Posted on 09/21/2011 8:28:19 AM PDT by longtermmemmory
The Walt Disney Co. will build a theme-park “land” based on the movie “Avatar” in Disney’s Animal Kingdom as the first step in a broader licensing deal that will lead to similar attractions in Disney parks worldwide. The deal announced Tuesday gives Disney exclusive theme-park rights to use elements from the 2009 blockbuster and from sequels due out in 2014 and 2015. “Avatar,” which was directed by James Cameron and grossed nearly $2.8 billion in worldwide box-office receipts, is widely considered one of the most valuable intellectual properties not already tied up by a theme park. Disney said it plans to build multiple-attraction lands based on the film’s fictional world of “Pandora,” including themed shops, restaurants, rides and entertainment. It’s the same approach Universal Orlando has taken with its wildly popular Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which has fueled huge attendance and guest-spending gains since opening in Universal’s Islands of Adventure theme park last year. “Avatar is just a set of worlds that is really rich and offers so much to explore, we thought that offering a land-based approach gives us a much better opportunity to explore,” Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Tom Staggs said in an interview following the announcement. Disney said it would begin construction of Animal Kingdom’s Avatar land in 2013 and expects to open it to guests about five years from now. A company executive indicated that the price tag would be approximately $500 million. Cameron said he initially thought Disney would want to build only an individual ride based on his film. “I quickly realized that their vision for this thing is far beyond what I imagined,” he told reporters. “It was kind of thrilling that they wanted to do a land and really bring the world of Pandora to life.”
(Excerpt) Read more at orlandosentinel.com ...
AND there is an avatar sequel comming out. (hopefully pandora is mined out completely)
i was there in August and i didn’t find it preachy at all...rather they made suggestions and recommendations...
avatar is ONLY preachy.
Animal Kingdom was to be reality based, not cameron delusion.
It’s like one land of make-believe giving birth to another land of make-believe!
But on further reflection, this might very well work. Avatar, for all of its flaws, was visually stunning and if Cameron and his crew work well with Imagineering, they could produce something amazing. Or not. But I'm betting on a positive outcome.
And if the ham-fisted preachiness of Avatar it can be toned down, it would fit very well in Animal Kingdom. Remember, the area this will go in was originally supposed to be a "fantasitc" (as in "fantasy") Beastly Kingdom, so it's not like it won't fit in with the original park design.
I saw part of “Avatar” while we were on vacation. Ghastly.
Now there’s a good idea......Disney chasing after Universal Studios.
“OK...you’re imagineers....let’s hear your ideas.”
“We could have a series of films about a lesbian witch named Mary Porter and build a park just for that.”
“It’s a small world after all! It’s a small world after all! It’s a small world after all! It’s a small, small world!”
Pass.
I was there when they called it “The Rainforest Cafe” and the food sucked.
Aw, I liked “Avatar”. Sure it’s got lefty messages, but to quote Freud, sometimes a movie is just a movie...
Aw, I liked “Avatar”. Sure it’s got lefty messages, but to paraphrase Freud, sometimes a movie is just a movie...
Dances with Smurfs comes to Disney.
LOL
special effects can not sustain a movie.
It is really hard when you basicly hope EVERYONE dies at the end.
If you're looking to make Citizen Kane or North by Northwest, sure.
If you're looking to make multi-billion dollar, multi-decadal loved series like Star Trek, Star Wars, or Avatar, then you bet it just takes stunning special effects. Plots are kept simple or trite, but the effects and cinematography are so stunning that it builds a legion of followers, across generations.
Besides, the plot is basically the same as “Pocahontas”.
I have yet to read what part of the park this will be in. There is a large open area behind India that could be converted, or, it could go behind Dinoland USA (my favorite part of the park).
Will I go there? Certainly to AK, but Avatar? We’ll see what the Annual Pass will let us do.
Some people can’t simply enjoy a movie. Any good action movie needs bad guys, and everyone loves hating that colonel. Besides, how could they make a movie on evil green nuts? I watch movies to escape reality. :)
Yes, and all those little eco-friendly details don't help the food. Paper straws, for cryin' out loud. It reminds one of elementary school cafeteries and hospital meal trays.
Everything I've seen (speculation, granted) says that this will replace Camp Minnie-Mickey, where Beastly Kingdom was originally slated to be built.
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