Disney Studios- Disney Live Action: A Balanced Scorecard

What do you think of Disney's live action film slate? Have you been happy with it over the last few years or do you think it has consistently lacked? The numbers are misleading; the positive revenue the company is taking in does not tell the whole story of the film slate because some movies (i.e. Avengers) has been so significant to make up for others. Here's my take: Walt Disney Pictures has had some major flops recently (think John Carter), but more importantly the ideas are stagnant. OZ the great and powerful was boring. The fact that they have already decided on sequels tells me that they see the ability to leverage the franchise rather than a great story.

 Of course it will make a lot of money because it's Disney and it's visually stunning, but the story is a snoozer. Last year's Odd life of Timothy Green was boring, Frankenweenie was a refurbishment of an old Tim Burton film, etc. G-Force? And enough with the Beverly Hills Chihuahua/Santa Paws movies...we don't need another endless streak of Herbie movies. What has happened to the live action slate? It is ok for the company to play small ball; some of their biggest hits have been from small original movies (what former CEO Michael Eisner described as Singles and Doubles).
   The only thing saving the live action film slate recently are Disney's recent acquisitions. Obviously Marvel's film slate, the recent conclusion of Phase I and the upcoming start of Phase II, has been their saving grace. How is it possible that Disney has been making the best superhero movies in the world, yet has been making mediocre family friendly fare? Another winner has been the Muppets franchise. The 2011 film was creative and made lots of revenue and the sequel is expected to make even more. Disney's been lucky that these franchises have saved them from becoming a laughingstock.

What does Disney's future film slate look like? Not much better, but there is hope.

   Looking good:
Saving Mr. Banks- this film about how Walt Disney was able to acquire the rights to Mary Poppins looks like a good story with superior acting.

 Tomorrowland- Don't know much about this one, but we're excited.

Marvel movies- Iron Man 3, Thor 2, and Captain America 2 should be entertaining as usual. These sequels will likely make as much money as their previous movies, but should push the franchises along. I'm much more excited about Guardians of the Galaxy, Dr. Strange, and Ant-man; it's time for Marvel to create new franchises as well. Also, let's not forget that Disney recently re-acquired the film rights to Daredevil; it's time to reboot!

Muppets Again- Who doesn't love the Muppets? Fun for both kids and adults.

Star Wars- The beginning of Disney's Star Wars films should be a great kick-starter to the company. Good news is that these movies should be epic, bad news is that they will be spaced several years apart, so they'll be few and far between unlike Marvel's film slates. The off-shoot movies could be good, but we'll see. All of these movies are several years away.

Bears- This one from Disneynature is rumored to come out in April 2014. I hope Disneynature keeps cranking these out!

Animated
  Walt Disney Animated Studios- After Last year's Wreck-it-Ralph this studio has big shoes to fill. Frozen comes out in 2013, so here's hoping!

  Planes- This looks terrible, is a knock off sequel that should never have been made. It was clearly meant for straight to video, but they wanted to milk it for a little more money. Bad decision!

  Pixar: Monsters University- This should be fun, but don't look for a deep film that moves you. The upcoming slate all sound interesting, but we'll see. There's The good dinosaur in 2014, Finding Dory in 2015, and rumors about a Dia de los Muertos film and a movie inside the human brain.

    It'll be an interesting mix. It sure seems like Disney's diversification is paying off, but don't forget your roots! And where's that Haunted Mansion reboot???