Posted on 02/23/2023 6:15:10 PM PST by nickcarraway
Pixar Chief Operating Officer Pete Doctor recently put the blame on moviegoers, or in this case, people who didn’t go see Lightyear for the film’s box office disaster.
Lightyear only grossed $118.3 million at the domestic box office and $100.4 million internationally for a global gross of $218.7 million.
The film’s reported production budget was $200 million meaning the film was a financial disaster for Pixar and The Walt Disney Company.
Speaking with TheWrap, Doctor explained why he and Pixar believed the film performed terribly at the box office. He said, “We’ve done a lot of soul-searching about that because we all love the movie. We love the characters and the premise. I think probably what we’ve ended on in terms of what went wrong is that we asked too much of the audience.”
Doctor elaborated, “When they hear Buzz, they’re like, great, where’s Mr. Potato Head and Woody and Rex? And then we drop them into this science fiction film that they’re like, What?”
He continued, “Even if they’ve read the material in press, it was just a little too distant, both in concept, and I think in the way that characters were drawn, that they were portrayed. It was much more of a science fiction.”
“And Angus, to his credit, took it very seriously and genuinely and wanted to represent those characters as real characters. But the characters in ‘Toy Story’ are much broader, and so I think there was a disconnect between what people wanted/expected and what we were giving to them,” he added.
Of note, Doctor does not mention the film was the most recent release after The Walt Disney Company admitted they were grooming young children through their content to spite a Florida law banning instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation in the classroom.
Former Disney CEO Bob Chapek sent a company-wide email to Disney where he made his and the company’s intentions clear, “Because this struggle is much bigger than any one bill in any one state, I believe the best way for our company to bring about lasting change is through the inspiring content we produce, the welcoming culture we create, and the diverse community organizations we support.”
“There’s a reason content is at the top of this list,” Chapek penned. “For nearly a century, our company’s stories have opened minds, inspired dreams, shown the world both as it is and how we wish it could be, and now more than ever before, represent the incredible diversity of our society.”
“We are telling important stories, raising voices, and I believe, changing hearts and minds,” he added.
He later added, “Powerful content that changes hearts and minds only springs from inclusive cultures, which not only attract and retain the best and most diverse talent, but also give those employees the freedom to bring forth ideas that reflect their lives and experiences. We must work together to ensure Disney always remains such a place.”
On top of this email from Chapek, Disney Latoya Raveneau confirmed the company had a “not-at-all-secret gay agenda.”
She said, ““In my little pocket of Proud Family Disney TVA, the showrunners were super welcoming . Meredith Roberts and our leadership over there has been so welcoming to my not-at-all-secret gay agenda.”
“Maybe it was that way in the past, but I guess something must have happened in the last, they are turning it around, they’re going hard, and then like all that momentum that I felt, that sense of ‘I don’t have to be afraid to have these two characters kiss in the background.’ I was just, wherever I could, just basically adding queerness. If you see anything queer in the show — no one would stop me, and no one was trying to stop me,” she revealed.
To this point, numerous reports indicated that Disney made it clear to market a gay relationship that they put in Lightyear. Industry analyst Matthew Belloni tweeted back in April 2022, “Florida’s gonna love Disney’s LIGHTYEAR. The same-sex couple is pretty front and center in an extended sequence.”
YouTuber Robert Meyer Burnett also tweeted, “Disney showed 30 minutes of LIGHTYEAR. If you told me I’d have tears streaming down my checks 25 minutes in, I’d have said you were nuts. But here we are.”
He added, “Also, best earned LGBTQ representation I’ve seen in awhile. First animated film in the IMAX ratio. A must-see in the format.”
Not only would Disney’s exclusive clip at CinemaCon make it clear the film was pushing disordered lifestyles on children, but Buzz Lightyear’s voice actor, Chris Evans, decided to lampoon critics of Disney’s obvious attempt at grooming children.
He told Reuters, “The real truth is those people are idiots. I mean, I think throughout history you can see every time there’s been social advancement as we wake up, the American story, the human story is one of constant social awakening and growth and that’s what makes us good.”
Evans continued, “And then, you know, when that happens, there’s always going to be people who are afraid and unaware and trying to hold on to what was before. But those people die off like dinosaurs.”
“The goal is to pay them no mind, march forward, and embrace the growth that makes us human,” he concluded.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Doctor would blame moviegoers and audiences for the film’s failure. Evans, as noted above, was attacking them before the film even released and the film’s director Angus MacLane blamed “trolls” for the film’s low reviews on IMDb.
He wrote on Twitter, “Short answer: much like the second chapter of THE HOBBIT, it mainly has to do with trolls.”
This is also the playbook that Disney has employed for nearly all of their failures including Star Wars and more recently Marvel Studios productions.
What do you make of Pixar’s Pete Doctor picking up Lucasfilm’s tired playbook of blaming moviegoers for their film’s failures?
Odd...I thought it might be climate change...or Trump...
I chose not to see it because of the homosexuality and "diversity" bullsh*t.
if any video promotes the freak show... no one in this household will ever see it.
go woke, go broke.
(1) Needlessly put 2 dyke characters in the film, who KISS?
(2) Sack beloved, eternal Buzz voice Tim Allen for leftist Chris Evans?
Yea, fans didn't "get" it, alright.
Still, $218 million? I have to ask, are there really that many parents who are okay with Disney grooming their kids?
I’m glad the world didn’t lose its collective sanity in time to mess up cartoons when I grew up. I can’t imagine Popeye and Bluto in a lip lock or Betty and Veronica scissoring while Archie and Jughead were giving each other a hickey.
I can’t imagine Popeye and Bluto in a lip lock or Betty and Veronica scissoring while Archie and Jughead were giving each other a hickey.
You didn’t see National Lampoon’s Archie gang takeoff, what happened to them in the’60s.
Myself and a buddy took three of his grandkids to see that. Good movie.
Only one I’ve seen since then was Dunkirk.
Obtuse logic.
YOU are the one who constantly comes on threads making total non-sequiturs (i.e., “trolling”) to gripe and moan about women. (Never mind when it’s actually about the sexes or women.) You are a sexist malcontent. Everything for you has to be about females and how awful we are. You are EXACTLY like the hateful malcontents of BLM/Antifa and their enablers.
I RESPOND to YOU and your ridiculous non-sequiturs.
Blaming others because they don’t like what you’re doing is a universal female script. It would mean its their fault and they are responsible.
Right, because men never deny responsibility. Nope. Never. All male criminals just plea guilty and don't try to blame their upbringing for their actions.
Dodging responsibility is a universal human weakness.
’ . . . changing hearts and minds’
Yeah, not the mission. That’s why it bombed. Entertain people. Stop trying to indoctrinate them, or worse, groom our kids.
Yes. You asked them to be as woke as you and the rest of the Pixar idiots are. That's WAY to much to ask, idjit!
Trans Barbie Ken (now anatomically correct!)
Yep. Usually when a movie bombs, it’s because of the moviegoers.
Moviegoers not wanting a bunch of deviant garbage in their faces.
Thank you. There’s a tiny handful of those on here. I mostly just ignore them. They usually have a {cough!} small {cough!} problem, but they do get a little tiresome, don’t they?
Studio: It is the customer’s fault...
I think you know from personal and observed human experience the points I bring up are generally true and valid. You just don’t like them.
(1) Yes, but supposedly it’s mostly background type. Not completely in your face.
(2) Yes, but Tim was toy Buzz, and the movie is *real* Buzz. So different voices there is at least believable. Although I wouldn’t have changed it; Tim Allen no matter his price.
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