- Feb 15, 2012
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I dunno y’all the decade plus media old franchise might be a flash in the pan, maybe we should wait another decade to determine if it’s popular.
Yes. Key point. The minions are loved across many demographics, young and old. There's not many IP's that can say that. ...That fact makes for a solid IP that's not limited toYup… 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.
The Morbius example was to show that social media can influence industries however they want to. The idea was to dupe Hollywood into putting the movie back in theaters just so it wouldn't make money, and it worked.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.
The Morbius situation occurred due to a unique confluence of factors, most notably that Sony is absolutely desperate for franchises in an era when the only reason studios exist is as IP silos and, more generally, the fact that Sony is badly run. In this case, that incompetence manifested in an ignorance of the fact that THE INTERNET IS NOT REAL LIFE. It amplifies a relatively few voices whose concerns often have little in common with the general public.The Morbius example was to show that social media can influence industries however they want to. The idea was to dupe Hollywood into putting the movie back in theaters just so it wouldn't make money, and it worked.
The example wasn't about the box office success, it was about the influence that young social media demos have. The goal with Morbius was to dupe the studio into re-releasing a movie that everyone trolled, promising to show up this time, and then not going. And it worked. The goal with the Minions was to meme it into one of the billion dollar movies of the year, so that it would be up there with all-timers. And it worked.
Again, my point is not that the franchise is in some sort of unsuccessful state. Just that the box office figures are influenced by a very strange trend. There's really no way to quantify the number of people who went to see it for x or y reason, but I think it's a bigger trend than some people give it credit for.
As much as I enjoy Minions/ DM, and as much as I want to see a big Minions land anchored by an AA-heavy dark ride, the DM franchise isn’t necessarily what you’d call “good,” even if it’s fun, and it’s not really near the quality of the vast majority of WDA or Pixar’s output. Dreamworks really hit Disney heights for the first time with Puss in Boots 2 (Bad Guys was pretty close). While the Uni animation houses are certainly a financial challenge to Disney, Dreamworks is only in the early stages of establishing an artistic track record comparable to the mouse.Have we considered that the Minions are approachable to multiple generations for various reasons
A similar IP with this effect is Spongebob
The Minions are like little puppies, cute, fun, goofy, loveable, slightly malicious, and sometimes they cause something to blow up, who doesn't love puppies?
If anything I think they deserve more
Also, not the topic of the thread, but I believe we've only begun to see the impact of Illumination and Dreamworks properties
Just from some general anecdotal discussions at parties and gatherings...friends and family are starting to watch Dreamworks/Illumination films over Disney's new stuff
The Minions are the face of that
As much as I enjoy Minions/ DM, and as much as I want to see a big Minions land anchored by an AA-heavy dark ride, the DM franchise isn’t necessarily what you’d call “good,” even if it’s fun, and it’s not really near the quality of the vast majority of WDA or Pixar’s output. Dreamworks really hit Disney heights for the first time with Puss in Boots 2 (Bad Guys was pretty close). While the Uni animation houses are certainly a financial challenge to Disney, Dreamworks is only in the early stages of establishing an artistic track record comparable to the mouse.
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.
I missed that there was already a conversation about this in the past few pages so I won't relitigate things too much. But while yes, you're correct that trends recede, there is absolutely zero evidence that Minions will recede in popularity anytime soon, much less in a few years.Every trend comes to an end...
I always say this as I walk around the theme parks featuring theUniversal Monsters (1925), Popeye (1929), Betty Boop (1930), King Kong (1933), Dr Seuss (1937), Dudley Do-Right (1959), Spider-Man and the Hulk (1962), Jason Bourne (1980), E.T. (1982), Transformers (1984), The Simpsons (1987), Jurassic Park (1990), Harry Potter (1997), and The Mummy (1999). IP popularity sure is fleeting, I think.Every trend comes to an end...
Yes, they are all relevant to some extent, but you could also point to Jimmy Neutron, Woody Woodpecker, Fievel, Barney, etc.. Eventually they can and will stop selling merchandise and being as relevant.I always say this as I walk around the theme parks featuring theUniversal Monsters (1925), Popeye (1929), Betty Boop (1930), King Kong (1933), Dr Seuss (1937), Dudley Do-Right (1959), Spider-Man and the Hulk (1962), Jason Bourne (1980), E.T. (1982), Transformers (1984), The Simpsons (1987), Jurassic Park (1990), Harry Potter (1997), and The Mummy (1999). IP popularity sure is fleeting, I think.
I would build a park around the Looney Toons, and as we know, so would Universal.My post on this subject was more about the idea that what they have done and are doing for Minions is adequate. To people saying they should relocate the Minions and expand into a "real" land instead of what they are doing, I was simply saying that it wouldn't be a very prudent expenditure. Yes, they have made money, make money now, and will for the foreseeable future, but there is a limit.
Yes, they are all relevant to some extent, but you could also point to Jimmy Neutron, Woody Woodpecker, Fievel, Barney, etc.. Eventually they can and will stop selling merchandise and being as relevant.
People keep lobbying for the replacement of Toon Lagoon as being irrelevant. Yes they're recognizable, but are the characters relevant or selling much merchandise? Last time I looked besides Betty Boop there's little merch in the stores for those characters...
It's like Six Flags with Looney Toons-- yes they are recognizable to all, but are they still relevant? Do they really sell much merchandise? Would you spend a few million dollars to add them to a park?