised versions of these fairly tales.
- DanAndersen 8y ago
  In contrast, I (and perhaps some others?) find the world of gritty "down-to-earth" genre-subversions that GoT encouraged somewhat overplayed and tiresome at this point. Give me earnest stories, high fantasy, heroic and noble! (I fear the upcoming Amazon Middle-Earth series will be a GoT-style abomination that tries to fit Tolkien into something it simply isn't.)

Semiapies 8y ago

And yet, when the well-bred Englishman sells his books about dwarves and dragons to a publisher, it's totally different. Isn't that always the way?

6nf 8y ago
Tolkien wrote stories, Disney did not. At least that's how I interpret it.
- ChristianBundy 8y ago
  Disney as a company was also completely built upon old stories in the public domain, but as soon as they became successful they started tightening the screws on intellectual property laws to make sure that others couldn't do the same.
  - Semiapies 8y ago
    And yet, weirdly enough, you can find a slew of second- and third-rate animated movies about the very same fairy tales Disney based their movies on...
- eeZah7Ux 8y ago
  Not only Disney did not, they butchered stories that existed.

ardent_uno 8y ago

Why should he not make money off fairy tales? By making money he built a company which has brought joy to millions of people over a near century, employed thousands and created value all without doing any real damage to the fairy tales which inspired him. It's a classic win-win.

rangibaby 8y ago
> real damage to the fairy tales which inspired him What about the next Walt Disney? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_Term_Extension_Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_Term_Extension_Act
- ardent_uno 8y ago
  I'd say that's more an issue with current copyright law than Disney.
  - jonreem 8y ago
    Current copyright law is the law in large part due to Disney’s political influence.
- hahla 8y ago
  What does this have to do with the next Walt Disney? The next "Walt Disney" is not going to be copying Mickey Mouse they will be creating something new... Inspiration != copying.
  - snaily 8y ago
    Except that at least of the source material for Disney classics was based on public domain sources that was younger than Mickey Mouse is today. Pinocchio (the book) was released in 1883,and thus only 73 years at the time of the Disney movie (source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/derekkhanna/2014/02/03/50-disney-movies-based-on-the-public-domain/#1e69a2f4329c https://www.forbes.com/sites/derekkhanna/2014/02/03/50-disne...) It is somewhat hypocritical to lobby for removal of the same protections that enabled your own success.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

BLKNSLVR 8y ago

In a post Game of Thrones world, I think we're due for some (re)brutalised versions of these fairly tales.

DanAndersen 8y ago
In contrast, I (and perhaps some others?) find the world of gritty "down-to-earth" genre-subversions that GoT encouraged somewhat overplayed and tiresome at this point. Give me earnest stories, high fantasy, heroic and noble! (I fear the upcoming Amazon Middle-Earth series will be a GoT-style abomination that tries to fit Tolkien into something it simply isn't.)