This rant is too mild for the pit, but somebody at Columbia pictures is panicking over Chappie.
This was the first trailer I saw of Chappie a few months ago. Its slow, heartfelt, and tells the story of a robot learning and growing up and gaining experience as he’s essentially a child. It looks like kind of like an artsy movie if you ignore the probably expensive special effects and Hugh Jackman’s salary.
But I guess the movie wasn’t trending well or the buzz just wasn’t enough for Columbia, because nowthisis the spot I’ve been seeing on TV. Chappie is no longer a child-like robot but HUMANITY’S LAST HOPE! (from what, they don’t say. Perhaps melodrama?). Also, just in case you didn’t realize, he’s NOT EVEN HUMAN!
This new trailer tells me that as soon as we’re done changing the robot diapers, he’s gonna kick ass and chew bubblegum and oh won’t you believe he’s all out of fucking bubblegum? The capper on all this silly nonsense is the end, where the narrator’s voice growls “CHAPPIE!” like its some Wiccan curse.
“Chappie” sounds like a grade schooler’s nickname for her chap stick. There is no way to make that manly. If a human had that name, he wouldn’t survive past third grade. This stupid tonal shift of the movie is going to probably piss off a lot of people going in expecting Terminator but getting Old Yeller with robots
It’s not the first time; I’ve seen multiple trailers for movies before selling the movie differently. The writer/director is the same one who made District 9 and Elysium, which were both thoughtful movies, so I’m looking forward to it. (Perhaps there will be another trailer selling it to Neill Blomkamp fans.)
Also, just because the trailers suggest a “tonal shift” in the movie doesn’t mean that’s going to be in the movie. It’s possible to cut and score a trailer to suggest a completely different experience. Here, for instance, is a trailer for a romantic comedy called The Shining.
My girlfriend’s two young boys wanted to see Frozen when it first came out because it was a movie about a snowman. They often change trailers to expand the audience.
Not sure what it says about me but the moment I saw the title Chappie, I wrote it off as a wait for NetFlix. I am very reluctant to spend money on ANY movie though.
I was intrigued by the first trailer, but the last one that spoon-feeds plot actually turned me off.
Trailer spoiler the narration is basically “They use robots to oppress the people so the people stole a robot to fight back” and it’s just that pedestrian and stupid sounding.
I may still see it just because I’m curious to see how Die Antwoord come off in the movie.
Sure except I was talking about the actual Disney trailer that made it look like Olaf was the main character and he had a reindeer sidekick. They would have never gone to a princess movie.
The name Chappie is a South African injoke. Also, it feels sooo weird hearing the oh-so-melodious* accent of my birthplace (which is not Sharlto Copley’s natural accent) coming from the mouth of a robot…
Yeah, it’s hard to predict from the trailers what the tone of the movie will actually be like. But I loved District 9, and I thought Elysium had potential, so I’m interested to see what Chappie will be like. And I’m also very curious to see how Die Antwoord do in the movie.
Like MrDibble linked to, Chappie is apparently a injoke referencing a brand of bubblegum from South Africa. Also, ending words with “ie” is apparently common in South African slang: toppie, mallie, broekie, bakkie, bergie, klankie, muggie, and so on. I don’t know if Chappie is supposed to sound “manly” or not, it just sounded like a nickname to me.
Every since they completely reskinned *Tangled *at a late stage to make it appeal more to boys, it’s been a part of the Disney toolset to position their releases for the widest possible audience. A huge DISNEY at the of the card stopped guaranteeing the whole under-12 audience a while ago; it took them a few tries to figure that out.
Although, I’m not sure the name Chappie is quite that bad. It reminds me of the nicknames from the first two world wars, back in the time when Holly and Carroll were still manly men’s names. Which, unfortunately, makes me think next of Popeye.
I also can’t figure out from the name/previews whether this movie is aimed at kids or adults. Maybe it’ll turn out like Real Steel? (Which wasn’t bad, but it was definitely a wait for NetFlix kind of movie too.)
The -ie (and -tjie) endings are diminutives. E.G. “broek” is pants, “broekie” are panties. “klank” is sound, “klankie” is a tiny sound (like a soft fart)
Given that the mascot of the gum (also called Chappie) was a chipmunk* in a barbershop outfit** down to the straw boater, I’d say no, manliness is not associated with it
I have no idea why a chipmunk, they’re not native to SA. Just for alliteration (Chappie Chipmunk), I guess.
** now sadly wearing a baseball cap and t. Baaah!
