tick tick tick...

[ealgylden]

One month exactly until The Two Towers is released on DVD. Just one month left until noble, frozen Edoras, Eowyn and Eomer and all their tragedy, Theoden min god cyning, Hama the cuddliest doorwarden to ever ward a door, the swords and the horses and the Horn of Helm Hammerhand, and all the rest of Rohan are back within reach. Sure, there's other stuff in the movie, things not involving the Rohirrim, but that's just gravy. I'm here for the horselords.


So to celebrate having only one month left to wait, I finally cancelled my order for the Galadriel and Prologue Elf Warrior action figures, which has been in limbo since, what, February? The store kept putting me off and putting me off, so at long last, I gave up. Not ten minutes after I finished with them, I had a new set ordered from an Ebay seller I've had good experiences with in the past, and my elves will be on their way early next week. And to think it only took me six months. Sheesh. I have another auction still going that I don't want to jinx, but with any luck in one day and nine hours, I'll be crowing about... the thing. Fingers crossed!


And sadly I'm down to my last two Boromir candy bars. Too bad- they were yummy and they made me giggle (well, I thought it was funny that Boromir and Aragorn were both peanut butter. Aww. My chocolate OTP). It's a pity Disney missed the merchandising boat (ship, sorry) on PotC, or I'd undoubtedly have pirate candy to tide me over until RotK (chocolate doubloons, maybe? Though I probably have some old Chanukah gelt around, if I get desperate). And action figures, why on earth didn't they come out with action figures? Don't they know how neat it would be for me to have pirates mixed in with my elves, warriors, martial arts masters, spacemen, vampires and slayers, and whatever the heck else I have? Foolish Disney. I'm a geek with a shopping addiction, and you're not taking advantage of that! Such a wasted opportunity. I want my six inch Jack Sparrow with sixteen points of articulation and "authentic" pistol firing action! I want my Barbossa-and-monkey, with undead variant figure and apple accessory! I want my Pintel/Ragetti two-pack! Can this really be the same company that tried to sell me Pocahontas Native American popcorn and Hunchback of Notre Dame soap-on-a-rope? Where are the shelves full of useless fripperies? Can't rely on anything anymore.


One month left. tick tick tick...

Comments

The Mouse

[kathlaw.livejournal.com]

declineandfall and I have decided The Mouse had no clue what they had with Pirates. Hence the soundtrack CD not coming out until two weeks after the release, and it being imho a bad mix as far as levels go, and clarity as well. I'm guessing the sound engineer was told to waste as little time as possible, and just take it off the movie.

Yes, they usually do much better ancillary marketing and support. But this is a movie where they were selling off props before the movie even opened! They likely had no clue the box office would be so huge, or that a sequel would be immediately decided upon. I'm betting they either cancelled the prop auction, or regretted some items already sold.

Yeah, they were idiots. :-) But this is The Mouse we're talking about. They do some things superbly well. I adore Kim Possible, for example, and Lili & Stitch. But I'm going to predict that the Eddie Murphy-starrer based on the Haunted Mansion ride will do only adequate box office, and there will be execs who'll never understand why a box office draw like Murphy wouldn't out-sell Depp, Bloom, and Rush.

Re: The Mouse

[ealgylden.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think you guys nailed it. I mean, before it opened, this movie was a joke. A film about pirates, based on a ride, after Cutthroat Island was such a colossal failure, starring a talented weirdo, a thespian who isn't a sex symbol, and a couple of mostly unknowns? Er, yeah. So looking at it like that, I guess I'm not surprised they didn't to any merchandising. And they must really be kicking themselves, since it's the first real hit of the summer and caught everyone so off-guard. Part of me, the part that finds their business tactics annoying, is thinking "nyah nyah". Unfortunately the rest of me just really wants toys. I would love to be five and be able to yell "No fair no fair no fair!" for a while (I'd do it anyway, but it'd annoy the cats).

the soundtrack CD not coming out until two weeks after the release, and it being imho a bad mix as far as levels go, and clarity as well.

That is so disappointing to hear! I'm still waiting for my copy to arrive (Amazon estimated yesterday. Hmph), and to hear that they were slacking in the studio makes me sad. I expect better from Disney, tsk tsk.

I adore Kim Possible, for example, and Lilo & Stitch.

Me too! I really wish I had cable so I could see Kim Possible more often (though I've seen the one with her new winter jacket and the giant wheel of cheese about 20 times). And every time I watch it, Lilo & Stitch makes me cry. Every single time. I start at that first big, painful, real fight that Lilo and Nani have, and I just keep on through. When I'm not laughing like a loon, that is ("Wow. San Francisco." and the voodoo spoons! Heee). I have a crush on David, too. What a cutie. It's definitely on the short list of "Disney movies I need to upgrade to DVD in my collection," along with Mulan, 101 Dalmatians, Robin Hood and a couple of others.

Re The Haunted Mansion- I think they're in for a surprise if they're expecting another Pirates. The only things I thought when I saw that preview were "Can we have the Hidalgo preview again?" and "When did Eddie Murphy become Mantan Moreland?"

Re: The Mouse

[kathlaw.livejournal.com]

declineandfall got the soundtrack and we played it in my car, where I'm accustomed to playing soundtracks, not just ordinary stuff. But apparently on headphones on her small boombox, parts of it sounded better. I was just disappointed in that the sound volume varies so much I can't use it for writing music. And okay, it sounded "muddy" especially on the bass. But I used to play violin, and spent several years in orchestras listening to it all live. So I likely have an "odd" ear.

I saw Lilo & Stitch opening day, bought the soundtrack right after, and the DVD within the first couple of weeks it was out. Sleeping Beauty used to be my favorite Disney animated feature but it comes second now to Lilo. And yeah, I always cry too. I ... damn. *wry grin* It's the whole family thing, and Bubbles, and and and ....

Yes, Jason Lee as David is wonderful. You've seen him in the live-action Jungle Book, the one with Cary Elwes, yes?

Cool! on Kim Possible. They're starting to air new episodes, now that they did the marathon of the top 20 episodes a week or so ago. (If I'd known you couldn't catch it on the Disney Channel, I'd have taped it for you.) Today's was a new one, to me anyway, and apparently there's going to be one where Senor Senior hires Sheego to teach Junior how to be evil. I'm so looking forward to that one.

Re: The Mouse

[ealgylden.livejournal.com]

Hm, darn. I don't doubt that you know what you're talking about, so that's unfortunate (that they messed up, not that you know something about sound mixing, I mean *g*). Considering what they charge for CDs these days, I expect better. Oh well. Still, I guess something's better than nothing.

Bubbles! Such a cool character. I mean, the name alone... I also really liked the mad scientist (whose name I'm blanking on). And I was surprised by how much I liked Stitch. When I first started hearing about the movie and first saw the commercials, he looked kind of annoying. Appealing to kids, but not necessarily to me, you know? But he turned out to be wonderful. I love that movie, I really do.

You've seen him in the live-action Jungle Book, the one with Cary Elwes, yes?

Ooh, no, I haven't. It looked a bit silly (a big bit), so I skipped it. Wrong choice, I take it? Cary Elwes is a Good Thing, and if Jason Lee is appealing in the flesh as he is as a line-drawing, I'll definitely need to rent it.

D'oh, too bad I missed the KP marathon. Oh well. I'm glad it's popular- TokyoPop is doing a line of little digest-sized comics of it (made up of stills from the cartoon, more or less- I know there's a term for that but I'm blanking), and apparently they're selling really well to pre-teen girls, which bodes well for the show. And more Senor Senior is always a good thing. Senor Senior plus Sheego? Just too fun.

Re: The Mouse

[kathlaw.livejournal.com]

I have a water-squirting Stitch a good friend gave me. He sits next to my printer and never fails to make me grin. And Chris did a totally wonderful job doing the voice.

Re: Jungle Book. Oh, yes. Worth it for the animals, Lee, Elwes, and Sam Neill. It's delightful! And this as someone who loved the book and wasn't all that amused by the wretched animated version when I was a kid. It's not literarily accurate, but it's terrific nevertheless.

Oh, cool! on the comics, except that being the Mouse and animation, the writer doesn't see a penny of royalties, if they're using stories from episodes. *mutter, mutter* Anyway, I taped tonight's episode, and hope to get the next three taped, then mailed off to you. It's so much fun finding someone to share my love of Ron and Kim, and of course the Tweebs (being an identical twin myself), that I'm going to attempt to remember to insert tape each week.

"Call me, beep me, if you wanna reach me ...." :-)

Re: The Mouse

[ealgylden.livejournal.com]

Ooh, Sam Neill! I definitely need to see it then. I've been a Sam Neill fan since I was a wee thing staying up way past my bedtime to watch Reilly Ace of Spies (he was so cool). Right, I'll add that to the "must rent" list before I forget.

being the Mouse and animation, the writer doesn't see a penny of royalties, if they're using stories from episodes.

Yikes, seriously? That's awful. Poor writers. They (well, you) always get stomped on.

And truly you are a goddess among women and a supplier of excellent cartoons. I throw roses at your feet (I would throw naked mole-rats, but that's mean and Rufus wouldn't approve). I've gradually trained my sister to call her SO's irritating friend Ron "Stoppable"- he doesn't know why, and it makes her giggle (yes, we're still 12). She doesn't watch the show, though, so she doesn't really get it. Poor sis.

I have the song stuck in my head now. Curse you! ;)

Re: The Mouse

[kathlaw.livejournal.com]

Animation writers, until relatively recently on the prime-time stuff, aren't even called writers. There actually was a good reason, once upon a time.

Originally, there were no writers. Cartoons were created as storyboards by artists, including for features. The first totally scripted Disney animated feature was Oliver and Company as I recall. The Mouse learned their lesson with The Black Cauldron which was a total mess as each storyboard artist created their own segment and they didn't always inter-relate well. Cost over-runs were an even larger problem than nothing they could turn into a movie.

So in the early 90s we got officially/legally changed from "storymen" to "story person" by the Motion Picture Screen Cartoonists Union (839) which felt like a major improvement for some of us. :-) Of course animation writers have been trying to get into the WGA for close to two decades, and now there's the Animation Writers Caucus within the WGA, and a number of shows are Guild. But all the old stuff that was total buyout, we get nothing when it's put out on DVD, when it's turned into comic books here or in foreign countries, computer games, anything. *sigh*

I have the song stuck in my head now. Curse you! ;)

Yeah, I went to bed thinking of it. :-) And you're very welcome. Like I said, sometimes I forget, but I'll endeavor to get the first four onto the tape. What I really want is a TiVo, but that's got to wait until the exchequer is a whole lot healthier. It would be so nice to let it remember to tape stuff, rather than having to program it constantly. Ah well. Eventually.

Re: The Mouse

[ealgylden.livejournal.com]

I had no idea about any of that, and it's really interesting. I always thought, if I thought about it at all, that animation writers had pretty much the same standing/rights/etc as any other screenwriters. Weird to think that you don't, really. And the lack of a script explains so much about Black Cauldron

But all the old stuff that was total buyout, we get nothing when it's put out on DVD, when it's turned into comic books here or in foreign countries, computer games, anything.

You get totally ripped off then. That seems so blatantly unfair I don't see how they get away with it, but then I don't have exec-brain, so obviously I don't get it. Greedy dorks.

Oh, and my PotC CD finally came, and I agree with you- fun score but muddy-sounding CD. It sounds a little better on my big, fancy stereo with the good speakers than on my computer, but even then it's not what it should be. Grr.

Re: The Mouse

[kathlaw.livejournal.com]

You get totally ripped off then. That seems so blatantly unfair I don't see how they get away with it, but then I don't have exec-brain, so obviously I don't get it. Greedy dorks.

Yes. :-)

Oh, and my PotC CD finally came, and I agree with you- fun score but muddy-sounding CD. It sounds a little better on my big, fancy stereo with the good speakers than on my computer, but even then it's not what it should be. Grr.

Oh, good. I mean .... I'm glad you agree with me that it could have been better. :-) And it sucks that they didn't invest anywhere near what they should have into its production. It's still a terrific soundtrack, but having the Polidouris CONAN, and Williams STAR WARS and all my other wonderful orchestral scores, this one just doesn't quite match up. And it could have!

[cruisedirector]

Am howling at your thoughts on chocolate and action figures. Xena fell over on Faramir the other day and, well, it gave me thoughts.

[ealgylden.livejournal.com]

Ha! Oh no, poor Faramir! She'll eat him alive! He's like a fluffy little bunny next to her.

(Hey, aren't you still on vacation? I didn't think you were back yet.)

[castalianspring.livejournal.com]

One month exactly until The Two Towers is released on DVD.

Oy! I hate waiting, but at least we don't have to wait much longer. I want that extra footage, yes I do.

I want my six inch Jack Sparrow with sixteen points of articulation and "authentic" pistol firing action! I want my Barbossa-and-monkey, with undead variant figure and apple accessory! I want my Pintel/Ragetti two-pack!

Oh my, I want this more! Especially the Barbossa with apple accessory. Add the two lobsters to that list and I'd buy them all! A pox on Disney for dropping the ball on this one.

[ealgylden.livejournal.com]

Well we still have to wait until November for the super-turbo-mega DVD, but the regular one should (I think, I hope) have a RotK trailer. And other goodies, of course. Besides, it's been ages since I've seen the movie, and I miss it.

The lobsters! How could I leave them off my wish list? Definitely a must-have. And some sort of Will figure, because he's cute and Jack needs someone to pick on. And a Norrington/ship set, like the various horse and rider LotR sets. And Elizabeth and Anamaria, because there are never enough female action figures and they were keen. Hm, this is becoming a cool-sounding line. I wish I had an in at Disney.

I have this stuffed lobster (the crustacean, not the soldier, but anyway) that I got on the North Shore years and years ago who has recently been named Murtogg. Now I just need to find him a Mullroy...

[castalianspring.livejournal.com]

Aw, yeah, I forgot about that. *sigh* So many lovely things happening in November. It had better get here soon.

You should so design the line for Disney :) Love the Norrington/ship set! We need a Black Pearl too, so we can recreate battles.

I have this urge to go dig my Lego pirate/Royal Navy sets out of the closet and play with them *g* I could make a Barbossa! I have pirates with big hats and a bunch of monkeys (no clothes, though, bummer). God, this movie has taken over my brain...

I have this stuffed lobster (the crustacean, not the soldier, but anyway) that I got on the North Shore years and years ago who has recently been named Murtogg. Now I just need to find him a Mullroy...

This is just too cute. Hope you find him a mate soon :)

[ealgylden.livejournal.com]

I have this urge to go dig my Lego pirate/Royal Navy sets out of the closet and play with them *g*

Hee! I spent two hours yesterday trying to find where I put my Playmobil pirates. I don't have a ship for them (yet), but I have treasure, skulls, rowboats, sharks, a bunch of pirates and four captains (uh oh). Who needs a dining room table when I could have plastic pirate battles?

I could make a Barbossa! I have pirates with big hats and a bunch of monkeys (no clothes, though, bummer).

You totally should! Do you have any possible Jacks? I think all of mine look too... normal. Not nearly snazzy and weird enough to be Jack. Too bad. No monkeys either.

[castalianspring.livejournal.com]

Playmobil pirates? Coolness! I don't have any skulls, and somehow I seem to have fewer pirates than I used to have. Darn siblings. I do, however, have a good collection of cutlasses, pistols, rifles, parrots, hats, cannons (heh, of course) and a few jolly boats.

I've succeeded in making a passable Barbossa (had to go with a black bearded face, though. No bushy grey goatees to be had), Murtogg and Mullroy, and Norrington. Barbossa has his monkey (I seem to have about 10 monkeys for some reason) but I couldn't figure out a way to make any apples out of legos. I don't have anything that could even remotely pass as Jack, though. His clothes and facial hair are too unique, and my pirates seem to have very little variation on the striped shirts and stubble themes.

Note to self: I will not paint my Legos to look like PotC characters...I will not paint my Legos to look like PotC characters...

[ealgylden.livejournal.com]

Cannons! That's what I don't have. Hmm... I don't want to steal them from my Civil War artillery guys (they need them to fight off the banditos who are coming to attack the Indian village. Not that I have my Old West set out at the moment or anything), so I'll have to pillage Ebay. I can't have pirates without cannons.

I've succeeded in making a passable Barbossa (had to go with a black bearded face, though. No bushy grey goatees to be had), Murtogg and Mullroy, and Norrington.

That is so extremely cool. Maybe Barbossa's decided to dye his beard to impress... um, somebody. Jack? Everyone wants Jack, after all. :) Too bad you don't have any Jack-type pirates, but I'm not surprised. He really is unique.

The other thing I lack entirely are lobsters. All those pirates and no one to chase them (No Norrington! Terrible!). No monkeys either. I think I can kidnap some apples from my sister, though- she's not the Playmobil addict I am, but she has some of the farm sets, and I think the rabbit hutch and the pony farm come with apples. Time for more pillaging! Mwa ha ha!

Note to self: I will not paint my Legos to look like PotC characters...I will not paint my Legos to look like PotC characters...

[devil-on-the-shoulder voice] Aw, what can it hurt? You'll be exercising your creativity. Getting in touch with your inner child. They'll be happier as PotC characters, really. Just a few dabs of paint... [/devil-on-the-shoulder voice]

Heh heh heh....

[castalianspring.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I envy your Civil War/Old West set. You could check eBay for cannons, but I'm afraid the movie has stirred up a pirate craze and all the pirate sets are going for very high prices. Dash it, and I wanted a ship!

Yay for pillaging! Luckily, my sets came with both lobsters in red and Royal Navy guys in blue. Never understood why Lego people had bright yellow skin, though *g*

[devil-on-the-shoulder voice] Aw, what can it hurt? You'll be exercising your creativity. Getting in touch with your inner child. They'll be happier as PotC characters, really. Just a few dabs of paint... [/devil-on-the-shoulder voice]

You are thoroughly evil :P It doesn't help that I have bottles of black and silver acrylic paint and a tiny paintbrush left over from when I used them to paint my D10 game dice. I'm *so* tempted to get some more colors and give one of the monkeys clothes...

[ealgylden.livejournal.com]

Luckily, my sets came with both lobsters in red and Royal Navy guys in blue.

That's really handy. I definitely need to hunt some up. But that reminds me about something that bugged me in the movie- why are there so many Marines on the Dauntless and so few sailors? Who's doing the actual sailing? I bet Disney went for the pretty red coats over something that would make sense, but still. It bugs a bit.

I'm *so* tempted to get some more colors and give one of the monkeys clothes...

You should, you so should! He'd be the most stylish pirate monkey on the seas! :)

[castalianspring.livejournal.com]

I'd suggest eBay, but the pirate craze has resulted in way high prices.

But that reminds me about something that bugged me in the movie- why are there so many Marines on the Dauntless and so few sailors? Who's doing the actual sailing? I bet Disney went for the pretty red coats over something that would make sense, but still. It bugs a bit.

I hadn't noticed, but that's a great point! I mean, there would be plenty of marines, at least a platoon, I think, but there should be *lots* of sailors in proportion. They should've been everywhere. Not sure if that's a gaffe on the part of the director, the casting people, or the costumers, but still, quite a goof.

[ealgylden.livejournal.com]

I'd suggest eBay, but the pirate craze has resulted in way high prices.

Yeah, I was just noticing that. Darn it all anyway. Go bid on... on cowboys, people! (Of course, then I'll be annoyed when I try to work on my Western theme, but snarking at other collectors is half the fun).

[castalianspring.livejournal.com]

Hmm, maybe *I'll* go bid on cowboys. As a kid, I focused so much on the pirates/Navy and the knights/castle collections, I neglected the western sets. Are they cool?

[ealgylden.livejournal.com]

They're very cool, but not always easy to find. Cowboys are sort of out of fashion, so they may have discontinued the line (not entirely sure about that, though). Some stores do still stock them, though, and I think they're relatively affordable on Ebay. I should go check, actually- I need more townsfolk and Indians. Too many cool sets to buy!

[castalianspring.livejournal.com]

It really sucks that cowboys are so out of fashion. It's like western movies, so few are successful anymore. eBay seems to have a few sets available. The bigger sets are going for high bids, but I could get some basic figures for reasonable prices.

eBay is so dangerous for me...*g*