Disney's SoraAI Fiasco

I wasn’t a fan of Disney’s SoraAI deal. I know they’re a mega-corporate entity, and merchandise is part of why, but using consumer-driven slop for profit feels cheap. After all, they’re not a person! And there isn’t an equal relationship here! Why implement it at all?

Well, they didn’t. As you’ve no doubt heard, Disney cancelled their partnership with SoraAI. Not temporarily, not for an undisclosed period, permanently. I’d quip about Disney and an open flame, but that’s too on-the-nose. Especially since they knew the risks well in advance. It’s not like A.I. started being an issue yesterday.

Let’s get something clear (again): I’m not anti-A.I. It has its place, and it can be beneficial in specific instances. However, like with automation, there needs to be a balance. It should coexist alongside people, and it can’t make humans obsolete. Unfortunately, generative A.I. programs, like SoraAI, are doing that. And given the energy they use to operate, as well as the environmental costs, they’re not a wise investment.

I know I’ll get push-back for saying that. Somehow, some A.I. enthusiast will read this, get annoyed and try persuading me that I’m wrong. It happened when I bashed NFTs too. I don’t care. If you’re convinced human labour’s worthless next to generative A.I., there’s a good chance I can’t persuade you otherwise. You can argue with my hand if you disagree.

Circling back to SoraAI, it’s especially egregious because this was clearly a vanity project for Disney. They don’t need A.I. to sell their IPs. All they really need are young girls who want to be princesses and adults who haven’t grown up emotionally. It’s worked for decades, and they have no reason to abandon that. “Giving the tools” to “make art”, whatever that means, via generative A.I. isn’t the slam dunk they think it is.

Also, generative A.I. “art” isn’t art. At all. Ignoring its ugliness, and let’s not kid ourselves, art requires introspective thought to function. Art, to put it bluntly, communicates a thought, idea or emotion, something A.I., which can’t operate independently of its programming, can’t replicate. We’ve seen that with the plagiarism that it’s been guilty of, as well as the SCOTUS ruling on A.I. and copyright.

Besides, I doubt Disney was prepared for the legal can of worms they’d opened up. And if they were, I don’t think it’d be worth the fees. Remember, Disney’s incredibly protective of their IP, practically anal. They’re why American copyright laws are so strict, and they’ve gone after small fries for using their work without permission before. If partnering with SoraAI was going to involve what they claimed, which is user-generated art, it’d create a conflict of interest I’m not sure they’re ready for.

On the consumer’s end, I don’t think creators were ready either. Disney’s promise was to give them tools to promote their brand, but would they go through with that? Was ownership possible? And who’s to say perverts wouldn’t use their tools to create inappropriate prompts? Disney’s a family-friendly company, but a quick search of fan-art online will yield plenty of raunchy material. People are that horny.

With all this in mind, it’s no wonder Disney got cold feet and pulled the plug on SoraAI. It’s possible I’m overlooking the SoraAI side, as there were issues there too, but since Disney’s more public facing…you get the idea. Besides, partnering with a generative A.I. program, I’m sorry to say, is beneath them. It’s also demeaning to their animators, many of whom can produce better work than a machine. It might take longer, but no one said manpower was fast or easy.

I also don’t want the human element erased. People have been around for longer than A.I., and they’ve produced plenty of great art without it. That’s not changing anytime soon, and A.I. needs to adapt, not the other way around. If it won’t disappear, then it needs to become secondary to human labour, not an alternative. I wish A.I. enthusiasts understood that.

As a final note, A.I. enthusiasts need to not call human labour “obsolete”. I see this all the time on LinkedIn, with A.I. adopters promoting it like it’s the next hot commodity. It’s not. It’s a tool that’s abused to frequently disastrous effect, and it’s raising ethical concerns that shouldn’t exist. It’s also starting to fail financially and socially, as we’ve seen with the scandals that’ve arisen lately. That’s worrying.

I don’t know what’ll happen with generative apps like SoraAI. We can pray they’ll crash and burn, so as to teach tech oligarchs a lesson, but for every failed app, another one will take its place. The only viable solution, in my mind, is regulation. Because we’ve seen what out-of-control A.I. does. Rest assured it’s not pleasant.

So yes, I’m not upset that SoraAI and Disney didn’t end up with a successful partnership, and you shouldn’t be either. Because we can do a lot better, and it’s a shame that we had to find this out the hard way.

Axing Robin Hood

*Slides the “blogs gone without mentioning Disney” counter to zero*

I have a confession: I don’t care for Robin Hood. Specifically, I don’t care for the 1973 Disney movie, the one where the characters are anthropomorphized animals. I know it has a cult following with furries, and I get it. But for a movie about England’s legendary thief, it’s surprisingly boring and uninspired. It looks cheap, it sounds cheap and it feels hollow. It also falls into the trap many Disney animated movies of the 70s and 80s did, and I remember reading its director, Wolfgang Reitherman, was embarrassed to have his name attached (though I can no longer find the reference for that). I’m sorry if this offends anyone, but take it up with the megalith corporation.

On that note, I’ve never been hot on the live-action Disney remakes. I’ve seen a few, but most have felt like they were cashing in on brand recognition without the quality of the original material. Also, what’s wrong with those originals? Is it that they’re animated? What does Hollywood have against animated movies?

In February, it was announced that Disney’s management was shaking up, as CEO Bob Iger was stepping down (again). Replacing him was Josh D’Amaro, with Dana Walden as CCO. Iger was, in my opinion, divisive creatively, but he was good for Disney financially, so it’ll be interesting seeing what D’Amaro and Walden bring to the table. I don’t know enough about them, but surely they’ll bring some new life, right? I hope so!

Perhaps this new energy will show through Disney’s release schedule, which leads me to Robin Hood. According to insider reports, a live-action remake was slated for production, only to be scrapped alongside Bambi. This is interesting. As much as I don’t like Disney’s remakes, I get Bambi being remade: it’s a well-loved, critically-acclaimed movie about conservationism, which is perfect for modern moviegoers’ sensibilities. But Robin Hood? A movie that was never well-received, and was outdone in lacklustre quality by later adaptations, was getting a remake too?

Far be it for me to judge its fans. Furries are entitled to love movies too, and the Zootopia franchise has shown that Disney can do good by them. I also can’t be too bitter about Disney remaking it. They did justice to Pete’s Dragon, which had little going for it outside some impression animation from Don Bluth. But Robin Hood, a movie where the main character’s a talking fox for…reasons, doesn’t scream A-material to me. At least not as a 1:1 remake.

If we’re going by The Lion King, I don’t think it’s fair calling it “live-action”. Remaking a traditionally-animated movie in photo-realistic CGI isn’t live-action. There are no visible actors on-screen, all the “acting” is done with voice-overs. Unlike The Jungle Book, which had a real kid as Mowgli, all of the actors present used motion capture and were replaced with computers. That’s animation, and I’m tired of pretending it’s not.

Additionally, I’m not sure the premise would work with photo-realism. Say what you will about The Lion King, but the characters weren’t attempting human-like behaviour. Robin Hood, however, has the characters as stand-ins for humans. They wear human clothes, they talk like humans, they even stand upright. Unless Disney wanted a surrealist take ala Cats, I doubt it’d have happened without being creepy and a turn-off.

I don’t get why Disney would even want this. As ambitious failures from the 70s and 80s go, The Black Cauldron is a much better fit for a live-action remake. Not only is it based on a dark fantasy series, but live-action could do wonders should Disney take the Narnia approach. Especially since there’s an audience for that kind of movie. I’m not alone here, either.

By opting for a soulless cash grab, however, Disney would’ve soured people’s attitudes on their remakes even more. And yes, the live-action remakes aren’t supposed to be good. They’re meant to cash-in on cheap nostalgia for jaded adults who want to be 6 years old again. But that doesn’t mean Disney can’t put in effort. Nor does it mean they can’t be strategic about what they remake.

Basically, I’m not upset Walden axed this remake. No one wanted it, and it’d be another attempting at flushing money down the drain. By axing it, Disney now has the freedom to focus on ideas people are interested in. Like Pixar movies, original and sequels alike, as well as animated Disney musicals. That’s more interesting than a 1:1 retelling of a mediocre movie from the 70s.

I’m not an expert in movie-making. It’s possible the remake of Robin Hood would’ve ended up fantastic, I don’t know. I also don’t run Disney, so I have no power over their output. However, I’m glad this remake was scrapped. Especially since, from what I’ve gathered, audiences are becoming sick of Robin Hood movies, going by diminished returns.

I’m slightly more optimistic about Disney’s new leadership now. At least, creatively. It’s possible they’ll disappoint, especially since they have to appease shareholders, but this is a step in the right direction. And who knows? Maybe they’ll drag the studio out of their creative stagnation? Here’s hoping!

The ScrewAttack Magazine

It recently was ScrewAttack’s 20th anniversary. I’ve written about the site before, but I want to share a positive development. I was in a live-stream chat celebrating the site, and I was alerted that its magazine had been archived. Considering ScrewAttack had been wiped during its purchase by Rooster Teeth, I’d long thought anything from there was lost media. This disproved that. It’s only 17 issues, so not everything survived, but I figured this was a good time to reflect on the pieces I submitted. Especially since it was 15 years ago, and my writing style has changed significantly.

My first observation, and this is general, is how long-winded my thoughts were. I was in the early stages of self-editing, and I didn’t understand brevity. It often took three or four paragraphs to say what I now accomplish in one. It’s interesting looking back on, as, ironically, more of my personality seeped through. After all, why hide my thoughts if I had nothing holding me back?

This is most-apparent in my review of Okami. I happen love that game, even referring to it as the best Zelda entry once, but the first four paragraphs were me venting about its legacy. I’m unsure who I was venting to, only that it was approved with no edits. Looking back, I’d have done massive slash-and-burns on that. Especially since it wasn’t necessary.

Another example is my review of the best episode from Digimon: Zero-Two. I’m mixed on that season, but it’s telling how I threw shade at my summary of the plot. I mentioned how I spent close to 1800 words on it, and that was before my analysis! Was I always this verbose? It’s hard to say.

Moving on, it’s telling how unfiltered and raunchy I was. While ranting on the Tomb Raider franchise, I initially mentioned my disdain for fan-service, only to spend most of the piece rambling about that. The irony isn’t lost on me now. However, it’s amusing how unaware I was of that. Then again, I was in my early-20s…

This lack of self-awareness bleeds into my review of Wonder Woman. In it, I praised the movie’s lack of over-sexualization of its heroine, only to focus on that for an entire paragraph. I only recognize this now, as I was too focused on getting my thoughts out. But that’s what distance allows. The review even holds up, though I did the movie better justice in my compare-contrast piece.

In my Tomb Raider piece, I concluded with an open-ended series of questions. This is something I’d be forced to do at Nintendo Enthusiast, which I wasn’t happy about, but this sort of engagement doesn’t translate to a magazine. It works in a blog, where people can comment on your writing, but magazines are fixed. Unless they allow fan mail, and even then it’s an issue late, it’s a waste of space. That wasn’t on my mind when I was writing the piece, however.

The last point I want to mention is the magazine’s choices to convert blogs. Ignoring the typos, which were inevitable because the editor wasn’t a professional, some of the captions and clips didn’t translate from blog to magazine. This was back when I included captions and frequent video clips for effect. Unfortunately, they didn’t make it in. Or if they did, they were half-baked. My joke about sexism in Fullmetal Alchemist, for instance, is now its own paragraph, as opposed to an image with a caption. This doesn’t account for the review accidentally using images from Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, which bothered me at the time. It’s funny retroactively, though.

Overall, this was an interesting time capsule from 15 years ago. I wouldn’t write this way now, I certainly wouldn’t use censored profanity, but I wouldn’t change anything. I couldn’t even if I wanted to! And I think that speaks to the power of art. As the saying goes: “Art is never finished, only abandoned.” Having written many pieces since then, I couldn’t agree more.

This is also a great argument for media preservation. In an era where online information’s at the whims of censorship, editing and deletion, discovering archived material is a blessing. It not only highlights your progress, it gives you something to compare yourself to. That’s a gift. And it’s something I cherish now that most of my work from that period exists as (sometimes corrupted) Word documents that rarely reflect the finished product.

Above all else, I have to thank HybridRain. It’s easy to look at some of the formatting and snicker, as English isn’t his first language, but I have to commend him anyway. He wasn’t being paid to make this magazine. It was purely a passion project, something he reminded us of regularly with each issue’s forward. Kudos to him.

There’s plenty about ScrewAttack that I look back on with regret: my failed exit in 2009 after an argument with some moderators. My one-month ban in early-2010 after an argument with some g1s. The controversy on TehPwnShop where g1s spent over 100 pages trashing me, an archive I’m grateful no longer exists. Even my one-week suspension from the ScrewAttack forums in 2015, which I’m still mixed on. Couple that with my un-diagnosed mental health issues, and it’s clear not everything was great.

This magazine isn’t that. I’d have loved more of my stuff be included, if only for preservation, but what made the final cut holds up decently. All that’s required is reading it with a magnifying glass, as the print is tiny. That, and manually scrolling through the pages, as they don’t line-up with the table of contents. I’m slightly bitter about that…

If that doesn’t tickle your fancy, consider reading some other pieces? There are 17 volumes, and they contain many voices. Some of these are people I keep in touch with, while others have faded into obscurity, but all are worth their time. Because this was a magazine built on passion. And who knows? You might find a new favourite!

Catching the Regis

Continuing my Pokémon high, I’ll share my bizarre experience catching the Regis in Gen 3 and 4. It took two days, and many mistakes, but I eventually managed it. Here’s how it happened. You ready? I am!

For context, the Regis are golem-like Pokémon doubling as Legendary Pokémon. It’s weird calling them that, as Golem’s a Pokémon you can acquire by trading in any generation. Nevertheless, the Regis were introduced in Gen 3 as three optional Pokémon to catch via a side-quest, with their leader, so to speak, being accessible in Gen 4. This basically forces you to not discard your GBA Pokémon game simply because you beat it. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

In order to acquire Gen 4’s Regi, you need the National Dex from Professor Oak. This means seeing every Pokémon in Sinnoh’s Pokédex, including one I couldn’t acquire due to having Pokémon Pearl. Not to worry, I saw it through a photograph in the game. I guess that counts? The game thinks so.

With all 150 Pokémon from the Regional Dex logged, I received the National Dex and could traverse new areas. It made accessing The Stone Temple in Snowpoint City possible, as I kept getting turned away at the entrance. Once on the bottom floor, I could see Regigigas in the centre. It took a while to get there, as the floor was covered in ice, but once there I was ready for a fight. Unfortunately, I couldn’t challenge it, as I needed the Regis from Gen 3 in my party. Life is cruel, isn’t it?

Essentially, I needed my copy of Pokémon Emerald to achieve this goal. Complicating matters was requiring a Wailord and Relicanth, both of which needed patience to catch. Relicanth had me to traverse the ocean floor for a Pokémon that appears 5% of the time, while Wailord needed me to fish with my Super Rod in a specific location, catch a Wailmer and level it up so it could evolve. That was already getting off to a great start, as I caught a Wailmer at lvl 23 and had to do level grinding. It took all afternoon, and it sucked!

Once I had the appropriate prerequisites, the journey began. Making sure I flew to a specific route, I began the journey of riding the whirlpools and diving in a specific spot. I then entered a cave and went through a chamber inscribed with Braille. I’m no expert in Braille, so I was chained to a walk-through for the remainder of this quest. But with the instructions fulfilled, I heard a rumble and the three pillars signifying the Regis’s locations disappeared. It was time to start the hunt!

The first of the Regis was Regirock. Following the online guide, I used Dig in a specific spot and found it waiting. I’d also stocked up on Ultra Balls and Timer Balls, knowing this’d take a while. It did. I even restarted the game several times because I kept running out of items for catching Regirock. It didn’t help that my copy of Pokémon Emerald was so finicky that a slight push with my thumb made the game freeze and have to be restarted.

After many failed attempts, I caught Regirock. With one Regi down, I made my way to Regice. Surfing to another cave, I ran around the room’s perimeter, as the guide suggested, and opened a sealed entrance to find Regice. This fight was also tedious, but not as much thanks to it being more straightforward. It took two restarts, but I caught Regice.

It was now getting late, so Registeel, which the walk-through warned was the hardest one, would have to wait until after my shift the next day. I was antsy, eagerly awaiting the confrontation. Once I’d come home and gotten out of the shower, I turned on my game. I also made sure I’d stocked up on Ultra Balls and Timer Balls, both of which I’d run out of. I had to sell many of my unused items for quick cash to buy them. If you think that unwise, know that I’m not in the mood to beat The Elite Four in Pokémon Emerald anyway.

Registeel was a nightmare! Ignoring that I had to use Flash in the middle of its cave, a move I despise because it doesn’t do anything in battle, it was easily the hardest of the Regis. It took nearly two hours and multiple restarts, and it felt like a chore. I managed it, but I wasn’t satisfied. If anything, I felt like I’d wasted time.

With all three Regis caught, I turned off Pokémon Emerald and went back to Pokémon Pearl. The games have a one-way communication feature allowing you to port older Pokémon and recapture them via Pal Park, a mini-game that’s best described as The Safari Zone if you had six items and no time limit. Also, if those six items were Capture Balls that all had to be used. In other words, a tedious mini-game. I can’t complain too much, I’ve used Pal Park before, but really? This again?

After successfully capturing all six Pokémon, three being the Regis, I returned to The Stone Temple in Snowpoint City. I trekked through the underground location, making sure I had the three Regis on hand, and after another time waste with the icy floor’s maze, I made my way to Regigigas and saved my game, as this was supposed to be the hardest of the Regis. It took many failed attempts, and a near whiteout, to capture it with a Timer Ball, and this time I played the long game by frequently switching out Pokémon so the Timer Ball would work.

Was the Regis side-quest worth it? No. Like I alluded to previously, the newer Pokémon entries have made collecting every Pokémon a nightmare, with some no longer possible because of decisions Nintendo has made. Catching the Regis isn’t one of them, but it might as well have been. I’m “glad” I’m done, but I never want to do this again. I’m even debating if it’s worth catching Groudon, Kyogre and Rayquaza, in Pokémon Emerald and porting them to Pokémon Pearl. If it’s anything like catching the Regis...

Anyway, that was me catching the Regi Pokémon. If you’ll excuse me, I should detox.

Revisiting Gen 4

The Pokémon franchise recently turned 30 years old. It’s weird saying that, as I remember spectating over people’s shoulders at recess in Grade 1. I have my own Pokémon story, but my fondness for the franchise slowly soured with each generation. Aside from being frustrated with level grinding in Gen 2, Gen 3 was a chore challenging The Elite Four, and Gen 4…was where I lost interest. I remember ceasing my play-through before traveling to The Elite Four because it no longer hooked me. I even wrote about that on Nintendo Enthusiast, and I received push-back over my thoughts.

I was dreading going back to Pokémon Pearl because of this. Sure, my copy of the game had its save file intact, but I wasn’t sure if my concerns were still valid. Nevertheless, I figured it’d been long enough, so I gave it another try. And you know something? I was wrong. The game’s still good!

What had I missed? Was I an arrogant teenager when I first played it, clouded by angst and impatience? Could it have I needed time to mature? Perhaps I was letting my thoughts on the previous generations ruin this too? Or was it something else?

The answer’s all of the above. And I don’t think that was fair. It wasn’t the game’s fault that I had fading fondness of the franchise! Given my love of Pokémon Yellow, I doubt that was helping. I know that game off the back of my hand, to the point of obsession. It was inevitable that Gen 4 wouldn’t hold a candle to it.

What made it easier this time was continuing where I left off, as opposed to starting a new file. It was an adjustment, but I managed. Adding to this was how I still had many trainers to fight, as well as Pokémon to catch. This included legendary Pokémon, of which Mesprit was the most annoying. Seriously, why all the chasing? And why did Mesprit keep fleeing?

I eventually caught Mesprit with my Master Ball. I didn’t have to, online research suggested I could’ve used Mean Look to help me, but I figured it was less stressful than constantly traversing Sinnoh and praying that this time it’d stay put. Ironically, using my Master Ball to catch Mesprit meant my later chances of catching Cresselia, who relied on chasing too, were lower. Ah well!

(Note: I eventually caught Cresselia with a Master Ball I imported through Pal Park. I don’t like chasing after legendary Pokémon.)

The battles with The Elite Four, and Cynthia, were a challenge, but they were made better by two details: one, the level cap of wild Pokémon was more practical, with them going beyond level 30. And two, I could rematch trainers with an app I’d acquired, allowing me to grind and collect money for supplies. Both of these made the experience reasonable, and for that I’m grateful. It also made fighting The Elite Four, and Cynthia, less of a chore.

You know what helps? The map opens up a lot post-game. I was initially put off that there was a section of Sinnoh I couldn’t access, but beating the main game helped ease my concerns. The post-game content is also great…save chasing Cresselia. It’s like the cave where Mewtwo hides in Gen 1, except with several legendary Pokémon. Those battles were some of the highlights, even though they led to many sweaty palms and fake-outs.

This game takes full advantage of its post-game content. Whether it’s finding stronger wild Pokémon, battling legendary Pokémon, or even seeing the new paths, it really felt like Gen 4 addressed many of my complaints with Gens 2 and 3, as well as some from Gen 1. And with The National Dex opening my encounters further, it was a bonus! It was worth the additional 40+ hours I spent over the past week. Why was I so hard on this game?

There’s plenty about newer Pokémon generations that’s turned longtime fans off. The main mechanics haven’t evolved much since the mid-90s, even if the technology has. The Pokédex has become too expansive, with some Pokémon now being event-specific. Even complaints of newer entries being rushed and unfinished are prevalent! It feels like what was once a risky franchise is now playing it safe, with too few new ideas. That’s a problem, one Nintendo hasn’t fully remedied.

However, that doesn’t mean my thoughts on earlier entries haven’t evolved over time. Because they have. Gen 4, particularly Pokémon Pearl, is one example, having recaptured my interest after all these years. Perhaps I was being too hard on it? I’m rectifying that now.

I doubt my love for Gen 1 will ever be eclipsed. It’s hard to surpass the rush I get from seeing Kanto again, even as a remake for the Switch. However, my fondness can’t and shouldn’t be used solely as an excuse to dismiss newer entries. Because every generation has something to offer, and if it’s fun? Well, that’s what matters to me, and it should matter to other people too.