Sideshow, do Disney right!

I think the Prince of Persia debacle should be a clear sign to Sideshow that they need to take a different approach with their Disney license. Sideshow needs to return to the classics. They need to do PFs from Pinocchio, Peter Pan, Jungle Book, Alice (original, not Depp), etc. And they need to make more than just villains. They need to make Steamboat Willie, Sorceror Mickey, Goofy, Uncle Scrooge, etc. They need to make the princesses. Up to now, they have tried to do villains, or live action, or edgy characters they think their core Sideshow collectors would like. What they don't understand is that the same collectors (like myself) that like a LOTR Lurtz also like a beautiful representation of Cinderella. In fact, they are making stereotyped assumptions about what a typical Sideshow collector would like by avoiding Mickey and Minnie and Aurora and instead choosing Prince of Persia (which is an untried product not yet worthy of a statue).

I really hope Sideshow makes a Genie PF next year. He is at the top of my Disney wishlist.

Articulation Junkie said:

I really hope Sideshow makes a Genie PF next year. He is at the top of my Disney wishlist.

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Exactly, the Genie would be a perfect character to do. If they had to do a "Persian" theme, the Genie would have fit the bill a hell of alot better than Dastan!

Yeah that PF had me scratching my head a little. What if the movie sucks and people hate it?

Haven't they said that they're only planning on making PFs of villains? Or has that changed?

I thought they were at least going to make Jessica Rabbit.

But no princesses saves me some money--my daughter would go crazy for any one of them. Belle, Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Jasmine, Ariel, Pocahontas, Mulan, Tiana--she would want all of them.

But anyway--I wouldn't call the PoP PF a "debacle." If people don't want it, they don't have to buy it. But the line is still young and has already produced some great pieces, in my opinion.

It's not a debacle, but it's a curious business decision. Even if the film wasn't the giant box office bomb that it is it would've been a risky PF.

I'm definitely surprised that SSC seems content with ignoring the cash cow that is "Disney Princesses."

There's got to be something outlined in the license contract that kind of forces Sideshow's hand on making pieces from Disney movies they may not normally touch. I'm hoping this is the case with Prince of Persia and if it's not a success, then they just cut their losses and move on.

Edgy is fine. Rocketeer I like. PoP not so much. But I would like to see more classics.

IrishJedi said:

It's not a debacle, but it's a curious business decision. Even if the film wasn't the giant box office bomb that it is it would've been a risky PF.

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PFs are expensive and usually represent characters from films that have stood the test of time both critically and at the box office like Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, etc.

Prince of Persia came in third at the box office in its debut week to the likes of the second week of Shrek #382 and Sex in the City #393. It was supposed to be Disney's next Pirates of the Carribean franchise and had an over $150 million budget. This is a box office debacle.

And the film has only 40% on Rottentomatoes.com with reviews like: "a major disappointment, a movie that hopefully will run out of time on the big screen very quickly." or "its lack of even one truly memorable moment is testament to its prefabricated lack of inspiration" or " don't understand how a film with a budget exceeding $150 million could only have mediocre special effects." This is a critical debacle.

So to be chosen as a PF, which is usually based on a legendary timeless classic, this is a statue debacle.

Well Sideshow started working on this long before it performed poorly in the box office, so you can't really use that against them in terms of their decision to make it.

Also, you cited Star Wars as an example, but there have been a number of Star Wars PF's of new characters that are only a few years old and left many SW fans scratching their heads.

All in all the Disney line has been awesome with 3 truly awesome pieces, and one mediocre-good piece. To have one flop is hardly worry to be concerned. I do agree that it would be great to see some classic good guys and especially Princesses.

Agent0028 said:

Well Sideshow started working on this long before it performed poorly in the box office, so you can't really use that against them in terms of their decision to make it.

Also, you cited Star Wars as an example, but there have been a number of Star Wars PF's of new characters that are only a few years old and left many SW fans scratching their heads.

All in all the Disney line has been awesome with 3 truly awesome pieces, and one mediocre-good piece. To have one flop is hardly worry to be concerned. I do agree that it would be great to see some classic good guys and especially Princesses.

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Agreed that they did not know when they started working on the Prince of Persia PF what box office and reviews would be. Precisely why they should stick to the classic films that have proved themselves timeless. Taking a risk on untried new movies can lead to a (sorry to use the word again) debacle.

In my opinion, SS has done an okay job with PF selection and execution. (by the way, I think the Prince of Persia has good execution but was a bad selection.) The Snow White Evil Queen is excellent. Jack Sparrow and the Rocketeer look very promising. Maleficient is not too good. So so far they get 3 thumbs up (evil queen, Sparrow and Rocketeer) and 2 thumbs down (Maleficient and Persia). So they have 3 out of 5 good ones. That's a 60%. In products of this caliber and costs, they should be batting better than 60%.

And it would be so easy to do better than 60% if they just stuck to the classics, both good characters and villains.

You forgot Chernabog...so that makes it four good and two bad so that boosts it to nearly 70%. And you're going to have hits and misses with any line. I bet if you did the same calculations for the SW PF line (which I think it probably their biggest, maybe its marvel) you'll get about the same percentage. Marvel may be slightly higher.

All in all I guarantee that PoP is going to be a very small roadbump in this line.

I have no interest in this movie, or the PF, though Price of Persia: The Sands of Time was one of my favorite games from the PS2/Xbox era.

That being said, I think SS has done an outstanding job with the Disney license so far (Evil Queen, Chernabog, Maleficent, and Captain Jack) despite this questionable release.

I will agree though, that they should branch out (sooner rather than later) into some of the heroes/princesses. It would be a shame to have Evil Queen without Snow White, or Captain Hook without Peter Pan.

Its hard for me to imagine anything where all you're proucing is like a 1000 units as a risk. They should eventually find buyers.

The biggest debacle is the lack of SSC's ability to market to Disney collectors. You really have to be inept marketing to not sell out a lowly produced item like the Evil Queen PF.

I think its awesome that they are actually producing items for new movies instead of 70 year old movies. LOL.

Tron Legacy please!

Tron probably would have been a safer bet than this, I wonder why they didn't go that route.

Tron is still 6 months away, it's possible they have something in the works for that film as well.

I'm betting they will in Dec with the new film release. Why is everyone such a neophobe when it comes to SSC selling items for new movies?

jlprjlpr said:

Exactly, the Genie would be a perfect character to do. If they had to do a "Persian" theme, the Genie would have fit the bill a hell of alot better than Dastan!

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Or of course, Aladdin and Jasmine, just imagine those as a double set. You could have Abu as the Ex for Aladdin (that would sell out in an instant) and just imagine if they went with the Tiger as the Ex for Jasmine. Sure it would be huge, but look O' so cool.

I'm sure anyone that's been reading my posts, knows where I stand on this issue, having called for 'Heroes and Princess' from the start. I did send of an email to Production Q&A sometime ago, but never heard back or read any answer. Still, it wouldn't hurt for others to do the same, just to drive the message home, that SS shouldn't take their time on non villain PF's.

And yes, I also think the market is much bigger for the 'pretty' PF's then SS may think. Be it the daughters of adults or just the adults themselves. Show a display of Belle, the Beast, Jessica, Jasmine, Ariel, Snow White and yes, Sorceror Mickey at the same quality of the Evil Queen and just watch all the Disney collectors come out of the wood work, many that likely don't even know about Sideshow.

I also think that some 'sets' would be a very good idea and serious push sales. If say The Beast was put up for pre-order around the start of the year, but it was already confirmed that Belle would be released by the end of the year, then just putting aside how much most would want the Beast, it would sell out quick fast so one could secure one for the matching Belle later on. Which of course would in turn ensure that Belle sells out even quicker, assuming the same quality level of the Evil Queen of course, there can not be a QC issue on the Disney PF line.

Agent0028 said:

You forgot Chernabog...so that makes it four good and two bad so that boosts it to nearly 70%. And you're going to have hits and misses with any line. I bet if you did the same calculations for the SW PF line (which I think it probably their biggest, maybe its marvel) you'll get about the same percentage. Marvel may be slightly higher.

All in all I guarantee that PoP is going to be a very small roadbump in this line.

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Actually, I didn't forget Chernabog. Remember Cherny is a maquette, not a PF so he doesn't count in the PF vote. However, you can say so far they are 100% thumbs up with their Disney Maquettes! I hope they make more maquettes.