I’m
going to admit that I’ve started this essay, written drafts of
this essay, and even began the process of editing what I thought
were nearing completion versions of this essay, more times than
I can now count. I’ve lost track.
Not
because this is really difficult. Just a lot of ideas and debates
swirling around and so many ways to approach it. To start with,
we have the subject of superhero fatigue.
Yup.
I blame superhero fatigue for the difficulty in deciding whether
or not Disney sucks.
There’s
a lot of stuff to examine, so let’s clean some stuff up as a start.
First,
no, Disney does not suck.
And
second, I would like to make the make the argument that what has
increasingly become acknowledged as superhero fatigue has actually
not set in.
But
before we get to any of that, we probably should take a step back
and see where all of this started.
There
was an announcement on the internet recently. Basically outlined
some general conversations and sources and material that indicated
Disney—more specifically Pixar—had some efforts in motion that
likely meant new productions associated with Cars.
I
like the Cars movies. Love the characters. Enjoy the
stories. Visited Lightning McQueen a few times in Orlando. Still,
I will admit that some of the material that’s been released isn’t
as brilliant and outstanding as other bits. The thing is… hold
on, new paragraph…
The
thing is, just because it isn’t without exception, one-hundred-percent,
nothing uneven and flawlessly perfect doesn’t mean it isn’t good.
Doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be made. It doesn’t indicate a fatigue,
where the audience (and perhaps industry as well) is tired and
exhausted and finished with Cars.
This
holds true when considering box office numbers, which is often
the first and foremost (and often only) factor discussed. It’s
a flawed—and, frankly, lazy—way of thinking to only say something
like (my words): “It’s not making the expected dollars, therefor
audiences are tired of this material.”
That
doesn’t mean something isn’t wrong.
Wish
came out recently, which was not as well received as some thought
it might be and there’s talk of it underperforming as its theater
run winds down. Folks will quickly point at The Marvels and examine
the numbers. Folks will bring up Disney+ and cite fatigue and
oversaturation and…
…and…
…well,
does Disney suck?
Is
the golden age of untouchable franchises… of Marvel superheroes
and galaxies far, far away… finished?
And
that’s when we get to the fatigue. Because I believed there was
more to it than just an overall superhero fatigue. More to than
everyone tiring of the genre. The more I wrote, the more I realized
that there are multiple answers, and all of them have a bit of
merit. It’s not the superheroes. It’s the box office overall.
It’s the delivery methods as part of the structure.
Let’s
just consider three very broad concepts: Some say there are too
many, some that there are too few, and some—the likely majority—that
take them film by film.
In
the too many camp, Disney does have an interesting obstacle to
overcome. Look at The Marvels, with a character (Brie
Larson’s Carol Danvers) heading into her second headlining feature
film. Two characters of importance (Teyonah Parris’s Monica Rambeau
and Iman Vellani’s Kamala Khan) come from Disney+ shows, WandaVivsion
and Ms. Marvel.
Generating
new content (and new franchises within the larger franchise) is
providing an amazingly difficult tightrope to walk. Introduce
new characters, create an alteration to the story formula that
attempts to keep something fresh, and when you can, find ways
to include characters that have proven popular and successful
to provide a bit of extra appeal.
Don’t
believe it’s tough? Well, then try doing that over two presentation
mediums, from movie releases to streaming services.
I
give you… She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.
I
liked the show. Fun and entertaining. (Full disclosure: I also
had fun and enjoyed watching The Marvels.) But for the
critics that want to contend confusing, heavy and easy to lose
the inside jokes, the evidence is plenty.
Tim
Roth brings back the bad guy Abomination. But Abomination wasn’t
a bad guy faced by Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk. Ruffalo is the one here
for She-Hulk, and features early in the show to set the
ground for Tatiana Mosley’s Jennifer Walters. Then, Hulk kind
of disappears, making way for the Charlie Cox appearance as Daredevil.
And Benedict Wong’s Wong arrives.
It’s
a swirling batch of thrills that could leave a newcomer feeling
a bit left out while watching the show. That’s not really fatigue.
It’s just a monumental challenge to get right.
Can
it be done right? Can new content come around that works?
I
give you Moon Knight.
It’s
a Disney+ Marvel series about a superhero played by Oscar Isaac.
I loved this show. And one of the things they did right was to
figuratively put it on its own island and tell the story. No surprising
cameos, story overlaps, or hidden treasures that needed someone
to have watched other movies, seen other shows, and/or read several
of the comics to understand.
All
of which, for me, confirms that as always, the answer comes back
to quality. Yes, you absolutely can spread the peanut butter too
thin and tear the bread. (Both literally and figuratively, but
we’re going with the figurative here.) Even a good story can be
asked to do way too much.
That
provides the material to challenge those in the too few camp.
If the quality is suffering now, then we definitely don’t need
to ramp things up and make more.
The
answer, I would argue, is found with those that decide whether
to go movie by movie. These films are bringing in hundreds of
millions of dollars even when they’re considered failures. Once
again though, quality. If they don’t deliver, the audience doesn’t
want to come back. If they’re so concerned with setting up the
next film rather than delivering a complete narrative on their
own, the audience is going to feel cheated, and they won’t want
to come back. And if the audience feels left out of the jokes,
not only are they not coming back, they likely won’t come at all.
In
many ways, all of that could be considered fatigue. Trouble for
the critics is, it’s not superhero fatigue.
Which,
in turn, brings us back around to my initial suggestion, box office
fatigue.
The
industry has shifted for many studios. Chasing size of return,
capturing the headlines with massive opening weekends, and earning
huge returns on investment. They’re releasing fewer products,
spending more money producing them, and expecting the dollars
to pour in to the treasure chests.
Disney
doesn’t suck. And I would argue that superhero fatigue can be
overcome. But the reality is… I’m in the middle. Slid from watching
all of them to making decisions film by film, show by show. I
love the movies, love the shows, and wouldn’t mind seeing more
of them made. I’m not tired of them. Which means no preconceived
notions. No blind dedication. I just want a good product.
Now
if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go watch The Muppets Mayhem.
Again. (Make of that what you will. And there’s plenty to make
of it.)