I remember Pollyanna, Old Yeller, Charlie the Lonesome Cougar and (my all time favorite) Swiss Family Robinson-those were the good ones, then when Disney channel first came out they initially started with wholesome shows such as Anne of Green Gables and Little Women (which my grandparents gave me as a book and I couldn’t get in to for nothin, but enjoyed the movie.)
IMO, they killed Tron by attempting to turn it into a merchandising vehicle, with toys and other shiny objects, just like they do with their other movies. When the bonanza didn't happen, they just wiped it from the face of the earth, 400+ million in BO receipts be damned. Tron fans just aren't hyper-consuming drones, and the movies just don't lend themselves well to merchandising toys and other things. We waited 28 years for the sequel, and it was definitely worth the wait.
"As a merchandising tie-in, the video game was much more appropriate to the source material than toys would be. Tron is much more conceptual than Star Wars or He-Man."
You said it much better than I could in my pre-coffee state. Spot on. Thanks fren.
There was another Tron arcade game from the 80s ... Discs of Tron ... That one was excellent. The first one was Ok at best ... It was an awesome looking cabinet all lit up though. Discs of Tron was released when arcades were shitting the bed in the early 80s ... Not many were made ... One version of it was a big ass cabinet you literally walked into ... I wish that one would have come out first.
The Atari Tron games sucked. The Intellivision Tron Deadly Discs game was great though. They also had a Tron Solar Sailor game for the Intellivision Intellivoice that was pretty slick for the era.
The pinball machine that came out with Tron Legacy is a masterpiece. Even people that dislike pinball love that game.
Interesting review Fren! My (still) friend managed an arcade and I’d hangout there endlessly. He’d give me sacks of tokens & I’d play for hours & hours. It was a huge arcade too & we’d dig-in to the guts of the games & pinball machines to fix them. (Both being ex-USAF electronics guys). I remember Discs of Tron and it was excellent.
Oddly as a kid I sort of viscerally despised any Disney after what they did post 1990.
I loved the old Chip & Dale, Pluto, Goofy - even the Sword & the Stone and those sorts. Absent Minded Professor, Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, etc.
Then again after seeing Fuzzbucket I prob figured they lost their shit lol.
Tron & Tron Legacy are legit though. The guy that made Tron apparently fought them tooth and nail to get it done. Amazing stuff ahead of it’s time.
I remember Pollyanna, Old Yeller, Charlie the Lonesome Cougar and (my all time favorite) Swiss Family Robinson-those were the good ones, then when Disney channel first came out they initially started with wholesome shows such as Anne of Green Gables and Little Women (which my grandparents gave me as a book and I couldn’t get in to for nothin, but enjoyed the movie.)
Swiss family Robinson is my favorite movie. I bet I’ve seen it 200 times.
IMO, they killed Tron by attempting to turn it into a merchandising vehicle, with toys and other shiny objects, just like they do with their other movies. When the bonanza didn't happen, they just wiped it from the face of the earth, 400+ million in BO receipts be damned. Tron fans just aren't hyper-consuming drones, and the movies just don't lend themselves well to merchandising toys and other things. We waited 28 years for the sequel, and it was definitely worth the wait.
Again, this is all just my opinion.
"As a merchandising tie-in, the video game was much more appropriate to the source material than toys would be. Tron is much more conceptual than Star Wars or He-Man."
You said it much better than I could in my pre-coffee state. Spot on. Thanks fren.
There was another Tron arcade game from the 80s ... Discs of Tron ... That one was excellent. The first one was Ok at best ... It was an awesome looking cabinet all lit up though. Discs of Tron was released when arcades were shitting the bed in the early 80s ... Not many were made ... One version of it was a big ass cabinet you literally walked into ... I wish that one would have come out first.
The Atari Tron games sucked. The Intellivision Tron Deadly Discs game was great though. They also had a Tron Solar Sailor game for the Intellivision Intellivoice that was pretty slick for the era.
The pinball machine that came out with Tron Legacy is a masterpiece. Even people that dislike pinball love that game.
Interesting review Fren! My (still) friend managed an arcade and I’d hangout there endlessly. He’d give me sacks of tokens & I’d play for hours & hours. It was a huge arcade too & we’d dig-in to the guts of the games & pinball machines to fix them. (Both being ex-USAF electronics guys). I remember Discs of Tron and it was excellent.
“We waited 28 years for the sequel, and it was definitely worth the wait.”
Tron Legacy could’ve been a lot more pozzed so I was relieved that it was ok. Still, the best thing about it is Daft Punk’s soundtrack.
I was listening to that soundtrack yesterday.
Really goes with the vibe of the times.
Makes sense. I mean the first one couldn’t have had a market for a long time IMO. Too far over the heads of people.
That second one I expected to be terrible. Was pleasantly surprised
I guess Tron didn't include enough virtual reality child sex acts for Disney's taste.
A friend of mine worked on the glow suits for the Tron sequel. He's based. "I don't give money to Disney; Disney gives money to me," he told me.
That dude knows what’s up. Contractor-based 😅