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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

New Disney/Lucasfilm Animated Movie: Strange Magic

Discussion in 'Lucasfilm Ltd. In-Depth Discussion' started by Sword_Of_Goliath, Jan 30, 2012.

  1. Pensivia

    Pensivia Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 24, 2013
  2. The_Phantom_Calamari

    The_Phantom_Calamari Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 10, 2011

    Every time George does interviews, he comes across as a thoughtful, reasonable guy with progressive views who still manages to be humble and self-deprecating. I can understand people disliking him for his professional choices, but the animosity for him on a personal level is just plain baffling.
     
  3. AniSkylover

    AniSkylover Jedi Grand Master star 3

    Registered:
    Jan 5, 2001
  4. EternalHero

    EternalHero Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Feb 17, 2014
    Well, I'm off to see Strange Magic between my day and evening jobs today.

    All in all a kind of sad end to GL's mainstream movie making career. When he lets it be known that Disney dropped his outlines for SW 7-9 people sneer, jeer and cheer. And no one, even the majority who have never seen it and will never see it, misses an opportunity to dump on his final major film. It might be great, it might be okay, it might stink. I don't care. I just enjoy seeing what GL puts together because it's always interesting. But it sure is cool to hate on it, even though almost no one has even seen it yet.

    But I am thankful for the years of happiness and pleasure the ORIGINAL Lucasfilm brought to my life. Thank You, George.
     
  5. Leoluca Randisi

    Leoluca Randisi Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 24, 2014
    I might see this movie next week after my Nephew is better from the Flu ....
     
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  6. EternalHero

    EternalHero Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Feb 17, 2014
    Strange Magic is AWESOME!! This is George's best mainstream movie since Last Crusade. It never sets a foot wrong. I was blown away by how perfectly balanced it was. It looks amazing too. The music is great! I'll post more this weekend. Do Not miss seeing the Last George Lucas movie ever in a movie theater! It's well worth the minimal effort. All of the awkwardness and pacing problems of his post 80's work is missing here. The balance is just right in every department and it just feels organic and free flowing like his early films. The ending is an explosion of sensation that just explodes off the screen (reminiscent of the ending to Yellow Submarine). A perfect grace note to an extraordinary career. So glad I took my 2 free hours today to see this wonderful movie. Also, the audience loved it. The little girl seated in front of me didn't sit down the whole time - she danced to every song and leaned against the seat in front of her open-mouthed through the (awesome) duels and skipped out of the theater singing "I Can't Help Falling In Love With You". A little boy cried when one of the characters appeared to die. But of course I just imagined those things because no one anywhere likes George Lucas movies, right?
     
  7. AniSkylover

    AniSkylover Jedi Grand Master star 3

    Registered:
    Jan 5, 2001
    Interesting quote from a Gary Rydstrom interview I've just read
    http://news.moviefone.com/2015/01/23/gary-rydstrom-interview/

     
  8. Leoluca Randisi

    Leoluca Randisi Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 24, 2014
    EternalHero I am glad you Liked the film, I am sure I will to!!!!!!!!!!!:D I also loved Red Tails so If I like Strange Magic I will probably say that It Is the Best George Lucas Produced film since Red Tails, I also loved the Prequels!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My sister and her Son went to see this Today, She tried to get 11:00 AM tickets at our Regal Today but The 11:00 AM show was sold Out, and she tried to buy the Tickets 2 hours ahead on-line but they were still sold out. I know I said my nephew had the Flu but he is feeling much better today, the reason I did not see the movie with them is According to the CDC when a Kid has the Flu it takes 7 days or longer to not be contagious after you feel better and As I have told some of you with what Happened to me Last year, Getting The Flu, Getting Lithium Poisoning, and almost dying and having to spend 5 unpleasant days in the Hospital hooked up to machines and almost having to have kidney dialysis, I think it is better to be safe then sorry. And everybody in my Family got the Flu Shot in October.....
     
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  9. garrwars

    garrwars Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2011
    The best movie of the year so far is Strange Magic! It's like a mix of A Mid-summer Night's Dream, Moulin Rouge, Willow, Frozen, and Beauty and the Beast. It has a great story and fantastic characters. It's funny and has fabulous music. It has beautiful animation, terrific female characters, and features some really nice voice acting. What's not to love! Why don't you guys actually watch it and say what you honestly think...and why don't you go to the movie planning to like it, and try to have a good time like most movie goers would and unlike the critics who clearly decided to hate it before they saw it? I bought the soundtrack. It's so good! There's not really anything wrong with this movie. I guess I would've liked to have had some more dynamic flying scenes with the fairies. Speaking of fairies, some people decided to hate this movie before it came out because they figured it's only a movie for little girls with no taste. And others decided to hate this movie because of their hate of George Lucas which is idiotic because he has a great track record. I can only think of 3 movies that he's been involved with that I didn't like. He's one of the great storytellers of our time. This is Star Wars for little girls and the whole family.
     
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  10. Darth Zannah

    Darth Zannah Jedi Knight star 3

    Registered:
    Oct 28, 2014

    Good quote...yeah the Academiy Awards are pretty hit or miss with me..that being said Star Wars should have won best picture in 1977 not Annie Hall...to this day I will never understand that! Which movie has inspired hundreds if not thousands of film makers? Star Wars...Annie Hall inspired maybe three people...and Annie hall was good movie but better than SW? Ha! No way

    This movie has terrible reviews...did they forget this is a movie for children or were they expecting Casablanca?
     
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  11. AniSkylover

    AniSkylover Jedi Grand Master star 3

    Registered:
    Jan 5, 2001
    a little more about Disney involvement from an interview with Meredith Anne Bull...
    http://www.nerdist.com/2015/01/interview-meredith-anne-bull-discusses-lucasfilms-strange-magic/

    and George Lucas was in Singapore to promote the film
     
  12. BigAl6ft6

    BigAl6ft6 Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Nov 12, 2012
    Movie is not doing very well box-office wise, which is a shame because I saw it (went with my sister and my nieces) and I dug it. The animation and especially the detail is really spectacular and there is some very funny, quick stuff in the film (there's this one gag when Dawn gets zapped with the magic love potion and starts singing "Sugar Pie Honey Bunch" that is oddly hilarious). the song selection is sort of a mix of modern and classic pop songs, but they're done in such a way that it actually kind of works together in a classical musical sort of way so they can toss together an Elvis and a Kelly Clarkson song beside each other and not have it be jarring. I think the movie may crib a bit too liberally from some animated flick (the animation on the Sugar Plum Fairy is great but the character is kinda just the Genie from Aladdin. The rat-thing is basically Scrat from Ice Age) and the song presentation can sometimes get a little corny (the psychedelic "Wild Thing" ending song is tonally bizarre) but I actually liked how the relationship between Marianne and the Bog King evolved and was oddly heartfelt. Also, I think there was a neat Star Wars shout-out when Marianne is practicing deflecting things while blindfolded which was very Luke Skywalker and the training remote.

    I wouldn't put it up there with recent big fantastic animated flicks like Big Hero Six or Lego Movie but this is definitely better than the drubbing it's currently receiving.
     
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  13. Leoluca Randisi

    Leoluca Randisi Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 24, 2014
    when my sister saw it at our local regal she said it was packed with mostly old people our parents age in there 60's and she tried to get tickets to the 11:00 AM showing but it was sold out, so I am surprised that it is not doing better at the box office, if the Washington DC area box office is any indication to how a film is selling tickets?
     
  14. BigAl6ft6

    BigAl6ft6 Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Nov 12, 2012
    I went to a 2:25 show on a Friday and it was fairly jumping with a lot of kids and families, however, it was a day off of school for a lot of kids so they probably just tossed them into the nearest animated movie they could find. The night-time shows must be dead. It's all about demographics and who is going to show up to what. Jersey Boys is another movie that tanked and I saw it at an afternoon show and it was packed with seniors who really like musicals.
     
  15. ShaneP

    ShaneP Ex-Mod Officio star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Mar 26, 2001
    This had the worst debut for a wide release animated film ever.

    I really feel bad for the people who worked hard on this film for years, including George, and hope it finds a new life on DVD and rentals.
     
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  16. El Jedi Colombiano

    El Jedi Colombiano Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 24, 2013
    Ignore what the hordes of biased film critics think.

    Strange Magic is a wonderful film, arguably better than Frozen and the majority of the animated fantasy films that have been released over the past few decades or so. The animation is drop dead gorgeous, the music is great, and the story is very moving. George is truly a master as far as storytelling is concerned.

    What this proves is that film criticism isn't a serious profession anymore, and that their idiotic anti-Lucas bias has gotten WAY out of hand. The system is ridiculously corrupt.

    What saddens me though, is that this may be the last true Lucasfilm gem to come out of the company. At least, if GL's comments are true.
     
  17. The_Phantom_Calamari

    The_Phantom_Calamari Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 10, 2011

    Well, it's not surprising. Disney announced it literally months before it was set to come out, and barely advertised it.

    I mean, I doubt it would have been a smash hit, but it probably wouldn't have been setting "worst ever" records at the box office.
     
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  18. ShaneP

    ShaneP Ex-Mod Officio star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Mar 26, 2001
    No, I know they dumped it. They put it in Jan. They released it under the Touchstone banner. And like you said, it was lightly marketed.

    But many people worked on this thing for a long time. George worked on it for around 15 years. So hopefully, it gets more attention in the rental market.
     
  19. Alexrd

    Alexrd Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 7, 2009
    I never took it a serious profession, same thing with pundits. It's basically stating your opinion about a subjective work and being paid for it. A dream job, really.
     
  20. AniSkylover

    AniSkylover Jedi Grand Master star 3

    Registered:
    Jan 5, 2001
    During the press conference at Lucasfilm Singapore, George said they tested technology for the film on The Clone Wars, like they did for the prequels with Young Indy.

    http://themovieandme.blogspot.fr/2015/01/stranger-than-he-dreamt-it-strange.html
     
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  21. Leoluca Randisi

    Leoluca Randisi Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 24, 2014
    If you really think about it, How many Kids movies are actually Playing at the movies Right now, Into The Woods, and Paddington, As for Paddington It Is A British thing Like Tin Tin Americans Don't dig British Films, Harry Potter being the exception, Look at War Horse, beautiful Film but hardly any Americans saw it because World War 1 was mostly a British Affair. and as for Into The Woods, usually live action Musicals Don't do good at the Box Office,

    "George Lucas' Strange Magic opened to an estimated $5.53 million this weekend, which is one of the worst debuts ever for a movie playing at over 3,000 locations. It's essentially in the same range as past animated bombs like Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs Evil, Valiant, Everyone's Hero and Happily N'Ever After.

    Strange Magic
    's audience was 56 percent female and 38 percent under the age of 13. It's unlikely that Disney is able to keep these screens after the second week, which means the movie is almost guaranteed to finish below $15 million."

    this is quite surprising with what my sister and nephew told me about the packed theater and the fact that they loved it. I will definitely be seeing it at my local discount theater on bargain night Tuesday, all tickets on Tuesday are $3.00 I am sure I will love it I am not hard to please and It is already getting rave reviews on here:D!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
     
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  22. KenW

    KenW Jedi Knight star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 25, 2015
    I made an account just to say how much I liked this film. I watched the promotional materials first, including behind the scenes and interviews with George Lucas, so I knew there would be plenty of music, and I knew the basic message of the film. I think this helps going into it, because I did not know what to expect from the poster and trailer. I must say, the film swept me and my wife off our feet with romance, and we are still floating. My 8 year old son actually called it the best animated movie he has ever seen, and he is a harsh critic. I'm glad this film was released, but I can see Disney is doing it no favors in the marketing department. And the critics? Just ignore them, they all say the same thing and I can't comprehend what they saw. It's not often I can call a movie unforgettable, but this is one. The world, the characters, the message, the emotions... One of a kind. I mean, of course it's a familiar type of fantasy setting and story, but I don't think it's ever been done quite this way before.

    If you've ever been unlucky in love, you will be very sympathetic with the characters. But if you are a "player", you might just hate this film, as that type of person is mocked pretty brutally (and hilariously).

    I think it definitely helped to have the Elf writer, because the jokes were very innocent/silly like the sense of humor of Buddy in that film. Anyway, I could go on and on, but the last thing I have to say is... I hope they release some toys for this, because my son reeeeally wants them.

    One more confession. I cried a little, and had to wipe my tears before the lights came on. Not a sad cry, but a joyful, beautiful cry. Just a couple tears, I'm no sap...
     
  23. Leoluca Randisi

    Leoluca Randisi Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 24, 2014
    @KenW Welcome to the Boards, I think the Love this film is getting on here is great, I cant wait to see It. I think you will find if you are yourself on here and not to get in to many battles, no pun intended, you will like it just fine here my Friend !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:D

    MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU.....
     
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  24. BigAl6ft6

    BigAl6ft6 Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Nov 12, 2012
    I will say, the poster is kind of odd, I don't think it conveyed what the movie is about.

    [​IMG]

    Hell, it looks more like a teaser poster than anything. None of those characters are leads. heck, maybe it was a teaser and Disney never bothered to make a "real" poster.

    Anyway, the gal who did the voice of Dawn (she has the way funny "Boggy Woggy" bit in the movie) is apparently doing a Reddit AMA tomorrow

    https://twitter.com/meredithbull
     
  25. EternalHero

    EternalHero Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Feb 17, 2014
    KenW It's so great to hear from people who can appreciate GL's work outside the sick & twisted world of fandom. I truly felt that Strange Magic was the loosest, funnest and most satisfying mainstream movie GL has made in decades. It's a future cult classic for sure.
     
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