14 DAY TRIAL // Before the “Tomorrowland” writeoff this year, Disney’s biggest flop was the 2012 release “John Carter,” which marked a $200 million ($181 million) loss for the studio. Based on the highly popular novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, it cost over $250 million (€226.3 million) to make and ultimately failed to get people to buy tickets for it.
“John Carter” wasn’t a bad movie, but it was definitely not the movie that Burroughs’ “John Carter from Mars” deserved. The story was lacking and the dialog was ridiculous at points, because the focus fell on the special effects and the action scenes.
Still, it was one of the most interesting movies of that year, even though not many people saw it; it stood out for the backstory and for aiming to deliver a unique experience. A full “John Carter” review is also available, in case you wish to read up more on its strengths and flaws.
The presentation reel for the film has now emerged online. A presentation reel is sort of like a trailer made up of a mix of animatics and footage from other films, meant to sell the movie to the studio bosses: like a pitch with visual support. It includes details of the story like a trailer would, occasionally some dialog or even pull quotes / hot selling points.
If you’ve seen the film that Disney put out, you will notice that this presentation reel is closer to Burroughs’ visionary work than it will ever be. Disney should have made this “John Carter from Mars” instead, and maybe it wouldn’t have lost so much money.
