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Disney Infinity: Good Idea, Bad Idea

The Disney Fairies and Ratatouille

by Becky Hollada and Kimberly Keller - October 9, 2013, 10:17 am EDT

Exploring the tinier side of things.

Tinkerbell and Her Fairy Crew (Good Idea) – by Kimberly Keller

First off, I know these are probably already in the works over at Disney headquarters. After all nothing makes money faster than targeting tween girls, and, secondly, I know most of you hate that it’s coming. From an outsider’s perspective, the Disney Fairies are super sweet, super friendly, and, of course, super girly, but they are also super magical, and for that, they deserve a second chance.

Each fairy featured in the franchise comes from a different sect of the fairy world, and thus have different powers. In the first movie Tinkerbell conveniently befriends one fairy from each group get to see each of their unique powers. Let’s sum it up: Fawn can befriend and communicate with animals, Rosetta helps plants grow, Silvermist can manipulate water, Vidia controls the wind and flies extremely fast, Iridessa can direct sunlight, and Tinkerbell, well, she tinkers... with stuff. There is even the newly introduced Periwinkle, a winter frost fairy, but her wings kind of melt in any type of heat, so she’s maybe not the best asset.


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Saban's next season: Power Rangers Fairy Force.

Each of these fairies can easily have their own figure (cha-ching!) and I honestly don’t think their play set would be that unbearable. Imagine a large woodland area where you’re shrunk down to fairy size as you traverse the different seasons (in Pixie Hollow seasons are permanent fixtures that have their own areas) and ride giant critters around. You could even journey around to find the random “lost” human objects that Tinkerbell uses to create many of her oddball inventions.

The thing I’m most looking forward to, however, is the Toy Box. These fairies possess magic that they can use whenever they want! If designed right, that could be a real visual treat and add a nice variety to the game. Plus, fairies can fly, which is awesome. I don’t think they would be allowed to fly around wherever they want though, as that would give players a nearly cheat-like ability. I do hope it would give them an edge somehow, instead of just having them float a foot off the ground like we’ve seen in games like Injustice: Gods Among Us.

One last thing I’d like to point out: Tinkerbell, and many of her friends, really aren’t as sweet as the merchandise shows off. They regularly sabotage each other, Tinkerbell ignores authority on a nearly daily basis, which usually leads some catastrophic event that nearly kills everyone, and they are always ready to fight and go on extremely dangerous missions. It really wouldn’t be that far of a stretch to give them access to all the weapons, abilities, and vehicles the power discs provide. The vehicles can just be sized down or they could ride a horse sidesaddle. Tink is probably going to sneak off to human world anyway in her next movie and learn to drive a toy fire truck or whatever that she’s tricked out with an engine made out of acorns.


Ratatouille (Bad Idea) – by Becky Hollada

It's been pointed out that up to this point, Disney Infinity could be practically renamed Pixar Infinity, guest starring other popular Disney franchises, and for obvious reasons. Characters already modeled in 3D are likely a lot easier to redesign for the Disney Infinity world than 2D characters. But there are definitely a few Pixar characters that wouldn’t be up to snuff.

A Ratatouille play set lacks a lot in terms of characters and features for Power Discs. Remy, Emile, Linguini and maybe Colette would be the only recognizable characters to feature, two of whom would be extremely limited in the Toy Box. And for Power Discs, Linguini’s moped is just about the only distinctive character item that could be used. The possibilities here are extremely narrow, unlike many other Pixar films that have been featured and likely will be featured in Disney Infinity in the future.

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He would have a better chance of his fleas killing people with the bubonic plague than using that blaster.


While Linguini and Colette could be interesting characters, it becomes problematic when Remy, or even the other rats like Emile, are up against others in the Toy Box. Disney could certainly fudge the size of these rats to eliminate some of the gap between Remy and the rest of the Disney Infinity cast, but Remy relies on four legs to move well. Pixar was careful to emphasize the difference in movement when rats in the movie walked on two legs instead; they were slower and sometimes actually waddled. When Remy needs to move quickly and smoothly, he always reverts to four legs. So Remy trying to walk and run while holding Rapunzel’s frying pan or Stitch’s blaster? Or even ride Angus? Some things could be less ridiculous for Remy in the Toy Box, like driving a car Stuart Little style, but not nearly enough to make it work for him.

The only redeeming feature to a Ratatouille play set would actually be Remy’s home world. It could give a really cool dynamic to the game, something akin to the Castle of Dreams world in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, where you’re mouse size while exploring the city’s notable landmarks and moving through houses and sewers. As an added bonus, players could search Gusteau’s kitchen for recipe ingredients and work between Remy and Linguini to cook without getting caught. Since size has yet to be explored in the existing play sets, something like this could be interesting and different.

Obviously not all Pixar films, despite being the easiest to model, are cut out for Disney Infinity. The world of Ratatouille is too limited in terms of characters and distinctive detail in comparison to the other sets we already see in the game to make a strong, well-rounded play set. Fans of the Remy might eventually see some small cameo material in Disney Infinity, but developers would be hard pressed to make this work well if they tried it.

Images courtesy of Kimberly Keller and Jason Pelmont.

Images

Talkback

CericOctober 03, 2013

294,000 units.  Double Standard on Success.

Alright on the article.

CericOctober 03, 2013

I think Winnie the Pooh be an ok edition.


Now Roger Rabbit on the other hand would be one of those great on paper but not in reality combinations.  While I think the characters themselves be a great fit.  I don't see how the stages for them would work.  A large portion of the charm of Who Framed Roger Rabbit is having that contrast between the Cartoon and Real world and between Now and Then.  They would need photo realistic characters and settings to play the straight man to do it right.  They have to be different then the actual Infinity Universe style to get the contrast right.

BJWanlundOctober 03, 2013

YES to Roger Rabbit!  What about The Three Caballeros?  That technically would include a member of the Fab Five (or Six depending on your perspective), but hey, it'd certainly be interesting.

CericOctober 03, 2013

Lets really dig.  The Three Little Pigs.  They had their own series. 

MetalMario2October 03, 2013

None of these will be coming. The game ought to be called "Pixar Infinity: Featuring Johnny Depp".

CericOctober 04, 2013

To be honest Pixar properties are probably the easiest to port since they already have 3D models to start with.

Spak-SpangOctober 07, 2013

Actually Roger Rabbit would work if you only had Toon Town.  Toon Town was great and super Creepy...but you would have to get that sugary cell shaded world just perfect, and it would be a careful balance between annoying and brilliant. 



MetalMario2October 09, 2013

I actually binge-watched the Tinkerbell movies on Netflix on a day that I felt particularly bored and shiftless, and I've got to admit, they weren't that bad. Strictly kid's stuff, but not that bad. Disney is doing a good job of developing the character's genesis gradually over the course of this series of films. In the third film, they explained why Tinkerbell can't speak to humans using her normal voice, and the next film in development is supposed to feature a young Captain Hook (before Peter Pan cuts off his hand, of course).

WahOctober 09, 2013

Lucario ::)

MetalMario2October 25, 2013

Yeah, "The Black Cauldron" sucked.

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorOctober 25, 2013

Song of the South.

MetalMario2October 25, 2013

They could actually do that if they left out Uncle Remus and the Tar Baby. I mean, it worked for Splash Mountain.

TeaHeeOctober 25, 2013

I didn't hate "The Black Cauldron" but I was also completely enamored with the book series it was based on back in junior high. Following much of the logic put forward against it, I would have to guess that "The Sword and the Stone" would also fall in the bad idea list.

KeyBillyOctober 27, 2013

I didn't realize that Black Couldron was so hated.  I saw it a few years ago and liked it a lot.  It has a unique tone and style that captured my imagination.  I don't plan on getting Infinity, but maybe it would work to make statues/buildings/mountains/weapons/etc. for the lesser known franchises, similar to trophies in SSB.

Jasae BushaeOctober 28, 2013

Having read the books the black cauldron is based upon, I can certainly say that the movie was worlds better by comparison and that a darker vibe would not have saved the film in the least.

And, I agree that it might not make the best of playsets for Infinity. As structured as that movie was, unless the playset was having you go through the plot of the film to detail, the creators would have to create some pretty new material (perhaps borrowing from other books in the original series?) which might be more work than they want to put in.
That said, if they did do it, it would not necesarily be a bad playset. The lone ranger playset received much much higher reviews than the film did and gets near universal praise for its approach despite the films mixed reaction. So if they were to tackle the black cauldron, they could probably make it work.


Though thinking on it, the black cauldron would actually make a pretty awesome kingdom hearts world. Given that settings penchant for telling the stories of movies over with the inclusion of kingdom hearts setting...They could simply give the horned king a cauldron that summons heartless and run the characters through a pretty solid world.


As for kim possible, I have to ask, what basis makes that series a good choice? They are already planning a phineas and ferb playset. They have the Incredibles already lined up. What could a kim possible playset offer that does not come off as a boring repeat of the already established playsets?
Lone Ranger tackled wild west
Incredibles did superheroes
Pirates did pirates
Monsters University did college life

The playsets at least for the first year or two should be trying to branch out and cover multiple genres instead of making a bunch of very similar playsets elsewise your just creating a game with tedium that is rereleasing the same content over and over.
Which would be bad for Kim Possible since as you said, it HAD its final season and its only getting older and further from public memory

TrekStyxNovember 04, 2013

I think the Kim Possible and her world of characters would be an awesome addition to Infinity.


It's true that The Incredibles already covers the superhero territory and Monsters U covers college/school life, but Kim Possible is NEITHER of these genres. She's a spy!


She's got gadgets, stealth, and acrobatics and fights evil all without the benefit of Mr. Incredible-esque strength. She's the Disney cartoon equivalent of Batman or James Bond, and the spy genre and martial arts action is something that is seriously fun and currently lacking in the current roster of Infinity swashbucklers and supers.


Plus a KP playset has great potential. If there's any doubt in your mind that her unique world of characters doesn't translate into a good gaming experience, check out the "Kim Possible: What's the Switch?" game from 2006. It is surprisingly addictive and even more surprising, incredibly challenging.


As for The Black Cauldron. It is indeed dated and doesn't work. While it may be true that something like The Lone Ranger got a playset that was more well received than its more polarizing film counterpart, that was also a modern, recent Disney property and one with Johnny "Captain Jack" Depp attached no less. Suffice it to say, The Lone Ranger deserved a second skin in gaming and Disney was rightly motivated to give it that chance.


Black Cauldron is old, irrelevant and didn't work for Disney even in its heyday. While the right group of developers might be able to fish through the source material and conjure up a fresh take on the story in game form, that would say more their own creativity than it would for The Black Cauldron as a deserving Infinity candidate.


Definitely proper good/bad ideas this week!

Tron, Flynn and Sark.


I have to disagree on Loki though—I prefer my Marvel, LucasFilm and Disney separate. If the line gets blurred, we may end up with Spider-Mickey and Darth Goofy, and I don't know if I want to live in that kind of world.

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorDecember 06, 2013

You don't say....

http://www.geekrest.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Darth-Goofy.jpg

I'm not sure if I'll ever get this game, but if they came out with Wall-E, my wife would buy the figurines regardless.

azekeDecember 07, 2013

Quote from: ballisticmedicine

Kill me. Now.

I know right?..

They're smearing all stinky SW business over our precious Goofy!..

Zombie Goofy in one of the latest Mickey Mouse shorts was so creepy

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