Topic: Disney buys Marvel Comics out for $4 billion.

[MysterD]

Yep, you're reading that correctly...

[Pugnate]

The fanboys are already overreacting. This won't "Disnefy" anything at Marvel. Disney is a huge company and owns lots of stuff, most of which it leaves well alone. Take for example The Sixth Sense, which was a Disney movie.

What this also means is that at some point, three different studios won't own the various Marvel movie properties... which means you may finally see Spider-Man on screen with The X-Men, Iron Man and the rest of the Avengers etc.

Though Sony still have the rights to the Spiderman movies, their time is running out, so expect to see all these superhero movies rebooted in 10 years or whatever.

[MysterD]

Though Sony still have the rights to the Spiderman movies, their time is running out, so expect to see all these superhero movies rebooted in 10 years or whatever.

Oh, God no @ lots of reboots.

[angrykeebler]

"Rest assured, I was on the Internet within minutes, registering my disgust throughout the world"

[Quemaqua]

Fuck Disney.  I really don't care about Marvel, but fuck Disney.  Those shitheads don't deserve money.  Or life.

[Cobra951]

Wow.  Did Mickey take away your lollipop, at some impressionable age?

[beo]

que likes to hate - how don't you get that by now?

i'm with him on this one though. i think it was the trip to disneyworld that did it - it made me want to puke pink sugar rainbows out of every orifice. also, walt was a bit of a nazi.

[Cobra951]

Overexposure can definitely lead to insulin shock, but I don't hate it.  As Pug mentioned, there's a lot more to Disney than the classic characters.  I don't know what effect they'll have on Marvel.  Hopefully, it will be like Pixar, where they knew that leaving the creative process alone was the best thing to do.  The characters will no doubt be added to the theme parks in one way or another.  That may help with the sugary-rainbows intestinal problems.

[Quemaqua]

I just hate everything they stand for.  Not what they pretend to stand for, but the rest.  I hate big business, I hate stupid people who obsess over stuff that has no value whatsoever (the kinds of fans they breed), I hate greedy pricks who attempt to hide behind and profit from things that are all sweetness and happiness on the surface, and I hate most of what Disney is responsible for just because I generally hate the animation.  Disney just represents a lot of things I can't stand.  To see them amass further power, influence, and business is the last thing I ever want to hear.

[Xessive]

How do you feel about Disney characters in sexually compromising positions? Haha, I know that sounds sarcastic but I'm just curious how those images are considered; are they good or bad for Disney?

[Quemaqua]

I, uh.... what?

[Cobra951]

There's porn out there using every popular cartoon character.

[Pugnate]

Well, I am pretty sure I hate Disney more than Que.

I hate how they have taken so many rich and deep fairy tales that communicate on many levels, and castrated them into simplistic innocuous drivel that has been the biggest contribution in the pussification of the youth of today.

When I was a child, my mother read to me stories from collections of the Brothers Grimm, Andersen etc. Most of these stories were fairly close translations of their source material, and they were often multifaceted with subtly taught lessons that weren't sugar coated, and were occasionally just plain harsh. Sometimes these stories were even a bit frightening. And some of these stories communicated on levels that I couldn't understand back then, and only did when I got into my teens, which I appreciated...

So as I grew older, I watched in horror as some of my favorite stories were presented as simple one dimensional song and dance numbers...

I have to admit though, that Disney's Beauty & the Beast is one of my favorite movies of all time. I still shed a tear at the end...

edit:

I should mention that my point was that despite my hate for Disney, I don't think they are going to ruin their Marvel properties by doing anything silly, like Mickey Mouse meets Wolverine. That would just be bad business.

[Quemaqua]

I would second everything Pug just said, with the possible exception of Beauty and the Beast.  And I actually kind of liked The Emperor's New Groove for some bizarre reason (probably Patrick Warburton)... it was one of the first movies I saw with Julia before we started dating.

And yeah, I don't think Disney is going to do anything to Marvel.  I'm just fucking pissed off that they own it.  Marvel did plenty of weird stuff to itself, anyway.  Like... Wolverine: the anime: now with 100% more mullet.  Iron Man: the anime looks about 2 billion times better, because Japan and robots or robot suits are pretty well suited to each other, but... still, wtf?

[Pugnate]

The Emperor's New Groove

haha that was a very goofy one. I liked it because it almost felt like they went from doing a somewhat serious story to a Saturday morning Tom & Jerry cartoon.

[gpw11]

Well, I am pretty sure I hate Disney more than Que.

I hate how they have taken so many rich and deep fairy tales that communicate on many levels, and castrated them into simplistic innocuous drivel that has been the biggest contribution in the pussification of the youth of today.

No, no, no. I think parents trying to be a kid's friend is the biggest contribution of the pussification of youth today.  I don't want to be one of those guys bitching about other people's kids, and I don't think it's a new thing...but fuck.  I don't have kids so I don't know a lot about it, but I see a lot of parents just kind of giving into difficult kids or over coddling just because they think it's easier. That has to have an effect.

Or as a co-worker's bumper sticker says "Kids who got spanked don't carry guns".   Actually, now that I think about it that's a retarded bumper sticker. Disregard that. 

[Quemaqua]

I like the "Don't spank kids.  No seriously, they carry guns now" sticker better.

But it's all part of the same parcel.  Trying to befriend your snotty like brat who doesn't listen to you is, as I see it, part of the same ideology as dumbing down tales that might once have had a message until there's nothing left worth listening to.

[gpw11]

Yeah, I see what you're saying and I do agree, but I don't think that Disney "cleaning up" and bastardizing a lot of these tales are really harming the kids.  There's probably a direct and inverse relationship between what kids want to watch and there being any actual substance to it.  Like, should Disney actually accurately portray a lot of their stories I don't think kids would even want to watch them....same goes for any fairy tale.  Of course, I'm just really basing this off of shitty anime cartoons that seem to be the rage these days.

I'll take fucking Duck Tales any day.

[Quemaqua]

I'll certainly give you that.  I don't blame Disney for the behavior of children, but instead would blame parents for providing an environment that naturally encourages and thereby financially supports useless drivel.

[Pugnate]

"Kids who got spanked don't carry guns"

That's awesome!

Yes, parents are definitely the single most influential part of a child's life. I was exaggerating for comic effect or something.

Yea, I used to love Duck Tales growing up. Who was that superhero/robocop Duck character? He was awesome.

I think balance is the key. Just like you want to indulge yourself in a thought provoking piece of fiction (book or movie), you want to blow some steam by watching Harold & Kumar run around for 90 minutes.

I knew some kids whose parents were so stupid, that they wouldn't let their kids have anything unless it was "educational". They'd read literature all the time -- comic books and toys were banned --, and on their birthdays would receive chemistry sets rather than stuff that was fun.

These kids grew up to be extremely fucked up. When they moved to Canada in their late teens, they turned into marijuana smokin' slackers.... not that there is anything wrong with that... but it was quite opposite of the lifestyle their parents were trying to force them into.

[Cobra951]

There is no Parenthood 101-400 series in college.  At least, not as of my graduation.  We learn as we go.  We try our best, but still make big mistakes.  Firstborns and only children end up the most fucked up as a result.  Kind of like your first attempt to paint a room.

I believe in discipline, including the credible threat of physical punishment.  Unfortunately, credibility can only be attained by doing it once for real.  Flagrant disregard for parental authority merits that one primer.

I wanted, and still want, for my children to be happy and joyful.  Balancing that with proper doses of reality and responsibility is not an easy task.

Children are not clean slates at birth.  They are born with predispositions and some form of personality.  You can treat 2 children exactly the same way, and end up with very different adults.

Nobody has all the answers.  Like everything else in life, raising kids is a crapshoot.  Come on, lucky seven . . .

Parents were once kids who got their hangups partly from their parents.  So you see, it's all Adam and Eve's fault.  The rest of us can take a break from guilt.

[Quemaqua]

I disagree entirely.  Guilt should be job one at this point, IMO.  Raising kids is certainly a crapshoot, but today's average kids are the worst that have ever existed in this country, not to mention the least intelligent.  People will probably tell me to shut up because I'm not raising any, what do I know, etc. etc., and that's fine if it makes them feel better, but it doesn't change the reality of their total failure as parents.  Sure, there are plenty of good ones too, but the state of our society is a scary one.  One can't lay individual blame, but the cumulative effect is frightening when you take a hard look at the state of the youth.

[Cobra951]

Shut up.  You're not raising any, so what do you know?   

[Pugnate]

Shut up.  You're not raising any, so what do you know?  

What about D?

[gpw11]

I disagree entirely.  Guilt should be job one at this point, IMO.  Raising kids is certainly a crapshoot, but today's average kids are the worst that have ever existed in this country, not to mention the least intelligent.  People will probably tell me to shut up because I'm not raising any, what do I know, etc. etc., and that's fine if it makes them feel better, but it doesn't change the reality of their total failure as parents.  Sure, there are plenty of good ones too, but the state of our society is a scary one.  One can't lay individual blame, but the cumulative effect is frightening when you take a hard look at the state of the youth.

To be perfectly honest, I think you need to be at least 25 before you're allowed to keep your kid.  I'm sure there are a lot of great parents younger than that, but there's a lot of potentially great parents aged 30 on waiting lists and I have a hard time believing a 20 year old isn't going to fuck it up.

[MysterD]

What about D?

How the hell did I get involved in this discussion?

I don't have any kids.
I don't wanna even imagine the thought of me having kids just yet....

And no, Cobra is NOT related to me, either!
He is NOT my biological dad.

[Pugnate]

No I meant Que is raising you like a son.

[gpw11]

What?  I thought D and Que were the same person.

[Quemaqua]

What?  I thought D and Que were the same person.

You, sir, are about to have your house set on fire.

[angrykeebler]

You, sir, are about to have your house set on fire.

umm he is canadian.. pretty sure their houses are made of ice

[idolminds]

[Pugnate]

That's actually very funny.

[gpw11]

I laughed.  Going to go get caught up on PA now...hopefully won't be letdown.

[gpw11]

I hate you.

[MysterD]

What?  I thought D and Que were the same person.

We are NOT one entity.
And neither did we get split into two different entities.

I am NOT The Nameless One.
And Que is NOT The Transcendent One.

[Xessive]

[Cobra951]

That is seriously freaky.   Brr!

[Pugnate]

That is great.

[Cobra951]

Heh.  I just now noticed the Daffy Duck reflection.

[MysterD]

I expected Pug to come up w/ the crazy pictures, not X! :OP

Good find, X!