Reasonably OT: "Disney" theme park in China

[Leviathan]

Yet another copyright-infringing scandal that the lawyers in Anaheim will undoubtedly make quick work of

http://www.japanprobe.com/?p=1678

But we shouldn't be too hard on them; after all the character looks like a Mouse is really a big-eared cat ;)

[AcmeCoyote]

"But 31-year-old housewife Zhang Li betrays a typical Chinese attitude on the issue while chasing her young son around the park.

“I don’t understand why that is such a big problem. Shouldn’t others be able to use those characters besides [Disney]?” she asks."

Perfectly rational. :rolleyes:
Donald's shirt is hilarious. Oops..I mean, that platypus character. Yes, that's it....

[Studio Toledo]

"But 31-year-old housewife Zhang Li betrays a typical Chinese attitude on the issue while chasing her young son around the park.

“I don’t understand why that is such a big problem. Shouldn’t others be able to use those characters besides [Disney]?” she asks."

Perfectly rational. :rolleyes:
In a perfect world, we would think that. I wish it was too (probably should move to Taiwan where the Berne Convention isn't observed there)

Donald's shirt is hilarious. Oops..I mean, that platypus character. Yes, that's it....
Let's just make sure they don't use "The Happiest Place on Earth!" and in plain English in their ads!

[cngsoft]

Ha ha, this is gold! :D I'm going to post it everywhere!

* http://cngsoft.livejournal.com/242010.html (my own blog)
* http://miarroba.com/foros/ver.php?foroid=97456&temaid=6445471 (the Spanish forum UniversoDisney)
* http://www.crushyiffdestroy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2843 (beware, it's a forum featuring very insane discussions!)

And more to come...

[Harukuro]

Well that was....odd. I'm surprised with the things some people can get away with. They even had Shrek there for crying out loud!! It makes me feel bad for all the people that helped create these characters only to have them ripped off and called "a cat with really big ears". Cartoons should be for everyone but not like this.:(

[cngsoft]

Well that was....odd. I'm surprised with the things some people can get away with. They even had Shrek there for crying out loud!! It makes me feel bad for all the people that helped create these characters only to have them ripped off and called "a cat with really big ears". Cartoons should be for everyone but not like this.:(
Well, it's not the first time Mr. Hugh Ripov's been involved with cartoons... For example, here you have three Mickeys and two Minnies:

http://cngsoft.dyndns.org/VBCC04.JPG
"Circus capers", Van Beuren, 1930 (http://classiccartoons.blogspot.com/2007/01/circus-capers.html)

http://cngsoft.dyndns.org/MANDOLIN.JPG
"Lady, play your mandolin!", Leon Schlesinger, 1931 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJMlruV2RD4)

http://cngsoft.dyndns.org/INITIATION.JPG
"Bimbo's initiation!", Fleischer Bros, 1931 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWcQei3hPz4)

But it's the first time that somebody goes to the lengths of creating a whole counterfeit theme park! Isn't it great? :p

[Bugsmer]

That's the funniest thing I've ever heard. It's amazing how long it took somebody to notice. Parks aren't built in a day.

[Larry T]

Heh heh heh.

I like how all the characters are holding their heads/faces as if they're secretly thinking underneath the masks, "Oh, I just KNOW this is wrong. I never should have applied for this job. As soon as someone figures this out tomorrow I'll be out of work again, I just know it, I know it.... woe is me." The one scene in the news video where the character's head fell off onto the sidewalk must have traumatized any nearby kids for life. :D

The operative word there is "COUNTERFEIT."

It's not like China doesn't write the books on copyright infringements anyway... just look at any of the "brand new, unopened", inexpensive DVD boxset auctions on eBay, for example. ;) ... with Chinese subtitles and Chinese menus.

This is just the next level of ripping off another property in the quest of profiteering "by association".... Kind of like no-name household products.

[cngsoft]

The thing is more serious than it looks. A friend of mine has noticed the link between Disneyland Hong Kong and the Shijingshan Amusement Park (http://cngsoft.livejournal.com/242010.html?thread=208730#t20873).

...I wouldn't be surprised if it were true. The depths of human chutzpah have never accurately been plumbed. Will Disney do anything about it? Will it even be *able* to do anything? After all, Disney opened a Disneyland Theme Park in Hong Kong on September 2005, and, velis nolis, depends on the good will of the Chinese government to keep it operating there. Would Disney say "we are going to get the hell out of Hong Kong if you don't get rid of these guys in Beijing"? Well, after having recently spent so many millions building the resort in Hong Kong, would Disney be willing to write them all off?

INCIDENTALLY... And this is from the website of the Beijing Shijingshan Amusement Park: (http://www.bs-amusement-park.com/ ChinaIn/about-e.asp)

<< Beijing Shijingshan Amusement Park was prepared to construct or establish with the funds of 23million Yuan in 1986, and ran its business officially in Sept 28th in the same year. >>

On the other side, and this comes from the official disneyland website (http://www.disneylandreport.com/disneysecrets/hong_kong_disneyland_secrets/hong_kong_disneyland_secrets_facts_general.html), we have:

<< Construction of Hong Kong Disneyland Resort began in January 2003. Site preparation, land reclamation, initial layout of roads and infrastructure, and public park landscaping by the HKSAR Government preceded construction. The Hong Kong Disneyland project was announced in 1999. Up to 5,000 workers were on the job at one time. >>

So, in other words: Disney began negotiations to build Hong Kong Disneyland after Hong Kong had reverted to China proper and well after the Beijing theme park had been in operation. They could have said "we won't build Hong Kong Disneyland if you don't get rid of that park in Beijing." But they didn't.

Or, to put it more clearly: Disney said "F%$# copyright" for the sake of being able to make businesses in China.

If anybody here is shameless, I'd say it's Disney. But, hey, that's high finance for you (and what's the business of amusement parks and moviemaking, if not that, in the end?). Welcome to the real world.

[MF TOON]

This is hillarious.

Imagine all the deadbeats that promise their family a magical vacation to... Shijingshan Amusement Park!

haha, the look on the kids faces must be priceless!

[Studio Toledo]

Heh heh heh.

I like how all the characters are holding their heads/faces as if they're secretly thinking underneath the masks, "Oh, I just KNOW this is wrong. I never should have applied for this job. As soon as someone figures this out tomorrow I'll be out of work again, I just know it, I know it.... woe is me." The one scene in the news video where the character's head fell off onto the sidewalk must have traumatized any nearby kids for life. :D

The operative word there is "COUNTERFEIT."
Obvious!

It's not like China doesn't write the books on copyright infringements anyway... just look at any of the "brand new, unopened", inexpensive DVD boxset auctions on eBay, for example. ;) ... with Chinese subtitles and Chinese menus.
In the anime world, this is extremely important! Some of my guys over at the Anime World Order discuss this issue in thier latest podcast (http://animeworldorder.blogspot.com/2007/04/bonus-on-anime-bootlegging-and.html). Let this be a lesson, never deal with he Traids (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triad)! It's also pretty much worse all over southeast Asia these days. Goes back to my dad's Vietnam days when he would listen to a lot of pirated LP's sold out of Taiwan (they're still not part of the Berne Convention (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berne_Convention_for_the_Protection_of_Literary_an d_Artistic_Works) apparently). This all would've have happened if it wasn't for those companies to come foward before it was too late I think (though political and economical reasons are also a key to this as well).

This is just the next level of ripping off another property in the quest of profiteering "by association".... Kind of like no-name household products.
True. Was a little impressed it got to this level.

[Studio Toledo]

This is hillarious.

Imagine all the deadbeats that promise their family a magical vacation to... Shijingshan Amusement Park!

haha, the look on the kids faces must be priceless!

Oh well, their webpage does say "Disneyland is too far away". I would agree on that too! (they'll never build one in Northwest Ohio) :D

[Studio Toledo]

Another thought occured to me.

While it is true China owns Hong Kong these days (though considered a "Special Administrative Region"), it doesn't interfere with the internal affairs in said region as there is still a degree of automony that will continue for another 40 years otherwise. So doing business in HK wouldn't been the same as doing business on the mainland for any foreign company just yet, despite the obvious connections. Most foreign businesses in China would have separate subsidiaries operating out of HK (or Taiwain) and on the mainland rather than one to controll the entire country in this case.

Still, if Disney wanted to save face in the end, they would be in contacts with the Beijing park over the illegit usage of it's characters and designs, and perhaps without taking this into further complications, rather Disney just let the park license those concepts and/or own a certain percentage in said park to make it legit. At least that was one thought I had about all this.

Really, the problems of piracy in Asia is still an uneasy nut to crack. Unless proper enforcement and information is in place, we'll still have this for decades to come (let alone re-educate those who do the pirating).