Rated X wrote:This is my honest opinion:
Disney has an image to maintain. They would slaughter the franchise. Guns, explosions, violence, potty humor, and everything else remotely cool about the current Micheal Bay franchise would be eliminated. TF Prime would even be dumbed down to match the Disney persona. It would be solely up to 3rd parties to carry on the Transformers G1 legacy. I dont see Disney investing in anything "classics". And all this talk about Disney being some kind of superpower with the assets to combat 3rd parties is a bunch of B.S. Disney cant take on China. Disney cant even stop the Chinese market from using their own IP, let alone Hasbro's. This merge would spawn the birth of many more G1 inspired 3rd party companies. I really believe it.
You're entitled to your opinion, but I can't even begin to tell you how wrong you are.
Slaughter? No. They did nothing with Marvel, near as I can tell. And The Avengers proves that Disney isn't pussyfooting around. It was dark, it was violent, and there was plenty of humor that went above kid age. Disney just sat back and collected the money.
Transformers has a built in fan base. Very vocal, very angry. We'd riot like crazy if they ripped it apart. Like Seibertron said, you haven't seen John Carter, have you? It was unlike any Disney film I had ever seen. Swearing (God's name in vain, actually, which would've never flown had Walt been alive.), implied sexual contact, death by the boatload, it was your run of the mill sci fi/action film. It was NOT your usual Disney flick.
Plus, Touchstone pictures? Miramax? (which they no longer own) Both of those entities produced some of the most controversial, profane and talked about content in the history of film. Kevin Smith's Dogma? Controversial. Disney owned subsidiary.
You want to own a POPULAR piece of the pie. Why on Earth would anyone buy a property (or properties) only to castrate them and make them absolutely worthless? *BUZZ* They wouldn't. Disney's had some missteps over the years, but outright stupidity? No. Not even close.
As for 3rd party, Disney does have the power. They do have the money. If they really want to push it, they could make China bow down to them and help them smash these 3rd partiers into the ground. And with MakeToys being in Japan and Disney has good relations with the Japanese...well...
I won't count the 3rd parties out just yet, but it would certainly be an uphill battle for them.
NOTE: Realize that I am not a perfect Christian, nor do I profess to be. I apologize if anyone's ever offended by me, I'm not perfect. Don't hold my posts and opinions against other Christians.