Disney Properties 2022 - Rumors & Discussion

[BrickBob Studpants]

2 hours ago, PGBQW said:

That's a rumour that started because he wasn't in any subsequent Kingdom Hearts games.

Interesting. Never realised it was just a rumour started by KH fans, I thought there really was a rights issue behind it

The first time I heard about it was back in 2016, when a fake rumour list for Disney CMF S1 was shot down, on the grounds that Tarzan and Jane were included. 

Good to know they‘re stil on the table for the upcoming series, even if very unlikely

[Jarreth2]

If the rumour turns out to be 100 % true its a shame Lego have reduced the number of a series to 12, both 1 and 2 had 18 .. so we’re already due 6 less. They’re cool minifigures and I know they’re very popular, but was anyone else a tiny bit disappointed that Huey, Dewey and Louie took up 3 spaces last time, but were essentially the same figure just coloured differently. Duck Tales was huge back in the day, but I think when most of us think of Disney we tend to think of the classic movies, oh apart from the usual Mickey and the gang. Only 8 months to go 😂

[Karalora]

6 hours ago, PGBQW said:

What are you talking about, they're not doing merchandise because Tarzan is a movie from 1999 that's just not that popular anymore.

That's a rumour that started because he wasn't in any subsequent Kingdom Hearts games.

Disney can't lose the license to their version of Tarzan, it's a different version from the original one.

It's a slightly complicated situation. The character of Tarzan is trademarked by the Edgar Rice Burroughs estate. Disney licensed the character in order to make the 1999 movie, associated merchandise, the first Kingdom Hearts game, and assorted other things. (If you watch the opening screens of KH, you'll see the Tarzan license listed individually.) But Tarzan wasn't a big seller all on his own, so they let the license lapse. They still hold the copyright on their own movie and anything else they made while the license is active, but trying to produce new items could open a legal can of worms that I'm sure Disney doesn't want to get into for the sake of a C-tier IP.

[Lion King]

 

52 minutes ago, Karalora said:

It's a slightly complicated situation. The character of Tarzan is trademarked by the Edgar Rice Burroughs estate. Disney licensed the character in order to make the 1999 movie, associated merchandise, the first Kingdom Hearts game, and assorted other things. (If you watch the opening screens of KH, you'll see the Tarzan license listed individually.) But Tarzan wasn't a big seller all on his own, so they let the license lapse. They still hold the copyright on their own movie and anything else they made while the license is active, but trying to produce new items could open a legal can of worms that I'm sure Disney doesn't want to get into for the sake of a C-tier IP.

Exactly. Enough interestingly, Tarzan only showed up in Kingdom Heart in 2002 but never showed up in other KH games at all. I have no idea what PGBQW was talking about. I am pretty sure Disney lost that license to the Tarzan rights. I don’t think there is any live performance show at Disney amusement parks too?

So I really don’t see why Tarzan should show up in CMF or set.

[JeanGreyForever]

Steven Thompson is an artist who works for Disney. On his Instagram on some fanart he made of Tarzan and Jane, he confirmed that the reason he can't make official Disney products based on Tarzan is because of rights.

https://www.instagram.com/p/ChIOD4MJX-8/?hl=en

Quote

the rights sit with the Burroughs estate. Disney had paid for the rights to make the film then create merchandise for a limited time. My guess is since this was happening at a time the studio was moving away from hand drawn animation they decided to move on. Hopefully someday.

So the Kingdom Hearts thing wasn't just a rumor. They would have brought Tarzan back for future games if not for this copyright issue. This is also why Disney doesn't release any new products for Tarzan anymore. Not T-Shirts, action figures, dolls, costumes, books, etc. let alone video games. Despite its box office success, Tarzan was not a bestseller when it came to merchandise (Hercules was also considered a flop when it came to merchandise on top of the movie underperforming and being their lowest earner). There's a reason why Disney's attempts to franchise their male heroes like Peter Pan, Prince Phillip, Aladdin, Hercules, and Tarzan failed numerous times and why Disney resorted to buying more "male-oriented" franchises like Pixar, Star Wars, and Marvel to cater to boys.

Disney's original characters from the Tarzan movie, like Terk and Tantor, can still have merchandise though. Disney Infinity included them as characters although only by specifically not referencing that they came from Tarzan.

Also speaking of the Edgar Rice Burroughs estate, Disney only rented the rights to John Carter. After the film was a box office disaster, they let the rights revert back to the estate so Disney doesn't have any rights with Tarzan or John Carter. Narnia isn't part of the Edgar Rice Burroughs estate but that's another property which Disney doesn't have the rights to anymore, which is a pity because I would have loved some Narnia minifigs as part of the Disney line.

Edited September 8, 2022 by JeanGreyForever

[PGBQW]

I stand corrected!

Pretty interesting stuff, though!

Looks like they could do it if they really wanted it, but that it's not worth all the trouble of fighting for the licensing.

Never would've guessed, you'd think the movie with monkeys and apes would be more popular.

[Accio Lego]

1 hour ago, PGBQW said:

Never would've guessed, you'd think the movie with monkeys and apes would be more popular.

I think a great deal of it is that it just came out at the wrong time (although having several scenes that were objectively terrifying to children probably didn’t help either). A lot of the Disney animated movies from those years flopped and were pushed to the back of the shelf, and given some of the gems that were in there I’m tempted to blame a marketing department that didn’t know what they were doing or something. Atlantis, Treasure Planet, Emperor’s New Groove -the list goes on.  

[JeanGreyForever]

20 hours ago, PGBQW said:

While it would be really cool to get characters from THOND, seems very unlikely, because there's no way they can do, well, the titular Hunchback with the regular torso piece, and if they use a special torso for him he kinda stops being a lego minifigure.

I didn't think about the fact that it would probably be too difficult to implement Quasimodo with his hunchback. Esmeralda could still work as a figure though, especially since most of the Hunchback merchandise tends to be based on her.

17 hours ago, Jarreth2 said:

If the rumour turns out to be 100 % true its a shame Lego have reduced the number of a series to 12, both 1 and 2 had 18 .. so we’re already due 6 less. They’re cool minifigures and I know they’re very popular, but was anyone else a tiny bit disappointed that Huey, Dewey and Louie took up 3 spaces last time, but were essentially the same figure just coloured differently. Duck Tales was huge back in the day, but I think when most of us think of Disney we tend to think of the classic movies, oh apart from the usual Mickey and the gang. Only 8 months to go 😂

Agreed, it felt like a waste of space to have almost the exact same character three times over. I'd rather they have saved Huey, Dewey and Louie for the current Mickey Mouse themed sets and give those slots to actual movie characters who won't appear in sets otherwise.

[Jarreth2]

6 hours ago, JeanGreyForever said:

I didn't think about the fact that it would probably be too difficult to implement Quasimodo with his hunchback. Esmeralda could still work as a figure though, especially since most of the Hunchback merchandise tends to be based on her.

Agreed, it felt like a waste of space to have almost the exact same character three times over. I'd rather they have saved Huey, Dewey and Louie for the current Mickey Mouse themed sets and give those slots to actual movie characters who won't appear in sets otherwise.

I never thought about the 3 young ducks being in an actual set, that would have been a better place for them .. perhaps along with Donald too .. good call 👍🏼

[PGBQW]

8 hours ago, JeanGreyForever said:

Esmeralda could still work as a figure though, especially since most of the Hunchback merchandise tends to be based on her.

I agree with her being a good choice, but I don't know if she'd be instantly recognisable without Quasimodo next to her.

1 hour ago, Jarreth2 said:

I never thought about the 3 young ducks being in an actual set, that would have been a better place for them .. perhaps along with Donald too .. good call 👍🏼

Now that you mention Donald, gives me the idea, what if we get another Donald Duck minifigure in the CMF, this one with the old black and white suit?

[jjr_2009]

23 hours ago, JeanGreyForever said:

Steven Thompson is an artist who works for Disney. On his Instagram on some fanart he made of Tarzan and Jane, he confirmed that the reason he can't make official Disney products based on Tarzan is because of rights.

https://www.instagram.com/p/ChIOD4MJX-8/?hl=en

So the Kingdom Hearts thing wasn't just a rumor. They would have brought Tarzan back for future games if not for this copyright issue. This is also why Disney doesn't release any new products for Tarzan anymore. Not T-Shirts, action figures, dolls, costumes, books, etc. let alone video games. Despite its box office success, Tarzan was not a bestseller when it came to merchandise (Hercules was also considered a flop when it came to merchandise on top of the movie underperforming and being their lowest earner). There's a reason why Disney's attempts to franchise their male heroes like Peter Pan, Prince Phillip, Aladdin, Hercules, and Tarzan failed numerous times and why Disney resorted to buying more "male-oriented" franchises like Pixar, Star Wars, and Marvel to cater to boys.

Disney's original characters from the Tarzan movie, like Terk and Tantor, can still have merchandise though. Disney Infinity included them as characters although only by specifically not referencing that they came from Tarzan.

Also speaking of the Edgar Rice Burroughs estate, Disney only rented the rights to John Carter. After the film was a box office disaster, they let the rights revert back to the estate so Disney doesn't have any rights with Tarzan or John Carter. Narnia isn't part of the Edgar Rice Burroughs estate but that's another property which Disney doesn't have the rights to anymore, which is a pity because I would have loved some Narnia minifigs as part of the Disney line.

Stuff like this is fascinating to me--thanks for sharing!

With D23 this weekend, does anyone think we'll get a glimpse of the new series? I feel like it's still too far out, but I wouldn't mind a tease!

[Huigberts Builds]

But isn't Tarzan from like 1912? Shouldn't he be in the public domain by now? I'm really confused by all this. Either way looking at their use (or lack there of) of Tarzan in merchandise as of lately, I guess it's indeed pretty much a given he won't be in this series then, whether they're legally allowed to or not. That's a real shame. Oh well, plenty of other choices.

[Karalora]

Public domain in this case only means that copyright has been lifted, not trademark.

There's a lot of confusion over the difference between copyright and trademark. Here are some of the salient points as I understand them.

Copyright applies to a specific created work--a film, book, graphic design, song, etc. It means what it says: the right to copy, to make more instances of the work, usually to distribute and sell. A character cannot be copyrighted. A created work featuring a character--a picture of them, story about them, etc.--can be.

Trademark applies to a distinctive visual design or recognizable idea that is generally considered a symbol of, or otherwise inseparable from, the entity that owns the trademark. Company logos are trademarks. And fictional characters can be trademarks--Mickey Mouse is a trademark of Disney, so even when Steamboat Willie, the 1928 cartoon, enters the public domain, Disney will still have sole rights to create new cartoons and other art using Mickey.

Likewise, the character of Tarzan--the fictional jungle wildman by that name--is a trademark of the Edgar Rice Burroughs Estate. Some individual Tarzan stories are in the public domain, meaning anyone can reprint them verbatim, but the ERB Estate holds the sole rights to create--or alternately grant license to create--new works featuring Tarzan, including adaptations of the existing public domain stories.

This is the situation as I understand it. I am not a lawyer of any sort, so take my explanation with a grain of salt. Anyone who knows better, feel free to correct me.

Edited September 10, 2022 by Karalora

[Lion King]

On 9/9/2022 at 12:12 AM, JeanGreyForever said:

I didn't think about the fact that it would probably be too difficult to implement Quasimodo with his hunchback. Esmeralda could still work as a figure though, especially since most of the Hunchback merchandise tends to be based on her

I agree with you on the regular torso for the titular hunchback. It’s really hard for me to imagine if he has a regular torso. A new mold may do just like Hulk has his own body.

I think EsmeRandall would be a great choice with…her goat pet! And include Claude Follo or Capt Phoebus if TLG can’t do Quasimodo figure right. 

[cosmic]

Tarzan would be kind of a boring figure anyways I would rather a host of other characters take his spot, especially given this wave is very likely if not guaranteed to only have 12 spots. If its that competitive I’d rather it go to characters I have more of a love for, or more compelling designs. Tarzan meets neither criteria for me so I really don’t mind his lack of inclusion. His design is so simple I could honestly see him being produced in a polybag if anything.

[Pedilego]

14 hours ago, cosmic said:

His design is so simple I could honestly see him being produced in a polybag if anything.

That's true. They've basically already made him in CMF Series 7 via Jungle Boy. A similar minifigure could be pieced together using already-available skin-tone parts - which can't be said for lots of other Disney characters.

[spiderfan2000]

I think the TLBM Series 2 CMF Dolphin Rider Batman's torso and the Ewok Village Leia's legs, plus one's preferred choice of head and hairpiece would get a solid Tarzan.  The CMF series skipping over Tarzan wouldn't be a huge loss compared to many other Disney characters with more elaborate designs.

[Accio Lego]

3 hours ago, spiderfan2000 said:

The CMF series skipping over Tarzan wouldn't be a huge loss compared to many other Disney characters with more elaborate designs.

Exactly, and if they were actually going to pull any forgotten character/movie from the ‘00s out of lack-of-merchandise-hell I’d much rather see Kida from Atlantis or a Treasure Planet character. Those two movies have far more unique visuals and character designs. 

[empiresperish]

On 9/19/2022 at 11:05 PM, Accio Lego said:

Exactly, and if they were actually going to pull any forgotten character/movie from the ‘00s out of lack-of-merchandise-hell I’d much rather see Kida from Atlantis or a Treasure Planet character. Those two movies have far more unique visuals and character designs. 

Any love for either of those would be instabuys for me.  The characters deserve the deluxe CMF treatment. Treasure Planet and Atlantis both would have made stellar full fledged themes that play right into Lego's specific designs too. Still would, actually, though I'm sure a single large scale set for both would sell well enough to compliment some in a CMF. 

[Accio Lego]

On 9/25/2022 at 4:41 PM, empiresperish said:

Any love for either of those would be instabuys for me.  The characters deserve the deluxe CMF treatment. Treasure Planet and Atlantis both would have made stellar full fledged themes that play right into Lego's specific designs too. Still would, actually, though I'm sure a single large scale set for both would sell well enough to compliment some in a CMF. 

Yeah, both movies are prime candidates from merchandise. They’d probably do spectacularly if they were released today instead of the early 2000s slump (and Disney seems to agree, given the similar genre and themes in their upcoming release for this fall). Space pirates and steampunk submarines are probably things that could sell like hotcakes even without a Disney license honestly. 

[Frizzlefry25]

Yikes, so the 100 years of wonder are some brickheadz? Not digging that call!

[Surge]

oswald getting a brick head gives me much hope for him appearing in the cmf

[karrit]

Unless they come out with Lilo & Stitch Brickhedz I'm not buying any.

[THELEGOBATMAN]

Wall-E and Eve sounds nice, might even consider buying it.

I wish Disney gave us more sets with regular minifigures, especially to celebrate the anniversary. 

Well, I hope the CMF doesn't disappoint.

[Accio Lego]

3 hours ago, Surge said:

oswald getting a brick head gives me much hope for him appearing in the cmf

I think the biggest obstacle of an Oswald Minifigure vs the confirmed brickheadz is the engineering of the ears. Brick built ears are just going to be sturdier than molded ears on a mini head, and while lego managed to pull off Bugs Bunny, Oswald’s ears are positioned differently on his head and (depending on the version) arch in a way that might strain a mold’s ability to pass Lego’s strict quality control standards. Of course, that’s the sort of internal thing that none of us have any way of knowing whether or not it will be an issue until an actual reveal.