With the not too long ago introduced Poohniverse, one factor has turn out to be abundantly clear: franchises are getting uncontrolled.
Just a few months in the past I talked concerning the onslaught of Public Domain Horror Films we had been being subjected to. And whereas these movies would have been relegated to straight to DVD in a distinct period, Fathom Events has come alongside and given a platform to those smaller initiatives. So as an alternative of toiling within the cut price bins at Walmart, they’re given temporary theatrical runs. One such movie was the not too long ago launched Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2. Shockingly, the movie wasn’t horrible (you can check out my positive review here) however what I used to be struck by was the temporary introduction by the filmmakers.
Star/Producer Scott Chambers and Writer/Director Rhys Frake-Waterfield discuss to digital camera about their plans for what they describe because the Poohniverse. What precisely is the Poohniverse? Well, it’s an MCU-style world the place characters like Pooh, Bambi, and Peter Pan exist collectively and homicide individuals. As confirmed by Blood and Honey 2, there’s some leisure available watching basic characters homicide teenagers, slasher-style. The bar is fairly low as long as they embrace a surplus of kills. After collaborating in their very own particular person movies, the horror-slanted characters would come collectively Avengers-style for Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble.
The largest challenge I’ve is that the filmmakers aren’t merely ready to see if there’s a need and demand for this, they’re merely exhibiting their filmmaker roadmap. And positive, I’m positive there’s a little bit of poking enjoyable on the MCU means of doing reveals, but it surely doesn’t make theirs any much less ludicrous. There’s no telling how profitable these movies shall be and, given their heavy reliance on gimmick, it wouldn’t shock me if the joke rapidly dissipates. Because I think about “classic literary characters killing people” has a shelf life.
Thankfully, in contrast to the MCU which may typically span years forward, the plan for the Poohniverse merely extends to 2025. But even nonetheless, it feels very cocky to even anticipate to have the ability to make such dumb motion pictures and anticipate others to have any semblance of connection to it. One of the appeals to this type of movie is which you can go in with none information of something, and simply get pleasure from your self. Bring a bunch of buddies and simply chortle at it. But by making a universe, there’s an expectation positioned on the viewer that they should know previous occasions so as to perceive the complete story. Even if that’s not the case, the MCU and different sequence have conditioned basic audiences to a distinct world.
And whereas it most likely looks as if I’m selecting on the Poohniverse, that is merely essentially the most related instance. But this may very well be stated for a lot of completely different makes an attempt at launching a franchise earlier than there was even a need from audiences for one. In the seek for a profitable sequence, corporations are wanting previous a very powerful component: an viewers’s need for extra. And once they know there’s one other one across the nook, what’s to get them to purchase a ticket?
What do you suppose? Does each movie want its personal universe of movies? Can we ever simply have standalone motion pictures anymore? Has the MCU ruined every part? Let us know within the feedback beneath!
