TV/Movies Megathread

[Josephus]

Wasn't aware that Pete's Dragon was such a timeless children's classic. I want my Bedknobs and Broomsticks remake 

oooh forgot about that. Truthfully I only remember the cartoon football game.

[celedhring]

It was my favorite Disney movie when I was a child. 

I mean, it's got nazis in it!

The cartoon football game was hilariously violent too. No way Disney would do something like that nowadays.

[Malthus]

It was my favorite Disney movie when I was a child. 

I mean, it's got nazis in it!

The cartoon football game was hilariously violent too. No way Disney would do something like that nowadays.

Heh, Gravity Falls was a Disney production, and it had all sorts of stuff one would never have imagined Disney would allow - drug and sex references, gruesome violence, etc. 

[celedhring]

It was my favorite Disney movie when I was a child. 

I mean, it's got nazis in it!

The cartoon football game was hilariously violent too. No way Disney would do something like that nowadays.

Heh, Gravity Falls was a Disney production, and it had all sorts of stuff one would never have imagined Disney would allow - drug and sex references, gruesome violence, etc. 

Their TV stuff have a different target and operate under different guidelines though. It's aimed at teenagers, while their films are for family audiences.

[Malthus]

Their TV stuff have a different target and operate under different guidelines though. It's aimed at teenagers, while their films are for family audiences.

You are closer to the industry and so I suppose I have to defer, but looking at the other programming on their channel it looks mostly like it is stuff intended to appeal to kids the age of my kid - say, 9-11. The actors in the live-action stuff are all preteens.

http://www.disneychannel.ca/

[Valmy]

Yeah Disney is TweenerTV. If you have younger kids they have to watch Disney Jr.

[celedhring]

Their TV stuff have a different target and operate under different guidelines though. It's aimed at teenagers, while their films are for family audiences.

You are closer to the industry and so I suppose I have to defer, but looking at the other programming on their channel it looks mostly like it is stuff intended to appeal to kids the age of my kid - say, 9-11. The actors in the live-action stuff are all preteens.

http://www.disneychannel.ca/

Not sure why you say that. Most of their live action sitcoms star people in their late teens or early twenties. Children and teenagers like to mirror themselves on older boys/girls, so it's a common tactic to cast 3-4 years older than your target audience.

The aim of Disney Channel is to keep children locked into their brand as they age. As opposed to family films - which parents and children watch together in a theater - Disney Channel is in general conceived as "independent viewing"; something you watch in your room without your parents looking over you. That's why they push teenage themes (MY PARENTS DON'T UNDERSTAND ME BUT DISNEY CORP DOES!) and are a bit more risqué than their family films. They don't make their films so clean because they are worried about how the children would react, they do so because they are worried about how *adults* will react.

Fuckers have everything planned down. It's scary.

[Malthus]

Their TV stuff have a different target and operate under different guidelines though. It's aimed at teenagers, while their films are for family audiences.

You are closer to the industry and so I suppose I have to defer, but looking at the other programming on their channel it looks mostly like it is stuff intended to appeal to kids the age of my kid - say, 9-11. The actors in the live-action stuff are all preteens.

http://www.disneychannel.ca/

Not sure why you say that. Most of their live action sitcoms star people in their late teens or early twenties. Children and teenagers like to mirror themselves on older boys/girls, so it's a common tactic to cast 3-4 years older than your target audience.

Well, for one, because my kid is 10 and he watches it. 

For another, because I've seen the programs, and they look to me aimed at kids his age.

Take "Dog with a Blog".

http://www.disneychannel.ca/shows/dog-blog

The actors are definitely not in their late teens or early 20s. It stars two sisters: one was 8, the other 14.

Another is "Stuck in the Middle":

http://www.disneychannel.ca/shows/stuck-middle

The lead is 14.

Another is "Girl Meets World"

http://www.disneychannel.ca/shows/girl-meets-world

The lead is described as an "eighth grader". Subtract three years and you have a 5th grader (my 10 year old son was in that grade).

So yeah, the cast is in the main 3-4 years older than the audience: only the cast tends to be around 14. This puts the audience at around 10 or 11.

The aim of Disney Channel is to keep children locked into their brand as they age. As opposed to family films - which parents and children watch together in a theater - Disney Channel is in general conceived as "independent viewing"; something you watch in your room without your parents looking over you. That's why they push teenage themes (MY PARENTS DON'T UNDERSTAND ME BUT DISNEY CORP DOES!) and are a bit more risqué than their family films. They don't make their films so clean because they are worried about how the children would react, they do so because they are worried about how *adults* will react.

Fuckers have everything planned down. It's scary.

Fair enough; I just think you are perhaps mistaking the age of their target market. I don't think teens would be caught dead watching this stuff.

[Valmy]

Disney is pretty loathsome. But what can you do? They are an unstoppable entertainment juggernaut, you cannot avoid consuming their shit even if you devoted your life to it. As a sports fan they have ruled over sports for decades...though cable cutting seems to be threatening their infinite empire until they can find a way to control whatever the next thing is.

[celedhring]

Stuff like The Descendants, Jessie, Liv and Maddie, etc... star people in their late 10s-early 20s.

I admit that we don't get the shows Malthus cited in Disney Channel Spain though.

[Valmy]

Fair enough; I just think you are perhaps mistaking the age of their target market. I don't think teens would be caught dead watching this stuff.

Yep. It is TweenerTV. Believe us Celedhring, as parents we get subjected to this shit all the time.

[Malthus]

Stuff like The Descendants, Jessie, Liv and Maddie, etc... star people in their late 10s-early 20s.

I admit that we don't get the shows Malthus cited in Disney Channel Spain though.

Could well be that the channels have different shows and markets in the two countries. Here in Canada at least, Disney Channel is strictly for tweeners (and Gravity Falls, amidst all that tweener soap opera crap, was a truly bizarre addition  ).

[celedhring]

Disney is pretty loathsome. But what can you do? They are an unstoppable entertainment juggernaut, you cannot avoid consuming their shit even if you devoted your life to it. As a sports fan they have ruled over sports for decades...though cable cutting seems to be threatening their infinite empire until they can find a way to control whatever the next thing is.

Yeah, they're truly evil

They have an amazing brand and content strategy that extends into the very long term. It's the only media conglomerate that does that, most others operate in a very piecemeal way.

[celedhring]

Stuff like The Descendants, Jessie, Liv and Maddie, etc... star people in their late 10s-early 20s.

I admit that we don't get the shows Malthus cited in Disney Channel Spain though.

Could well be that the channels have different shows and markets in the two countries. Here in Canada at least, Disney Channel is strictly for tweeners (and Gravity Falls, amidst all that tweener soap opera crap, was a truly bizarre addition  ).

Fair enough. Is Gravity Falls good for a cynical adult then?

[Malthus]

Fair enough. Is Gravity Falls good for a cynical adult then?

Absolutely. 

It's still a kid's program, but it is easily watchable by adults, and contains much material that some adults would find ... dubious. Plus lots of references that would go right over the heads of kids.

To give an example: in one episode, the kids break into an abandoned convenience store. The sister finds a display of German candy ("Smile Dip") there that has been "banned in America", and proceeds to eat lots of it ... and it results in a massive drug trip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jngqI1la27o

Hentai reference (look for the "squid")

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xliSzFTUbtA

Put it this way: the makers of this program are best buds with the makers of Rick and Morty, and the latter even has some crossovers.