Disney Animated Films
Topic: Pixar: Disney's Cash Cow? (The Aftermarket Thread)

#	Author	Message
11	DlandDug Sat 6/20/2009 5:22p	>>Up may be a box office phenomenon but it just doesn't have marketable characters.<< I am inclined to agree, but do feel there are exploitable properties that would sell well in the immediate aftermath of the film. It's kind of lazy that the dogs have, so far, been the only major line of characters. While we were in the theater, my dd exclaimed, "I want one" as soon as Kevin's babies appeared on screen. I also cannot help but feel that some sort of flying/floating toy could have been produced in conjunction with Up. Both Carl's house and Muntz's airship would probably sell through initially.
12	TheRedhead Sat 6/20/2009 7:48p	"There needs to be an appropriate balance struck. Too many other parts of the business rely on the engine of the Studios to create product that reaches the mass market." I agree sort of. But I think you're putting too much focus-slash-blame on the studios. It's the studio's responsibility to put out a good movie that turns a profit. That's all you can ask them to do. It's the merchandising department's responsibility to make toys people will buy. It's the theme park's responsibility to make attractions people want to ride. It's unfair to disparage Pixar for not making "Up" a film full of marketable characters. The makers of "Bolt" did it. They made a hit with extremely marketable characters. So where is the merchandise? I'm not going to turn my eye to the creators of the film. I'd look at merchandising and the current climate. Maybe the folks designing toys are dropping the ball. Maybe it's just the economy. Maybe it's WalMart's world now, and toy companies need to figure out how to live in it. It's complicated. I got a great father's day gift today: a great big remote control WALL-E robot. I have been eying it for a year now. It looked like the coolest toy since the talking Stitch (my all time favorite Disney toy). But even I, an insane Disney fan who loved WALL-E more than any movie I've seen in the last five years, couldn't bring myself to buy the robot. It seemed so wasteful. And I'm a guy who bought the talking Stitch three weeks before the movie opened. And I don't think I'm alone. Bottom line - it's dangerous to expect artists to put the cart before the horse and make movies to push plastic crap and spawn roller coasters. Let the other departments do their jobs, and let Pixar do the voodoo they do.
13	trekkeruss Sat 6/20/2009 9:35p	FWIW, I am a hardcore collector of the Mattel CARS die cast toy line. Today there was a collectors event at K-Mart stores nationwide. I bought 76 cars, spending roughly $300.00. This is on top of the 72 cars I bought when K-Mart had a pre-sale of the same toys. FYI, the Mattel CARS line now consists of over 200 different cars characters and variants, and at least another 100 more will be produced in the next couple of years. Then there is the CARS 2 movie, which will undoubtedly unleash hundreds more die cast toys. Truly a monster hit for Disney and Mattel as far as toys are concerned.
14	leemac Sun 6/21/2009 3:26a	<<It's the studio's responsibility to put out a good movie that turns a profit. That's all you can ask them to do. >> I'd have to disagree with you there - the Studios' output is way too important to the rest of the business for them to focus merely on bringing out popular movies. The Studios need to ensure that they have at least one movie annually that can generate consumer products revenue - it doesn't have to be a Pixar/Feature Animation movie (look at POTC) but it needs to lend itself to marketable consumerables. DCP has been VERY lucky that it has been able to replace movie-based product after the last POTC movie with $1bn-plus revenue streams from Disney Channel product like Hannah Montana and Jonas Brothers. If those dry up you can bet you bottom dollar that Andy Mooney will be telling Bob Iger to push the Studios into better partnering.
15	leemac Sun 6/21/2009 3:28a	<<the talking Stitch>> Is this Aloha Stitch? He is my favorite toy - I absolutely love him. But then I also love my talking Flik and wish I'd bought the Thinkway Talking Tuck 'n' Roll.
16	Mr X Sun 6/21/2009 3:42a	***it needs to lend itself to marketable consumerables*** Wow..."consumerables" doesn't even register on my spellchecker. I agree with that other guy...let them put out fantastic, quality movies and leave the other stuff to the other guys. Otherwise, it will most certainly suck (when the suits get involved with creativity, it always does...as we well know).
17	Anatole69 Sun 6/21/2009 3:48a	^^ Hear hear. I agree. Putting out marketable films that put artistic concerns in the back seat is a short term gain strategy. Eventually the cuts in artistic quality eat away at the brand and you get marketable products that have lost their consumer base. - Anatole
18	leemac Sun 6/21/2009 4:51a	<<Wow..."consumerables" doesn't even register on my spellchecker.>> Sadly it is an industry term. Rather ugly but it says what it is on the can. <<Eventually the cuts in artistic quality eat away at the brand and you get marketable products that have lost their consumer base.>> You would have thought that was the case but there is a lot of goodwill built up in the Disney brand. Otherwise it would have been eroded by movies of the quality of Beverly Hills Chihuahua, College Road Trip and Underdog. It will take a lot for families to not trust Disney anymore. <<Putting out marketable films that put artistic concerns in the back seat is a short term gain strategy.>> And why are they mutually exclusive? Why can't you have an artistic and marketable movie? I'm not suggesting that every feature should have other business units like WDP&R and DCP in mind but the Studios needs to produce synergistic product at least once a year. If Pixar's cost base continues to soar to north of $200m before marketing costs (which it can't be far from by now) then they are flying dangerously close to the sun if you only consider grosses. They need to strike a balance that works. <<The makers of "Bolt" did it. They made a hit with extremely marketable characters. >> Do you think so? I thought that the characterizations were rather formulaic and the look was very homogeneous. I just didn't think that the characters would transcend the screen. It could just be that the days of movie tie-ins are dead - kids are perhaps too savvy to take the bait. They are looking to create their own crazes without being force-fed consumer products. Although that definitely doesn't work when you factor in POTC and Hannah Montana. It is a quandary for sure.
19	Jim in Merced CA Sun 6/21/2009 12:44p	<It could just be that the days of movie tie-ins are dead - kids are perhaps too savvy to take the bait.> Could be. It could also be that the consumerables that are produced for these movies have been essentially the same for the past 10-15 years. At least at Disney, it seems that when these animated movies are produced -- they have a laundry list of stuff that is generated. Plush (for those talking dogs in 'UP' -- really?), action figures, overly colorful T-shirts, coloring books, sticker albums -- sure, it's produced for children, but it's all the same stuff movie after movie. Just like at Disneyland. They have a new marketing campaign (50th Anniversary) and it's the same T-shirt, cap, coffee mug, antenna ball, mouse pad, kitchen magnet that they produced 10 years ago -- just with a new logo slapped on it. After a while, it gets boring. And when you're relying on the collectors of Disney stuff to come back and buy, I would imagine that it gets really difficult to keep that group engaged. How much of this type of stuff does one person need? Thing is, consumer products could be a bit more creative in what is produced. But like all the other 'profit centers' I'm sure there's tremendous pressure on what to produce and what they hope will sell. But I can see how Disney would need to rely on at least one movie for consumerable tie-ins. Thank goodness Disney didn't tag their hopes on the new 'Witch Mountain' movie. Someone, somewhere would have a warehouse full of Dwayne Johnson action figures collecting dust.
20	trekkeruss Sun 6/21/2009 12:57p	<< They have a new marketing campaign (50th Anniversary) and it's the same T-shirt, cap, coffee mug, antenna ball, mouse pad, kitchen magnet that they produced 10 years ago -- just with a new logo slapped on it. After a while, it gets boring. And when you're relying on the collectors of Disney stuff to come back and buy, I would imagine that it gets really difficult to keep that group engaged.>> Disney makes the same-ol' kitchen magnets or antenna balls because that's what some people collect. Those collectors are not looking for some new gee-wiz gadget that catches the eye of the general Disney fan/collector; they want another magnet to add to the 500 or 5000 they've got on the fridge.

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