The modern cinematic era thrives on adapting every concept through every medium. Books become movies, which become games, which become comics until they’re back in book form, and the cycle continues. Some stories only work in their home medium, while others find themselves better suited to new concepts. Tron is a movie about video games that enjoyed mild success at the box office. Its legacy sequel did the same, but the franchise had one critically successful outing. Why doesn’t Tron: Uprising lead the franchise into animated excellence?
Animation proves itself to be a better medium for many stories. Live-action filmmaking, especially in the modern studio structure, carries infinite strange hangups and ill-fated oversight. Animated projects rarely earn the respect of their live-action colleagues, regardless of quality. Shifting a few big names from CGI messes into full-fledged animated projects might change the impact of the medium.
Disney’s Live-Action Trons were not hits
|
Tron |
Tron: Legacy |
|
|---|---|---|
|
Budget |
$17 Million |
$170 Million |
|
Box Office |
$50 Million |
$400 Million |
|
Rotten Tomatoes Score |
73% from 71 critics |
51% from 248 critics |
Tron is a bizarre franchise among modern competitors. Tons of old films spawn legacy sequels, which can revive the ailing brand. The original 1982 Tron made its money back at the box office with a healthy infusion from video rentals. Tron: Legacy performed similarly, earning a decent return on investment with little to write home about. Neither film earned unqualified praise from critics. They had standout elements that captured attention, but both suffered when viewed as complete projects. This level of suitable performance without overwhelming profit might have been admirable in the 80s, but modern Disney rarely raises an eyebrow before a film pushes a billion-dollar box office return. To put things into perspective, Top Gun came out four years after Tron, cost $15 million to make, and earned $357 million at the box office. Paramount showed shocking restraint by waiting 36 years to produce a sequel. It makes sense to try Top Gun again. Tron‘s numbers make every new attempt surprising. Moreover, every version that doesn’t radically reinvent the formula is a shock.
Disney’s best Tron project is an animated series
|
Tron: Uprising |
|
|---|---|
|
Seasons |
1 |
|
Episodes |
19 |
|
Cast |
Elijah Wood, Bruce Boxleitner, Mandy Moore, Nate Corddry |
|
Developed By |
Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz |
|
Rotten Tomatoes Score |
91% from 11 audience reviews |
Cards on the table, the biggest problem with Tron: Uprising is that almost no one saw it. It’s available to stream now on Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video, where it garnered some fandom, but its initial run was a disaster. The series was never officially canceled, but its creator sadly cried out for more views on Twitter shortly before its ostensible final episode. As Tron: Ares is billed as a reboot, the show may soon be wiped from the Grid. Despite all of that, the show is the best Tron story ever put on screen. It delivers on the anarchic promise of its predecessors with a unique art style and a deeper exploration of the world inside the machine. Eschewing “human” characters in favor of programs living complex lives within the Grid allows the series to give fans what they want. Tronand Tron: Legacy are mediocre narratives cloaked in glorious shiny wrapping paper. Tron: Uprising is the first and only example that lives up to its premise’s promise.
Disney should make an animated Tron movie
The elephant in the room for anyone working on Tron is that no modern project can capture the “ahead of its time” quality of the original. 1982’s Tron blazed a new path in special effects technology, allowing viewers to excuse its lackluster narrative qualities by focusing on its astonishing visuals and fascinating premise. Tron: Legacy lacked anything so impressive, instead delivering a pleasingly slick aesthetic and excellent music. Modern movies use CGI so often and so poorly that most viewers see it as an inherent negative. Promising a VFX-led project to a modern audience is an insult. Recent releases regularly invent groundbreaking VFX techniques that go unnoticed by most. Animation is the perfect workaround. A unique art style will raise eyebrows, drawing a stable audience.
Combining the excellent execution of Tron: Uprising with a Hollywood budget and theatrical release would create the ideal Tron sequel. Disney would likely drop any animated project in the franchise onto Disney+. Animation rarely receives the respect it deserves, even if it would better serve the narrative. Disney’s soulless live-action remakes demonstrate no appreciation for the medium that delivered the beloved stories that built the empire. Tron won’t likely shift from live-action to animation any time soon, despite some conversations to that effect. Tron: Uprising could have provided the perfect path to a new frontier, but fans will have to wait and see how the next live-action take on the franchise works out.
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