Villain-Con Minion Blast (General Discussion)

[Parkscope Joe]

It is, and that’s why the blue paint is a bit annoying. The Minions/ Despicable Me franchise, perhaps more then any other IP Uni controls, is ideally suited for and financially warrants a dedicated, custom-built theme park land (and a great, AA-filled dark ride). Uni is going with half-measures - screen rides and massive, unthemed sound stages. Fine, it’s a valid choice, they’re building a huge new park up the road. But if they’ve decided on half-measures, to turn around and partially de-theme a themed building is a bit grating.

Uni’s treatment of Minions is just… weird. It feels a bit like (non-Florida) Disney and the MCU.

We're still living with the sins of Merlin Entertainment and Vivendi.

 

[Brian G.]

It is, and that’s why the blue paint is a bit annoying. The Minions/ Despicable Me franchise, perhaps more then any other IP Uni controls, is ideally suited for and financially warrants a dedicated, custom-built theme park land (and a great, AA-filled dark ride). Uni is going with half-measures - screen rides and massive, unthemed sound stages. Fine, it’s a valid choice, they’re building a huge new park up the road. But if they’ve decided on half-measures, to turn around and partially de-theme a themed building is a bit grating.

Uni’s treatment of Minions is just… weird. It feels a bit like (non-Florida) Disney and the MCU.

They put themselves in a corner when they rushed to add Minion Mayhem. Remember DM released in Summer 2010 and the ride was open Summer 2012. It’s one of those “In hindsight” moments.

I don’t think they saw Minions being the Billion dollar franchise all these years later but their other parks definitely benefitted from the wait.

 

[GAcoaster]

Okay, so How to Train Your Dragon at Epic is what then? lol

It could become irrelevant quickly-- they're taking a gamble and I'm not sure it's a smart one. However, if the land is well executed it may not make a difference. It's like when the created Lost Continent/Merlin Woods-- if it's well done the source material is irrelevant.

They COULD do the same for Minions, but how do you make it immersive? Super Silly Funland could be a themed area in a theme park themed to an amusement park. Like Disney did Dinorama or Paradise Pier-- it's a collection of generic rides with minimal theme elements. Is it worth it? And I'm sure that the new Kid Zone will more or less be the same kind of thing.

Those simulators are perfect for a "quick" change to the flavor of the moment, and the updated system going into Shrek sounds like it could be easily adapted as well. Much smarter investments.

 

[DodgsonHere]

Not many franchises are lucky enough to get 2 rides and a restaurant. I think the minion/despicable me stuff is fine.

 

[Casper Gutman]

So in a few years when Minions have played out or have been usurped by a more popular IP comes along they're stuck with a bunch of Minions stuff? I think what they're doing is fine. So many modern/current IPs are hot one minute and forgotten the next. I expect that to become an even shorter window with streaming.

It used to be a "big" movie or show would really become ingrained in kids because they would watch the DVD over and over and over and over. Now, everything comes and goes. Sure, there are a few new cultural phenomena, and a few things become "evergreen", but the fragmented media landscape is meaning less and less group/cultural experiences and more individual things that a just blips on the radar.

Minions/ DM has been hot for 13 years now. It’s the safest bet you can get that isn’t Potter, Star Wars, or Marvel. And unlike Potter, Marvel, Transformers, Simpsons, or Spongebob, Marvel controls the whole kit and kaboodle.

What really defines the modern media-scape is the studios’ reliance on a very limited number of IPs with long, proven histories. No franchise with a track record truly disappears. If a Minions or DM film stumbled at the box office, the IP would see a couple dormant years and would then be relaunched - witness Shrek, a long-dormant IP that just put out a critically-acclaimed (and genuinely great) semi-relaunch. Minions is with us for the foreseeable future.

Previous management bears responsibility for Minion Mayhem, but that space is designed to have the IP switched out. It seems like an obvious choice to switch out the film for some other property (or close the aging attraction entirely as part of the anticipated entry-plaza redesign) and give Minions a custom build in the big KidZone space.

 

[Magic-Man]

Minions/ DM has been hot for 13 years now. It’s the safest bet you can get that isn’t Potter, Star Wars, or Marvel. And unlike Potter, Marvel, Transformers, Simpsons, or Spongebob, Marvel controls the whole kit and kaboodle.

What really defines the modern media-scape is the studios’ reliance on a very limited number of IPs with long, proven histories. No franchise with a track record truly disappears. If a Minions or DM film stumbled at the box office, the IP would see a couple dormant years and would then be relaunched - witness Shrek, a long-dormant IP that just put out a critically-acclaimed (and genuinely great) semi-relaunch. Minions is with us for the foreseeable future.

Previous management bears responsibility for Minion Mayhem, but that space is designed to have the IP switched out. It seems like an obvious choice to switch out the film for some other property (or close the aging attraction entirely as part of the anticipated entry-plaza redesign) and give Minions a custom build in the big KidZone space.

Minion Mayhem is one of the most popular attractions at the resort. Closing it would be a horrible idea.

 

[Nick]

It could become irrelevant quickly-- they're taking a gamble and I'm not sure it's a smart one. However, if the land is well executed it may not make a difference. It's like when the created Lost Continent/Merlin Woods-- if it's well done the source material is irrelevant.

They COULD do the same for Minions, but how do you make it immersive? Super Silly Funland could be a themed area in a theme park themed to an amusement park. Like Disney did Dinorama or Paradise Pier-- it's a collection of generic rides with minimal theme elements. Is it worth it? And I'm sure that the new Kid Zone will more or less be the same kind of thing.

Those simulators are perfect for a "quick" change to the flavor of the moment, and the updated system going into Shrek sounds like it could be easily adapted as well. Much smarter investments.

Honestly, we’ve kinda been over this before. IP popularity isn’t necessary to create a popular ride/land. Take TRON for example. It has fans, but it’s not some huge franchise. Hell, even Pandora was considered a risk since the fan base is a quiet one. It’s a franchise that really thrives on the average person to actually say “that looks cool, I wanna see it”. One of the most popular rides in IOA in the summer is based on Dudley Do-Right.

But both are really popular and are so despite smaller active fanbases.

 

[Clive]

So in a few years when Minions have played out or have been usurped by a more popular IP comes along they're stuck with a bunch of Minions stuff? I think what they're doing is fine. So many modern/current IPs are hot one minute and forgotten the next. I expect that to become an even shorter window with streaming.

It used to be a "big" movie or show would really become ingrained in kids because they would watch the DVD over and over and over and over. Now, everything comes and goes. Sure, there are a few new cultural phenomena, and a few things become "evergreen", but the fragmented media landscape is meaning less and less group/cultural experiences and more individual things that a just blips on the radar.

While I think your broader point is true (and a significant part of why Hollywood has continued to go back to the well of "sure things"), Minions have absolutely cemented themselves as an evergreen brand at this point. Their cultural impact will be felt for decades, and the quality of the first movie (and, I'd argue, of the first "Minions" spin-off) will allow new generations of people to fall for them.

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

The Minions movie this past summer, with animated films struggling post pandemic, and being an animated sequel, made $940 million. It’s an incredibly relevant property.

I don’t even understand why that’s being debated.

 

[Brian G.]

The Minions movie this past summer, with animated films struggling post pandemic, and being an animated sequel, made $940 million. It’s an incredibly relevant property.

I don’t even understand why that’s being debated.

it’s not so much a problem here but definitely on social media where the thought of Minions is oft-putting. Makes me think of an article idea now.

 

[Cygnus]

To me the Minions love has a veil of irony surrounding it, but I guess the end result is the same:minion:

 

[Skold]

To me the Minions love has a veil of irony surrounding it, but I guess the end result is the same:minion:

Could you expound on this please? Not a Minions fan, but maybe this could make my reaction to this make more sense to me.

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

The Minions movie this past summer, with animated films struggling post pandemic, and being an animated sequel, made $940 million. It’s an incredibly relevant property.

I don’t even understand why that’s being debated.

As crazy as it sounds, nostalgia definitely helped there. Think about it--the class that had just graduated HS last summer was entering first grade when DM1 came out!

<--How the above fact makes me feel

 

[Bort]

I take the box office numbers of the most recent film with a grain of salt. They're legitimate, but how much was genuine fan interest vs the insane trends that tiktok/social media had with (primarily) teens showing up in full suits to watch the movie? It was essentially sh**posting in real life.

And then there's the whole cringe late-2010s social media culture of middle-aged moms using minion memes for everything. This franchise sure has left some weird marks on pop culture...

 

[OrlandoGuy]

Saw the blue in person today. Maybe I’m just really unobservant but I only noticed it from the Rockit station. I think it looks fine…tbh, I think I might like it more than before.

 

[Brian G.]

I take the box office numbers of the most recent film with a grain of salt. They're legitimate, but how much was genuine fan interest vs the insane trends that tiktok/social media had with (primarily) teens showing up in full suits to watch the movie? It was essentially sh**posting in real life.

And then there's the whole cringe late-2010s social media culture of middle-aged moms using minion memes for everything. This franchise sure has left some weird marks on pop culture...

Ehhhh… I don’t think we need to factor that in too much. It was already tracking pretty well before the trend caught on.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Ehhhh… I don’t think we need to factor that in too much. It was already tracking pretty well before the trend caught on.

Yup… the financial impact of the silly meme was absolutely minuscule. In any case, what do you call a franchise that children adore and adults flock to semi-ironically? A four-quadrant hit.

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

I take the box office numbers of the most recent film with a grain of salt. They're legitimate, but how much was genuine fan interest vs the insane trends that tiktok/social media had with (primarily) teens showing up in full suits to watch the movie? It was essentially sh**posting in real life.

And then there's the whole cringe late-2010s social media culture of middle-aged moms using minion memes for everything. This franchise sure has left some weird marks on pop culture...

The other films have all made a billion so I don’t see the issue here.

 

[Bort]

Not implying that it's a dead franchise or anything (as many others said, it's one of the strongest that Universal is attached to), just that the box office numbers for the 2022 film include a lot more "Gentleminions" than its predecessors.

In an era where social media duped Hollywood into bringing Morbius back into theaters just to bomb, I think we sometimes underestimate the pull (Gen Z) has online.

 

[OrlandoGuy]

Not implying that it's a dead franchise or anything (as many others said, it's one of the strongest that Universal is attached to), just that the box office numbers for the 2022 film include a lot more "Gentleminions" than its predecessors.

In an era where social media duped Hollywood into bringing Morbius back into theaters just to bomb, I think we sometimes underestimate the pull (Gen Z) has online.

Doesn’t the Morbius example kinda prove everyone else’s point though? Social media memes =/= box office success. A billion dollars is like….a LOT of people. For a movie like Minions, I’d bet the bulk of its success was in repeat viewings over high schoolers on Tik Tok.