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I find the Marvel movies boring and insulting to my intelligence. Which isn't really surprising since they are made for mass appeal and I generally don't like t

I find the Marvel movies boring and insulting to my intelligence. Which isn't really surprising since they are made for mass appeal and I generally don't like that sort of stuff. However, and this statement is made with no actual knowledge of the economics of Disney content creation budgets, but I like to imagine that one positive thing that comes from the monetary success of the Marvel movies is the Pixar Shorts that are being made for Disney+ . If you haven't seen them I recommend them. They are these original ~4 minute short films that are pet-projects by various creatives working at Disney/Pixar. The shorts include a small interview from the creator where they discuss their inspiration and the fun they had working on the project. I remember a line from the Daily Show when it was still Craig Kilborn. The show had just gotten a nice newly renovated set, and Kilborn thanked South Park for the money to pay for it. I suspect (again with no real knowledge) that the Pixar Shorts are financed from the success of the Marvel movies. Or maybe it's just Disney+ subscriber fees.

Hnrobert42 4y ago
The Marvel movies are awful, but from my understanding, they are made for mass audiences++. That is, they want to make movies that are easy to sell in China and India. That means less dialog because most people don’t want to read lots of subtitles, broad humor because it has to make sense in all cultures and languages, and themes that won’t offend the sensibilities of the various cultures. The Disney shorts are a good suggestion. I will track them down. Thanks.
- BryantD 4y ago
  Within limits. The new Black Panther didn't release in China; neither did Shang-Chi. China's an important market for Disney but they're not afraid to ignore it from time to time.
  - htrp 4y ago
    that may be more political than business driven
silisili 4y ago
Right on. I can't much stand Marvel anymore, nor many of Disney's recent releases. But the shorts took me by surprise. They were so deep, content packed, and beautiful. I sat and watched them all with my daughter, by accident really - both of us completely silent just watching, one after the other. A couple made us choke up, at different points. Probably the most beautiful television I've ever seen. I'd probably pay megabucks to watch such a collection of shorts on the big screen, and that's from someone who hasn't been to the theatre in a decade.
mrguyorama 4y ago
I dislike the marvel movies for the same reason I dislike comic books: The focus is on making sure there is a next episode in the series, which means status quo above all else. This prevents pretty much anything interesting from happening, because significant changes have to be reverted, or previously interesting stories in the extended universe become retconned when a big budget version is made that removes any interesting elements and replaces it with generic action for "mainstream" audiences. It's remarkable that the most controversial thing disney has done in decades is making main characters not white. For example, in star wars, instead of doing something interesting or different, they just magicked the "first order" or whatever into existence so they could have big bad empire again, before eventually just saying "fuck it palpatine is back". They also took a back story that was left untold (getting the death star plans), rejected the expanded universe version that was about a usually ignored population having a big impact and sacrificing much for the good of the universe, and replaced it with a super generic "one important ideologically pure character plus one clearly ideologically evil villain" story with basic action. Meanwhile in the marvel universe, they've adapted the comic book tactic of saying "multiverse and time travel and alternate realities exist" because then they can keep using popular avatar characters. This of course also means nothing freaking matters, because you can literally retcon in universe. It's so boring, nothing matters.
- dagw 4y ago
  For example, in star wars, instead of doing something interesting or different While I agree with everything you said as such, the Andor TV show (and Rogue One to lesser extent) indicates that they are at least capable of doing interesting things in the Star Wars universe, beyond Good space wizard vs Evil space wizard. I fear however that most fans don't actually want that and that Andor will be an aberration.
- cykros 4y ago
  Vertigo comic books, in my experience, are a lot less guilty of this than Marvel, or even the classic DC variant. But then, Vertigo is specifically geared toward adults. Kids will, if left to their own devices, watch the same movie over and over again (my VHS copy of Land Before Time just about wore out by the time I was 6). Producers realize this, so they just reshuffle the same story over and over again and sell it to them, over, and over, and over again. Adults tend not to be quite so easy to amuse.

Hnrobert42 4y ago

The Marvel movies are awful, but from my understanding, they are made for mass audiences++. That is, they want to make movies that are easy to sell in China and India. That means less dialog because most people don’t want to read lots of subtitles, broad humor because it has to make sense in all cultures and languages, and themes that won’t offend the sensibilities of the various cultures. The Disney shorts are a good suggestion. I will track them down. Thanks.

BryantD 4y ago
Within limits. The new Black Panther didn't release in China; neither did Shang-Chi. China's an important market for Disney but they're not afraid to ignore it from time to time.
- htrp 4y ago
  that may be more political than business driven

silisili 4y ago

Right on. I can't much stand Marvel anymore, nor many of Disney's recent releases. But the shorts took me by surprise. They were so deep, content packed, and beautiful. I sat and watched them all with my daughter, by accident really - both of us completely silent just watching, one after the other. A couple made us choke up, at different points. Probably the most beautiful television I've ever seen. I'd probably pay megabucks to watch such a collection of shorts on the big screen, and that's from someone who hasn't been to the theatre in a decade.

mrguyorama 4y ago

I dislike the marvel movies for the same reason I dislike comic books: The focus is on making sure there is a next episode in the series, which means status quo above all else. This prevents pretty much anything interesting from happening, because significant changes have to be reverted, or previously interesting stories in the extended universe become retconned when a big budget version is made that removes any interesting elements and replaces it with generic action for "mainstream" audiences. It's remarkable that the most controversial thing disney has done in decades is making main characters not white. For example, in star wars, instead of doing something interesting or different, they just magicked the "first order" or whatever into existence so they could have big bad empire again, before eventually just saying "fuck it palpatine is back". They also took a back story that was left untold (getting the death star plans), rejected the expanded universe version that was about a usually ignored population having a big impact and sacrificing much for the good of the universe, and replaced it with a super generic "one important ideologically pure character plus one clearly ideologically evil villain" story with basic action. Meanwhile in the marvel universe, they've adapted the comic book tactic of saying "multiverse and time travel and alternate realities exist" because then they can keep using popular avatar characters. This of course also means nothing freaking matters, because you can literally retcon in universe. It's so boring, nothing matters.

dagw 4y ago
For example, in star wars, instead of doing something interesting or different While I agree with everything you said as such, the Andor TV show (and Rogue One to lesser extent) indicates that they are at least capable of doing interesting things in the Star Wars universe, beyond Good space wizard vs Evil space wizard. I fear however that most fans don't actually want that and that Andor will be an aberration.
cykros 4y ago
Vertigo comic books, in my experience, are a lot less guilty of this than Marvel, or even the classic DC variant. But then, Vertigo is specifically geared toward adults. Kids will, if left to their own devices, watch the same movie over and over again (my VHS copy of Land Before Time just about wore out by the time I was 6). Producers realize this, so they just reshuffle the same story over and over again and sell it to them, over, and over, and over again. Adults tend not to be quite so easy to amuse.