Disney's "The Lone Ranger"

Yes.

Or worse, the next John Carter.

*rimshot*

John Carter of Waterworld

Uh, I was being serious.

I know, but it still works as a punchline.

So they screened a special trailer for this at Comic-Con. It's not online yet, but according to descriptions of it, there was a lot of focus on the trains and on Tonto, who engages in a bit of You No Take Candle. It supposedly stole the panel, though.

Yeah apparently based on some dialogue in that trailer there may be a sci-fi time travel sort-of deal. But perhaps people are intepreting it differently.

But based on everyone's reactions this is definitely something I might see.

I love Depp, but from the looks of it even he can't save this.

We've got a poster.

I'm a bit conflicted. On one hand, the darkness of it feels a bit forced and I don't like the font they used for the title. On the other hand, it's got this True Grit feel that's quite intriguing.

Perhaps the trailer we're getting tonight will give us a better look at things.

Disney, you're Disney. Don't try to be the Coen Brothers.

Maybe trying to evoke the look of a successful recent western can work out for them, seeing how most sentences including the words "Disney" and "western" don't end well.

Have they done one since Walt was alive? I don't think Hidalgo or John Carter count as Westerns per se.

Home On The Range.

edited 2nd Oct '12 5:53:48 PM by Mort08

.......oh......

Anywho, it's silly for Disney to try and make the Lone Ranger look like True Grit; I mean, the guy has a pretty well-defined stance against killing.

See, I was most concerned that they put the name of the lead actor, the guy who is playing the title character, second on the poster while the actor playing his sidekick is placed second. Disney, I know you want to milk your cash cow here, but don't make it intentionally misleading.

Maybe it's alphabetical billing.

(ha ha ha)

I'm a bit surprised that Armie Hammer got on the poster at all. Sure, he's been in a few things people will be familiar with, but he's not yet a big name, especially next to Depp.

edited 2nd Oct '12 9:27:08 PM by Mort08

And finally we have a trailer.

Looks interesting but can we have more focus on Armie Hammer and not Johnny Depp?

edited 3rd Oct '12 6:15:58 AM by JRPictures

Disney made several moderately successful comedy/adventure westerns, heavy on the Tropes Are Not Cliches, from the late sixties to the late seventies: Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin, The Apple Dumpling Gang (one of the most successful Disney film of the seventies), Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again, and Hot Lead And Cold Feet. Along with John Wayne they were arguably the last people making traditional escapist westerns, w/ decent production values, in the US. From that POV a tongue-in-cheek Lone Ranger remake starring Capt. Jack Sparrow from POTC and Prince Alcott from Mirror Mirror is a lot more Mouse-traditional than some other things the Mouse has done lately.

Edit: the poster on IMDB made me think of the Joker-themed Dark Knight stuff rather than True Grit.

edited 3rd Oct '12 6:54:13 AM by odadune

Looks interesting, but I don't like the choice of music. To me, it's just screaming "LOOK AT US WE'RE TRYING TO BE DARK AND ACTIONY AND STUFF!" That's the kind of attitude I expect to find in a parody of this trend.

Those sound fun. I'll have to look them up.

edited 3rd Oct '12 3:06:51 PM by Mort08

Th Apple Dumpling Gang movies are pretty good. I've only ever read the novelization of Hot Lead and Cold Feet, but it was pretty funny.

Remember, Disney did a very successful and well recieved Zorro TV series (the old one, with Guy Williams). Zorro isn't a western in the purest sense, but it hits most of the same notes as a classic western. As to Depp getting billing over Hammer, remember that Marlon Brando got top billing in Superman: The Movie, just as Jack Nicholson got top billing in Burton's first Batman film. They bill, contracts allowing, according to whose name is likely to be recognizable. I am surprised that they kept Tonto's broken English, though I got a little tingle hearing "Kemosabe."

Saw the trailer finally, liked the stunts, still afraid Armie Hammer's gonna be Will Turner to Tonto's Jack Sparrow (character deserves better than that).

Yeah, Walt Disney and Guy Williams used to joke about their Zorro series being a "south-western." The first story arc (13 eps) is considered one of the best because the head villain was played by a high-caliber fencer, and he and Williams really cut loose with the blades :)

Hot Lead and Cold Feet is largely Jim Dale (Dr Terminus in Petes Dragon) engaging in Ham-to-Ham Combat with himself (and occasionally Darren Mc Gavin), with a side order of Don Knotts locked in Ham-to-Ham Combat with Jack Elam (and occasionally Darren Mc Gavin), so it rides heavily on how entertaining you find those actors. The kid characters are less central and IMO less cutesy than in some other Disney films, FWIW.

Bullwhip Griffin has nifty production values and a great cast (Roddy Mc Dowell and Suzanne Pleshette!) and may be worth watching for that but struck me as having a pretty clunky sense of humor.

I forgot Disney's "The Castaway Cowboy", about a cowboy (James Garner) who washes up in Hawaii and tries to help an impoverished widow by rounding up and selling the feral cattle in the area. Kind of bogus and insensitive take on the indigenous Hawaiians (as was often the case in those days), IIRC, but Garner is always fun and it was cute seeing him do the standard "cowboy hero saves pretty widow from the moustache-twirling dude who holds the mortgage on her property" schtick in Hawaii. Been a while since I watched it though.