Avatar? Who Cares?

Ok, I have to confess that part of me is happy. I am not a James Cameron fan. I think he thinks far too highly of himself and that his films aren't as good as he thinks they are. 

I didn't see Avatar. I didn't want to see Avatar. Despite all the hub bub about the special effects and 3D animation, the trailers seemed to me to be a movie that desperately wanted to be the next Star Wars. The plot line read like a stereotypical story from the political left. It did not seem inspiring or thought provoking.  

I was disappointed in how well Avatar did in the box office and that it unseated Star Wars from its box office perch in the record books. 

Now I hear that Disney is continuing its development of Avatar-land at it's Animal Kingdom theme park in Orlando. It seems to me this whole effort was driven to answer Universal's smash hit Harry Potter land at the nearby a Islands of Adventure theme park. I believe they went searching for intellectual property to build their own immersive attraction and decided on Avatar. 

http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/14/travel/avatar-land-animal-kingdom-disney/

The opening of this park expansion is to coincide with the release of the first of three - yes, three - Avatar sequel movies.  All of which got me thinking. Who is even talking about Avatar anymore?

You don't hear about it at conventions or Comic Cons. Avatar cosplayers seem to be few and far between at best. There are no cartoons, comics, books, or large online communities about the Avatar world. This article on Slate really hit the nail on the head for me:

http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2013/08/05/avatar_sequels_three_no_one_cares_here_s_why.html

With the acquisition of Lucasfilm, I was really expecting Disney to quietly announce that the Avatarland project was being axed. I was thinking an Ewok Village or even a world taken from the upcoming Episode VII film would replace it. It looks like that isn't happening. 

Now I can take comfort that an immersive Star Wars area or two is coming to the Disney parks - perhaps a full size Millennium Falcon at Disneyland and a full size Mos Eisley Cantina at Disney Hollywood Studios. But things will also be awkward with having a competing franchise, releasing movies at the same time as  the Star Wars films at the Disney parks. 

I just think striking with Avatar is a mistake.