Why For did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't originally supposed to release "Ratatouille"

re: Why did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 15:12:58 GMT

Great article. But I've got an issue with something.. Isn't the Disney marketing department like one of the best in the world? Isn't one of the strongest elements of Walt Disney Co. that they're this big marketing machine, capable of ANYTHING?

So why this difficulty? Have all the good marketeers, that made the company one of the best, been fired in the recent few years? I see the problem with marketing "Ratatouille", but hey, I only studied marketing for two years, and it isn't my job. But it is theirs. To me it sounds kinda weird, but okay.

I think "Ratatouille" will have an opening weekend that will surpass $ 60 million. $62 million maybe. That doesn't smell like blockbuster to you? It does to me, I have to disagree with you on this one. $50 to $60 million seems respectable to me, if a movie can generate good legs. And this one will (it's Pixar damnit).

(Oh, and you know what I take issue with? John Lasseter putting his name on EVERY SINGLE PROJECT as an "executive producer". Seriously. Get a life.)

re: Why did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 15:28:52 GMT

Thanks for the insight, Jim.

I'll admit Ratatouille is a hard hard movie to sell (I swear if it wasn't a Disney/Pixar film, I was not gonna watch it). I do think Disney's marketing machine is the best in the world, and because Ratatouille is a hard sell and in this summer of blockbusters, if it breaks $150 million, it _should_ be considered a success by all involved (Pixar, Disney's marketing).

I mean, look at Surf's Up and TMNT. Good reviews for Surf's Up still has it floundering at the box office. TMNT is a franchise and virtually had no competition and it bombed. Considering Meet the Robinsons barely squeaked by the $100 mil mark (did they?), I'd say $150 million from Rat would be a decent pull.

Not by Wall Street's or the DisneyToon lovin' suits' standards of course, but those people miss the point when it comes to quality.

re: Why did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 15:33:19 GMT

I too can understand the potential problems with marketing this movie, but I seriously doubt that it has anything at all to do with who green lit the movie.

re: Why did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 15:51:36 GMT

Its understandable that a unique and different movie would be harder to sell than an established franchise - but I mean...come on. These people are in marketing to market - it's their job to think creatively, think about what they're selling, and come up with solutions. Perhaps they've gotten to complacent selling rehashed stories and endless sequels?

Granted I suppose it's fair to note that it's slightly more difficult to advertise a movie you didn't put into production; but it's no excuse for awful advertising campaign. From my perspective, the fine folks down in Disney's marketing department simply can't market their films...regardless of who put it into production. Anyone remember Meet the Robinson's ad campaign? But that film and this one's marketing push rely far too heavily on dancing characters (Ratatouille and Meet The Robinson's promos are chalked FULL of characters flying across the screen dancing) - and flashy sight gags then actually telling us what the films are about. Defaulting on only "Oh, it's hard to advertise!" to justify their attempts.

re: Why did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 15:55:20 GMT

That is true. The Meet the Robinson's marketing campaign didn't do the movie any justice.

re: Why did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 16:09:38 GMT

I gotta admit, this article sure is believable. Ratatouille was made at a very turbulent time in their relations, and with Pixar's direction appearing to be more towards more mature content (real mature, not South Park "mature"... ugh), while still staying family friendly, it makes the films tougher to sell. I can't wait to see Ratatouille, but it's not the type of movie that I can see having a lot of useful sound bytes to draw people in.

re: Why did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 16:18:26 GMT

Maybe Pixar needs to create its own marketing campaign if the Disney marketeers don't feel up for the job. Their methods for advertising their animated films have gotten pretty stale.

re: Why did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 16:21:37 GMT

(Well, I actually liked the trailers and ads for "Meet the Robinsons" more than I liked the movie.)

re: Why did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 16:31:14 GMT

Ahhh, Disney's poor marketing department. I feel so sorry for the staff there. Whine, whine, whine.

Yes, damn it, Disney is supposed to be the best at marketing films -- but unlike Pixar (a studio that takes pride in throwing itself in the deep end of the pool with every single project and not resting on its laurels) ... the marketers want cookie-cutter ease.

Spend this amount of money on TV, this amount on print, this amount on new media, get a little synergy working here. It's so formulaic. I'm not surprised that they're SO looking forward to "Toy Story 3," they know how to market that film. Of course, with its built-in audience, it won't require a brain trust or any HARD but fun work. For Wall*E and Up, rise to the challenge.

Now, yes, Disney came on board late in the game with "Ratatouille," ... but jeez, do a little brainstorming and blue-sky thinking. I have several ideas running through my brain right now and will gladly consult for a fee.

The people at Disney MAY have flubbed this one -- but thanks to the national sneaks, glowing reviews and positive word of mouth -- it might not matter.

I'm still willing to bet that "Ratatouille" will top $200 million in North America (because this film has LEGS) and $325 million worldwide.

re: Why did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 16:35:51 GMT

Having different approaches to marketing for different markets doesn't necessarily mean the marketing departments have been struggling, I think.

It is pretty well known that audiences in different parts of the world respond differently to movies and performances in general. I've heard about bands performing in Japan that were used to screaming and singing during their concerts only to be greeted by silence in Japan. They thought they had bombed, only to learn later that silence after a perfomance is a sign of respect for the performer.

The Ratatouille trailers for the Asian market have been completely different than the (US) domestic ones - I think taking local sensibilities into account isn't necessarily the same thing as struggling to come up with the right marketing.

Just my $0.03 (adjusted for inflation)

re: Why did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 16:46:51 GMT

I don't see the marketing team having as much trouble with Wall*E or Up. You have to admit, it would be hard to convince food chains to start putting rats in their happy meals.

Am I the only one looking forward to Ratatouille, Wall*E, Up, and even Rapunzel and Frog Princess more than I am to Toy Story 3? I am just sequeled-out.

As for Meet the Robinsons, I actually liked the movie more because of the ads. The ads didn't make it seem all that interesting so I went into that thinking the worst (went just so the kids could enjoy a 3D movie), and came out pleasantly surprised. Thanks Disney marketing for making it look worse than it was.

re: Why did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 17:45:49 GMT

empoor said: "(Oh, and you know what I take issue with? John Lasseter putting his name on EVERY SINGLE PROJECT as an "executive producer". Seriously. Get a life.)"

He is an executive producer because that was his job. He was a Co-Founder and an Executive Vice President of Creative prior to the merger. Now he's the chief creative officer. All projects run through him. Walt Disney did the same thing. What's the big deal?

------------

This is the same thing that happened to the Toy Story 2 "B" team. Look what happened there.

The last time I checked, Pixar movies were director driven with little to no input from Disney. The Toy Story we love today was created after they stopped listening to Disney. The Disney marketing department has little to no influence in the creation of the Pixar movies including characters and stories. Why would they be in the beginning process of Ratatouille?

I'm just checking because I thought I fell asleep and woke up in an alternate dimension.

re: Why did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 17:49:23 GMT

Disney isn't doing a good job with marketing. The ads for "Meet the Robinsons" totally didn't give the movie justice. As for "Ratatouille", I don't like the way they're making it look like a slapstick movie. Yet, I guess most Americans are use to seeing slapstick filled animated features, even if its not much of a comedy.

I'm getting worried about "WALL-E". I'm hoping that the marketing for the movie will not dumb down the film, because the film sounds genius.

re: Why did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 17:53:48 GMT

TechGuy said:

"He is an executive producer because that was his job. He was a Co-Founder and an Executive Vice President of Creative prior to the merger. Now he's the chief creative officer. All projects run through him. Walt Disney did the same thing. What's the big deal?"

Being exec. vice-president of creative/chief creative officer/etc. isn't the same as being executive producer on *every single movie*. It isn't common use, to me it says "look at me", even though "executive producer" isn't that high on the producer scale. And just because it's Lasseter people don't think about it, but what if Jeffrey Katzenberg had made himself executive producer on all of Disney movies, including like "Beauty and the Beast" etc.? Than it would have been an issue. But hey, it's not the most important thing in the world, I just said it because it annoys me.

re: Why did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 18:29:43 GMT

I don't like it when Disney tries to "convince" us a movie is something that it is not. Case in point ... Bridge to Terrabithia. My kids watched the DVD this week and complained that it was "not about Terrabithia" at all. Unfortunately ... that movie is soooooo much more than what my kids were led to believe that they quite frankly weren't ready for it and didn't "like" it because of it.

Ratatouille should be marketed for what it is ... and nothing more or less. I don't know why Disney needs to fill ads and trailers with all of the silly parts of their movies just to play them up against the likes of Happy feet, Surfs Up, Over The Hedge, IceAge, etc. Rat is so completely more than the rest of these types of movies have been.

What will make or break this movie in the end is the word of mouth it will recieve when people start seeing it. Same thing that happened to Nemo. Of course it wouldn't have hurt to CHANGE the release date ... or month.

As far as the numbers ... forget opening box office.... i'm saving my $10 right now for Transformers on monday.... and I figure about 90% of everyone else is too.

This does not mean that I am going to forget about Ratatouille. Even though I know that Transformers is going to blow my socks off... I fully expect my favorite movie of the year to be Ratatouille as far as being consistant, quality entertainment.

Rat will not do as well as Cars in the US alone.... and that is going to be a fact. So I don't see how on earth anyone should seriously gage a movie by box office alone without looking at the big picture. And for the next several weeks ... the BIG picture is going to be Transformers.

Cut the movie some slack .... if Gone With The Wind were coming out for the first time oposite Transformers .... it wouldn't stand a chance.

re: Why did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 19:13:23 GMT

How adorable! The Japanese title of the film is "Remy's Delicious Restaurant!" It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. Normally they just keep the original title word-for-word without translation, but I guess because of the nature of the "rat" pun in a French word in this case this was the better choice.

I did think that the look and feel of this film seemed different from their past stuff, so it makes sense if it was intended to be the first step away from Disney. And a rat would have been a good subtle way to poke fun at Disney.

As for advertising... I think pretty much every movie company needs to fire their advertising department and hire a new staff; their work is pathetic. That is, unless uncreative advertising is being taught in school. "Hard to advertise..." That's their job! It's their job to convince people they need and deserves things nobody really needs, and they can't advertise a movie about a rat chef?

re: Why did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 19:19:02 GMT

I am a financial advisor who has worked with Disney in the past. I believe the Pixar acquisition is entirely positive for Disney and that this film will be massive profitable for the company. See my blog entry at http://fmvla.com/why_pixar%E2%80%99s_acquisition_was_a_bargain_for_disney

David Davis

re: Why did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 19:52:50 GMT

Empoor: Being exec. vice-president of creative/chief creative officer/etc. isn't the same as being executive producer on *every single movie*. It isn't common use, to me it says "look at me", even though "executive producer" isn't that high on the producer scale. And just because it's Lasseter people don't think about it, but what if Jeffrey Katzenberg had made himself executive producer on all of Disney movies, including like "Beauty and the Beast" etc.? Than it would have been an issue. But hey, it's not the most important thing in the world, I just said it because it annoys me.

- Could you be any more biased against Lasseter? Take a look at Hollywood for reality. As someone said...Walt had his name before every picture. Jerry Bruckheimer has his name slapped higher on product and is part of the trailer narration. Lasseter is an exec producer. That has nothing to do with ego. The guy is part of the production of these movies.

re: Why did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 21:10:23 GMT

I was worried about WALL-E until I heard the music from BRAZIL in the trailer. It takes cojones of steel to compare yourself to that film, so...sign me up!

re: Why did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 23:01:56 GMT

"if Gone With The Wind were coming out for the first time oposite Transformers .... it wouldn't stand a chance."

LOLOLOL

The only time those two films will ever be in the same sentence again.

re: Why did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 23:39:12 GMT

This article leaves me feeling a little worried about Ratatouille...

But I'm pretty sure that the movie itself will be pretty good, regardless of marketing.

re: Why did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 01:12:28 GMT

Livergap, TMNT was not a bomb, actually, it turned in a profit. And it will prolly turn in more of a profit by the time the DVDs come rolling out. The Worldwide gross was $92,221,045 and the domestic alone was $54,149,098, the Production Budget alone was $34 million. Either way you cut it, specially for the Weinstein company and TMNT, it turned a profit.

Now, did it blow anyone out of the water? No, but no one expected it to either. Most people were expecting TMNT to have an opening weekend below it's opening weekend of 24 million... and it's garnered enough to feature a sequel which may be announced here shortly... for a film that bombed...getting a sequel?

In case of this little Brad Bird film, I am pumped, and can't wait. I will admit that the film didn't show it's nature to me until I saw the 9 minute preview and then boom, it became something cool. Cos yeah, a rat trying to cook isn't all that great in concept, but... bah. Disney execs are shmucks.

re: Why did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 01:17:48 GMT

It's no longer in Disney's DNA to sell a movie -- or, for that matter, just about anything -- that's not squarely aimed at kids if it bears the "Disney" name. They've gotta dumb it all down, snazz it all up and make all square pegs fit into Disney's mouse-ear-shaped holes.

That's the trouble. Look at what's become of the theme parks -- they've gone from places of inspiration and imagination to ... kiddielands!

"Ratatouille" is such a marvelous film, it deserves so much more than an ad and marketing campaign that tries to convince the kiddos it's about a wiiiiiiild and craaaaaazy rat who does silly, goofy, funny things. Man, by the time they get to the scene with Linguini making the moves on Collette, they won't know what to think. Or they'll be bored out of their goards ... while adults swoon and fall in love with the movie they thought was just a kid-flick.

There was so much possibility inherent in this movie from a marketing standpoint, and Disney USED TO KNOW how to do this stuff (remember Beauty and Aladdin?), but now ... no, they don't know how to market "anything," they're not the best in the world, frankly ... they're pretty decent at marketing "Disney" stuff directly to kids, but increasingly bad at doing much else. I hope Lasseter and Catmull realize this and start cleaning Disney house!

re: Why did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 01:43:06 GMT

NArgan - Thanks, I didn't know the budget for it. I guess I was expecting it to do better as I was a big TMNT fan growing up. Looks like it didn't do too well review-wise though. If the Weinsteins are in it for the money, more power to them then.

Thinking about it more, if a movie targetted at all audiences is getting over 90% on rottentomatoes and doesn't perform well at the box office, would you blame the movie makers or the marketers? I've been impressed with Iger's decision-making ability thus far; my guess is he will not fault the Pixar folk for selling out just to make a quick buck and he'll probably look more toward what's going on with marketing (which is what the Eisner-era Disney people probably hate anyway).

re: Why did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 03:11:31 GMT

Having had an internship at Buena Vista Belgium I really have to mention that the hook of advertising campaigns are regularly adapted to the different countries a movie is released in. In Belgium for instance Tarzan wasn't advertised for with the aggressive adult figure on the posters, but with the cuddly young Tarzan and his friends. I think it strange Jim doesn't know this or needed a nice introduction to another invented story about Pixar.

re: Why did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 04:09:27 GMT

I don't know..

I just really don't find this film all that interesting. I'll see it because it's Pixar, but it really hasn't "hooked me".

re: Why did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 05:44:46 GMT

Ratatouille is my favourite Pixar film from the set. It is funny, adorable and it has strong morals.

I have been soooo dissapointed with the Disney Marketing Department over the last couple of years. To rethink back at the horrible job of advertising Bridge of Terrabithia or Meet the Robinsons is appaling. The trailer for Rat was soooo dissapointing, I was not even going to give it a second of my time. I am so sick of slapstick humor cg movies. And this movie is not a slapstick film at all! It is a movie with heart, and they should advertise that!

re: Why did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 09:39:12 GMT

Pixar has made (and Disney has marketed) movies about the monsters in the closet; being 'kidnapped' from your 'family'; and a family's mother and 499 of the children being eaten by a barracuda, leaving a single dad and kid. You'd think any of these premises would have children running screaming from the theatres and parents vowing never to return.

Comparitavely, marketing a movie about a rat in the kitchen would seem to be a piece of cake. Given Jim's article earlier this week on how some of Disney's suits are hoping Ratatouille will fail, this story on how they're having 'a tough time trying to come up with the proper way to promote "Ratatouille." ' - it's bringing out the conspiracy theorist in me...

Is it difficult to promote a movie with rats in the kitchen, or is it more difficult to promote a movie without suits in the production?

re: Why For did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't originally supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 11:59:42 GMT

So, if this film is considered not to be a success, it will demonstrate that Pixar could *not* have continued its history of popular, quality filmed entertainment indepedent of Disney. Will that mean that Disney overpaid for Pixar? No, why would it? Disney bought Pixar because *together* they make films that captivate the masses, with great story and the highest-quality CG animation that there is. If a 100% Pixar film fails to live up to the level of success of a Disney-Pixar film, then that only indicates that the two really always needed each other to succeed. Why is that so hard to understand?

re: Why For did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't originally supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 12:07:25 GMT

I agree with everyone here about the ad campaign for "Meet The Robinsons". It had to be one of the worst I've ever seen. All it ever showed was that DAMN dinosaur (Ad exec: Kids like dinosaurs! They're too stupid to like humor, charm, heart, drama! Let's push the dinosaur!), and I nearly passed on the film because of that. Only until I heard from a friend that the movie was really good-hearted fun did I deign to watch it, and I'm glad I did.

As for the Rat movie, the ad campaign thus far has been brilliant IMO. It's really gotten me to want to watch it (in fact I'm probably going to go see it today). The reviews have been stellar. I hope it succeeds, and if it does, if it overcomes audience weariness with talking-animal movies PLUS the drawback that the hero is a rat - then it's truly a testament to the Disney merchandising machine.

re: Why For did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't originally supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 12:39:18 GMT

"We've also talked about the Mouse's efforts to manage expectations for Pixar's latest production. So that if "Ratatouille" doesn't sell as many tickets as "Cars" did last summer over its opening weekend ... Well, the press won't then be able to use this film's underwhelming box office performance as an excuse to revisit the whole did-Disney-pay-too-much-for-Pixar question."

No Jim ... "we" haven't talked about this at all. You've written about it and we've all told you to stop it ... it's old. There's no "we" in this story ... unless, that is (wink, wink), you've got a rat in your pocket.

I'm going to ask a question here and I'd like for someone to point me in the right direction. Can someone show me where the press (other than Jim) would be able to "revisit the did-Disney-pay-too-much-for-Pixar question"? Because as far as I know, in order to be able to "revisit" something you have to have gone there before.

And I haven't seen anyone, anywhere even mention that Disney paid too much for Pixar.

Except Jim that is.

re: Why For did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't originally supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 14:03:13 GMT

For a behind the scenes feature story on the making of "Ratatouille," featuring an interview with Mark Andrews, its head of story, please visit http://www.thereporter.com/billboard/ci_6260970.

Andrews has been working with Brad Bird since "Iron Giant." He co-directed "One Man Band" with Andy Jiminez and served as head of story on "The Incredibles."

re: Why For did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't originally supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 14:23:39 GMT

This is not the first or will be the last time that Disney marketing has played diferent angles in promoting a movie. That does not mean that they are having problem marketing it.

The pictures above of those foreign ads have also been used and released here int he states depending on what part of the nation the movie is being directed to.

This seems to be another article intended to provoke viewership and increase in hits on the site. controversy is what Jim like to do when it comes to Pixar and the deal with Disney

re: Why For did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't originally supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 14:53:22 GMT

Well, let's start with what the movie is. Since it's a Pixar film, it's about the wacky and irreverant secret life of __________. That's what people love about Pixar films, and that's what they're paying to see.

So, in advertizing for the rat movie, tell people that's what they're paying for. "Remember when you found out what TOYS do when you're not in the room? What MONSTERS do behind closed doors? What INCREDIBLE heroes are like behind the mask? Etc. and So On. Now journey into the secret world of... RATS!" Then queue all the various scenes of romance, slapstic, and shmaltz, adjusting liberally for the tastes of different countries.

Why worry about advertizing it as anything other than what it is and what people pay to see out of a Pixar movie?

re: Why For did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't originally supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 15:28:01 GMT

>"And then there's "Up," Pixar's 2009 release. Pete Docter's next project for the Emeryville-based animation studio which will star a 70-year-old man & an adolescent wilderness ranger who join forces to do battle with various beasts & villains. Which -- given its unique subject matter -- will obviously also be a bit of PR challenge for Mickey."

Gosh, "unique subject matter" is a large part of what makes Pixar films so good and sets them apart from most of the derivative drivel produced by Hollywood . Why shouldn't the PR dept. at Disney have a little challenge in thinking up clever marketing campaigns for unique subject matter ? The visionary filmakers at Pixar certainly face challenges in trying to come up with unique subject matter so people will continue to think of Pixar movies as special (the way they used to think about Disney animated films in the 90's as special event films) so that the audiences will want to come out to the movies instead of just wait to rent it from Netflix.

re: Why For did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't originally supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 16:23:03 GMT

I said in the last thread on the subject...and here it goes again. Domestic BO is not the end all....ask your disgruntled Disney execs. Using Pirates 3 as an example....the budget was $300 mil....thats a lot of money kids...money Disney had NO WAY of getting back on domestic BO alone. (again films need to make 2-3 times their costs to be profitable).

One could say that Pirates 3 has under performed here at home...it's a "disappointment" because frankly everyone and their brother thought Pirates 3 would rule the summer or at least give Spidey 3 a close race.....aint happening. Are the people in Burbank worried....will Pirates 4 not be made, written or thought about? Did Disney pay too much for these movies? No no no no no and oh yes.....no....

Would the Disney suits be happier if Pirates 3 was in the $360 mil range? Sure... but the movie has made nearly $900 mil worldwide, DVD sales will be huge etc etc etc....believe me there are excel spreadsheets showing Pirates projected earnings well into next year.........

Rat will be the same thing....same thing!!!....its the big picture Jim...one which you seem to not want to look at....whats the deal....did you not get a tour of the Emeryville based animation studio? or are you just pissed at Pixar's success? your axe grinds louder and louder..

Tortuga Traders

Imports from the caribbean and beyond...

http://www.cafepress.com/tortuga_traders

re: Why For did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't originally supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 16:25:18 GMT

It's not just the marketing dept that's trying to tank this film - merchandising ain't tryin very hard either. During my weekly trip to WalMart, I didn't see one Ratatouille item - not a plush, a cooking set, or even a picture book ! Disney Merchandising can force WalMart to carry Princess and Fairies junk as part of a package deal, but nothing for the new movie? C'mon.

Several people on this site and others have come up with marketing ideas - it's not that difficult. I'm still waiting for the hour-long Remy special on ABC. Walt knew how to get infomercials on ABC, but now that Disney Co owns the network - it's impossible.

If the "analysts" will be revisiting how much Disney Co paid for Pixar, I guess they'll also be revisiting how much they paid Eisner, Ovitz, Katzenberg, Pressler, Fox Family, Go Networks, the Secret Labs, and the maintenance department at Disneyland. Any professional financial analyst who would suggest in 2007 that Disney Co overpaid for Pixar would get laughed out onto the street.

So who is it again that wants Pixar to fail? Executives with decades of experience reading spreadsheets, and a marketing staff that doesn't know how to market Hollywood movies. I don't care one wit about High School Musical, but I didn't ever think, "I hope HSM 2 fails so it takes Kenny Ortega down a notch." If Lasetter can get past the jealousy inside Disney Co, in Hollywood, and even online, this might be a pretty special ten years or so for Disney Co.

re: Why For did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't originally supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 17:19:27 GMT

I've got to admit, if Pixar's name wasn't attached to this movie, I'd pass on it in a heatbeat. I don't really enjoy movies with rats, friendly or not (I think it's some NIMH residue left from my childhood) and try not to invest any time in them. So, thank goodness that the names "Brad Bird," and "Pixar" are attached to this. Brand loyality.

As far as marketing goes, I don't agree that Disney's PR deparment knows what it's doing. It seems that they grab onto one thing, and market the heck out of it (the Dino in "Robinson," the Narnia-type SFX in "Bridge," the NASCAR angle in "Cars.") They just don't seem to get their audiences. Which is too bad. Sometimes I wonder how many people get turned off because of the so-so advertisements that come from the Mouse House. I am hoping that what ever the problems that are currently stopping the P.R. department from being creative in their approach to creative storytelling, is fixed by the time "Wall-E" comes out. That movie looks great and I want other people to feel the same way about it.

re: Why For did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't originally supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 18:33:53 GMT

Maybe they should ask [largest shareholder] Steve [Jobs, of course] a few thing or two about marketing products. If anybody knows how to create a hype, it's mad dog Steve.

re: Why For did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't originally supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 23:35:16 GMT

Okay, you guys win! Jim Hill is a baaaad man...and we all should stay away from this repulsive site!...or maybe just take the tone down about, oh, I don't know...a thousand notches! Wow, who knew a website dedicated to familiy films and cute little theme parks, could elicit this kind of venum...I knew Jan Lasseter...John Lasseter was a friend of mine...and believe me, you guys are no John Lasseters. Really embarrassing.

re: Why For did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't originally supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 00:36:49 GMT

"First of all, to the dimwitted, some posters are strong in tone because they care for the company. They wouldn't be wasting thier time posting here if they didn't."

Uh, it's a company that makes "cartoons"...who's the dimwitted one. And on that note, I'm sad to say, I can't post here anymore, due to the fact that...it's no fun! Too bad you guys can't enjoy the opening of a really great Pixar film, without working yourselves into a lather.

re: Why For did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't originally supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 00:49:12 GMT

Just got back from Ratatouille, excellent film BTW, but the toddlers were pretty noisy as it's definitely slanted to the adult market. The 5:30pm show was packed, for what that's worth.

But speaking of marketing, one of the trailers was for WALL-E. The one where the director talks about the 1994 lunch where the Pixar Big Dogs came up with the ideas for Monsters, Bug's Life, Finding Nemo and WALL-e. So I'm thinking, of the ideas presented that day, WALL-E must have been the weakest to be produced over a decade later, and haven't the big idea story guys had another creative lunch since 1994? Hopefully, Brad Bird won't be called in again to save another clunker.

re: Why For did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't originally supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 03:03:20 GMT

"Several people on this site and others have come up with marketing ideas - it's not that difficult. I'm still waiting for the hour-long Remy special on ABC. Walt knew how to get infomercials on ABC, but now that Disney Co owns the network - it's impossible. "

Good point... It amazes me when I watch bonus features on the ALICE IN WONDERLAND DVD or the various Walt Disney Treasures disks that ABC isn't being used to pimp the films and the parks. They had a television special with a parade and shows to mark the opening of a whole 3 rides in 1959, yet not a single special in all of Disneyland's 50th anniversary? Not a live telecast of the May 5th or July 17th festivities? No red carpet specials on PIRATES 3 or this rat movie?

Goodness, what on earth did they buy ABC for?

re: Why For did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't originally supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 08:58:22 GMT

Saw the movie last night. It's excellent. Word of mouth will make up for any marketing misses.

re: Why For did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't originally supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 08:59:27 GMT

Guys --

My apologies. But due to the fact that we had several posters in here last night using adult language (And let's remember that -- because we're talking about an animated feature here -- we have a fairly large number of kids looking in on this discussion), I had to do some pruning. Removing a few posts as well as banning a few individuals in response to complaints that I was getting from parents.

With the hope that -- in the future -- this will help make TalkBacks like this one, where people have some very strong opinions about the subject matter being covered in this story, less of a problem ... I have decided to give JHM's TalkBack section its own separate page. So that we won't then have the problem of younger readers starting off by reading a story that's been posted on the site (Which is actually written with an eye toward the fact that JHM has a somewhat family-friendly audience) and then automatically dropping down into the site's discussion section. Which (Let's face it. Particularly this week) can get fairly heated.

Let me blunt here, folks. As you can see by the number of TalkBacks that were left intact on this page, I don't honestly have a problem with criticism. I genuinely believe that a writer is only as strong as his critics.

But -- that said -- there was ways to disagree with one another's opinions & conclusions without being completely disagreeable. And when people go from 0-60 with their rhetoric, piling on the personal attacks all because I dare to say aloud what everyone else in the industry has been whispering for weeks (i.e. That "Ratatouille" is projected not to make as much as "Cars" did over its opening weekend) ... Well, that's a situation that's going to cause some posts to get deleted and/or some posters to get banned.

Speaking of which ... Friday's box office numbers are now in. And while "Ratatouille" was No. 1 at the box office yesterday, it still only pulled in $16 - $17 million. Which now means that this Brad Bird film won't be able to duplicate "Cars" $60 million opening weekend total. And will most likely wind up with the $48 - $50 million cume that Disney officials put out there yesterday afternoon.

That translates to roughly a 15% to 20% drop-off from what "Cars" earned over its opening weekend to what "Ratatouille" earned over its opening weekend. Which (like it or not) is going to get Wall Street talking on Monday.

Which is news that I know is going to make some JHM readers absolutely crazy. Which is why I'm now going to get out of here before the chairs start flying again.

So -- just to review here -- if we can please keep the adult language down to a minimum (So that I don't have to keep dealing with complaints from parents) as well as modulate the personal attacks (I actually had to delete one poster's 1500 screed in here last night because he repeatedly called me " ... a filthy wh*re." And I'm honestly not " ... a filthy wh*re," folks. Just ask Nancy. She'll state -- for the record -- that I actually shower at least once a day. Sometimes twice if we've been out exercising).

Anyway, now that everyone knows the new ground rules and I've explained why JHM's TalkBacks are now on a page that's separate from the articles that they're commenting on, I'm going to back out slowly and hope that no one comes behind me and then beans me with a 2 by 4.

Have fun, guys. But play nice, okay?

re: Why For did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't originally supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 10:18:00 GMT

I had only seen trailers for this movie a few times and then Emeril had a "Ratatouille" cooking show which I watched on the food network. It wasn't really in my head to go see it and I left it up to my 7 year old son on Friday as to what movie we would go and see. He chose the Rat.

What struck me is that the 7 o'clock showing at 6:55 still wasn't sold out which I was expecting it to be especially since the theater we were at in Las Vegas only had "Rat" playing in ONE theater and only 5 showings that day.

I thought something isn't right here and I wondered why I hadn't noticed any marketing months prior to the release. I am usually a bit more aware of these things with a 7 year old.

I was even more curious about all of this when the "Rat" proved to be hands down the best movie experience I have had for the last few years! It is seriously now Disney's diamond in the rough.

I believe in Disney's ability to market and I find it hard to believe that we have to blame the poor marketing and planning on Pixar or Disney Execs. Seems the marketing department needs an overhaul with this one. These are true professionals. Just like Pixar pulled in a great to help save the "Rat" in the middle of production. The marketing department had more than enough time and creative energy to pull it together and make this one shine to. Someone dropped the ball and poor box office numbers can only be attributed to people not being excited and educated about this film. The job of exciting and educating and pulling in the numbers for a film the very first opening weekend is the marketing department. If "Rat" suffers its no one elses fault than that of the Disney Marketing Department.

The purchase of Pixar is worth it, but Disney has failed in recent years to excite the public with what it has to offer. Remember when only ONE disney movie a year was released? That was quality. As soon as quantity became their goal it became to hard and to expensive to keep up with everything that was coming out.

The competition is hard, and events like this are what make or break us. Shame on the Marketing Department for failing to deliver the excitement and education.

I think there is an oddly familiar sense here with the premise of Gasteau's Sou Chef that is taking over his restaurant and the jealousy that over takes him at Linguini's (Remy's) talent for cooking and subsequent praise from the critics. Yes, it isn't Pixar that looks the fool here to me.. it is Disney and that blasted untalented Marketing Department.

re: Why For did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't originally supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 11:44:49 GMT

Also saw the film last night. I thought the story was excellent, and I was really blown away by the animation. The CGI was so photorealistic during the chase scene along the Parisian canals, I thought that perhaps the Disney "Dinosaur" technique of using actual filmed backgrounds may had been employed. And I still don't know for sure; which, if it's indeed all CGI, is the ultimate compliment I would guess!

re: Why For did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't originally supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 12:51:26 GMT

>>I was worried about WALL-E until I heard the music from BRAZIL in the trailer. It takes cojones of steel to compare yourself to that film, so...sign me up!<<

You're the second person I've heard say this. Are people really not familiar with the song "Brazil" outside of the context of the Gilliam movie? Gilliam used that piece of music for a reason. It's pretty famous. It was used in "The Three Caballeros" decades before Gilliam used it in "Brazil", and many other movies besides...

re: Why For did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't originally supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 13:33:35 GMT

I do think the marketing for Ratatouille has been mediocre. Pixar provides an excellent film that sets the bar higher for animated filmaking , but the Disney marketing machine did not respond by trying harder this time around , IMO.

For what it's worth , here's my report from the grassroots: the AMC theater I saw it at last night had Ratatouille on two screens, with at least 5 of the shows sold out from what I saw on the sign board at the box-office. The 7:45 p.m. show I attended was sold out . Mixed audience of young adults, kids with parents , older adults . Great audience response throughout with sustained applause at the end. Sorry to hear it's not expected to do HUGE box-office over the opening weekend , but hopefully word-of-mouth builds and fills in the gaps left by the middle-of-the-road Disney marketing campaign. As others have pointed out Domestic B.O. isn't the whole story . This film is going to continue to generate income for the company over the years and will be remembered and viewed over and over again when other films released this year have been forgotten. (sort of like Pinocchio, Bambi, Fantasia and other "underperforming" animated films from Walt's era. )

re: Why For did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't originally supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 14:55:15 GMT

By the way, my last comment was not intended to convey that I believe Ratatouille is actually underperforming or going to lose money like Fantasia ,Bambi, Pinocchio, or Sleeping Beauty did during their initial theatrical runs. Just like Cars I expect that Ratatouille will do very well on it's initial theatrical run and the DVD sales will be good , too.

Just trying to keep some perspective on all the dour predictions of Ratatouille "underperforming" at the box-office. Some of Walt's classics didn't just "underperform" , but were outright flops (in the short term) but have gone on to be perennial money-makers for the Disney Co.

re: Why For did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't originally supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 17:27:44 GMT

Are people really not familiar with the song "Brazil" outside of the context of the Gilliam movie?

From what I've heard is that what gets people most excited that 'Brazil' is used, is that it is the version from Terry Gilliams film. So the exact one from that particular soundtrack, not a sound-a-like or a new version. Which SEEMS to send some sort of message.

re: Why For did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't originally supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 19:32:40 GMT

I hope that Wall Street does a little complaining. Then I hope that Steve Jobs snaps back at them. He is the single largest shareholder of Disney. Jobs also understands that long term value is much more important than short term results.

Buckling under to the Wall Street types is what brought on much of the mediocrity of the company and the significant lack of investment (or for that matter maintenance) of the parks.

i will be very interested to see how this film compares to Cars internationally. Cars was a weak international film with a smaller box office than its domestic BO. I think this story will perform much stronger internationally.

This movie will provide returns for many many years even if the opening weekend box office is weak.

re: Why For did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't originally supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 22:57:04 GMT

Yup, 16 million. Cars pulled in nearly 20. Shrek 3 pulled in 38.4 million its opening Friday, plus about a million the night before.

So this film took #1 on a week box office weekend. The entire top 10 combined took in less than Shrek 3 that first Friday. As Jim said, this should bring in an opening weekend of about 50 million.

Yes, Wall Street will not like this. People will not like Disney not getting the proper return out of its purchase for Pixar. But, by now, it will be softened as people realize that Pixar is helping turn Disney around internally, that the value isn't simply in Pixar's films.

On the other hand, had Disney walked away from that deal, people would likely be applauding that move at the moment...

re: Why For did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't originally supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 01:53:39 GMT

Saw it today. Theatre in a Jersey City mall was only half-full; I'd seen no commercials for it and, as big a Pixar fan as I am, I wasn't even sure it was coming out today. For some reason I thought it was coming out NEXT weekend and was pleasantly surprised to find a showing today. So take what you will from that. Something does seem amiss.

(Audience loved it, by the way. Lot of cheering at the "triumphant" moments and spontaneous applause throughout.)

re: Why For did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't originally supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 02:54:57 GMT

I seems we go back and forth on this subject. Too much marketing and it's overkill. Too little marketing and something must be wrong. Ratatouille is a fine film, beautifully made and high point of animation both digital and traditional. That's all that matters. I can see this film making less money than some of the previous Pixar titles but I don't see it as a problem. It's a bit less kid-friendly and there isn't a kid ( Nemo, Monsters) or toys (Toy Story and Cars) in it. But as a company that makes films, not just kid films, it is a shining example of animation at its finest. Let's focus on the quality of the film not the quantity of it's ticket sales. It will all work out in the end.

re: Why For did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't originally supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 03:41:55 GMT

sigh.....yes Hollywood turns an eye to opening weekends..this is true. But as the saying goes it's "not over 'til its over". Rat may indeed come in behind Cars for opening BO, but it could have strong legs....like Popeye legs...

I keep using Pirates as an example....and here is another. Curse of the Black Pearl made $46 million on its opening weekend-Fri-Sun;...techically it opened on a Wed. That movie went on to gross $300 domestic, $640 worldwide....

To look at the opening numbers of Rat and say "yep Pixar has lost the magic...Disney paid too much" is grossly shortsighted. It may very well open lower than Cars but outperform it in the long run.....again BIG picture here....

Tortuga Traders

Imports from the caribbean and beyond...

http://www.cafepress.com/tortuga_traders

re: Why For did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't originally supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 04:36:49 GMT

Hey "somepirateguy", some really good points...you know it's interesting how the last couple of Pixar films have skewed towards an older audiance...when they first did Toy Story, A Bug's Lfe, etc... they all had young children and called upon that creatively...often using their relationships with their kids for insriration (as Andrew Stanton did with Nemo)... But, it's only natural for the "Pixar brain trust" to want to create projects that reflect where they are in their lives today...thus, the audiances for these films are simply going to reflect these changes...even though the quality of their films hasn't changed, their audiance has. So, unless they want to include the "under seven" (or so) demographic in their films, you're not gonna see the kind of box office numbers, you saw in the earlier years...at least not on a regular basis. Cheers:)

re: Why For did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't originally supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 10:24:02 GMT

Hmm,more like 'Why did Jim Hill struggle to come up with these pointless articels?'..

re: Why For did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't originally supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 15:51:48 GMT

$ 47,223 Million. Below par, but we'll see how well it will perform throughout the week and in its second weekend.

re: Why For did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't originally supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 16:35:05 GMT

Hmm, my comment didn't stick.

Anyway, I think Pixar is doing fine with the families and the children. They aren't terribly discriminating.

The problem comes with the 15-35 year olds. They adore Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. They flock to Shrek with its edgier humor. I use "edgier" loosely, and "humor" I suppose. Justin Timberlake references will not be timeless. But they pack the theaters right now.

Pixar movies are innocent and usually have a message. The most important demographic for theater-packing wants neither of those qualities. So they pass on Pixar and look for fart jokes, men in thongs (actually the best gag in Shrek 2) and Larry King in drag (the second best gag in Shrek 2.)

re: Why For did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't originally supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 17:22:15 GMT

Food for thought. We are the country that renamed French Fries and French Toast (both of which have nothing to do with France) Freedom Fries for a short period of time. How well did a "French" movie play in the south? Just "Food" for thought.... lol

Seriously, I bet the international numbers will be really, really high.

re: Why For did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't originally supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 17:30:39 GMT

Jim's arguement that Disney wasn't there at the beginning so they don't know how to market it. Hmm... Okay.

Wall-E wasn't supposed to be released by Disney either. Ratatouille was in production in 2002. Wall-E has been in production since 1994... according to the trailer. Rampped up probably in 2002/2003. Well before Pixar's future was certain. Did you know that a Wall-E website goes live on July 13th?

www.buynlarge.com which also features Mark Andrews as a BuyNLarge spokesman. Disney probably doesn't know how to market that either. Considering it wasn't supposed to be released by Disney anyway.

re: Why For did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't originally supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 17:48:21 GMT

Disney is going to have a heard time marketing UP? A movie about a 70+ year old guy and an adolescent Ranger who travel the world fighting monsters? Wow. Disney marketing should really give "up" the marketing business.

Haven't I heard that premise before? That kinda sounds like...

Any movie that involves an old Mentor and a young hero!

That's going to be real tough.

re: Why For did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't originally supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 18:02:38 GMT

Disney should never have bought PIXAR. In the long run the suits at Disney will destroy the quality of the product as they did with Miramax. Miramax garnered more academy award nominations and press for Disney than any other product. Now Disney live action and independent films have been reduced towards the same mediocre mainstream as the rest of the Disney product line.

I can not believe that Disney was unable to understand the niche for this film. Just because you can't sell a plush toy or Happy Meal, does not mean you lower expectations of a film's performance. This film will have longterm payback, as all of the PIZAR products have provided, this does include plush toys(remember how Disney's crack marketing group had nothing at all available for the first Pirates!) as well as restaraunts at Disney properties. Unlike the majority of the recent Disney animated forgetables, this will have a long shelf life.

Why does Jim buy into the corprate backstabbing of Disney? It certainly points to a lack of balanced industry contacts and digressionary reporting.

I hope Steve Jobs will be able to save the film and parks from their inevitable decline under Disney's MBA hamhanded mismanagement.

re: Why For did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't originally supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 18:02:44 GMT

The Hollywood Reporter reports:

"Chuck Viane, Disney's head of distribution, said "Ratatouille" was up against more competition than past Pixar flicks. With sparkling reviews for "Ratatouille," Disney is counting on the staying power at theaters that other Pixar films have had.

"Our whole idea was to set ourselves up for what we call the 10-day opening," Viane said of the upcoming Fourth of July week. "We look at this as one extended playtime. We're in this for the long haul. We're glad we're No. 1, but we're not trying to make this just a weekend wonder." "

Seems to me Disney executives aren't really eyeing the success only on opening weekend, and have the exact same observations we have (legs and all). A thing many people here have said they don't. They luckily do!

re: Why For did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't originally supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 04:48:47 GMT

Well.... if Disney is too worried about what Wall Street has to say .... then they better find some other division to churn out easy flicks that make the most money ... while Pixar continues to put out real art.

Face it .... Ratatouille is not a big movie..... its a brilliant movie. It won't make anough money to be called a "success" by their greedy standards... but it's one of the few Disney movies of rescent times that will still be on the video shelf 90 years from now. That's what I call success.

Lecciones de RataTouille

Jim Hill — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 15:04:26 GMT

Rats era lo que los ingenieros llamamos un proyecto incendiado. Se trataba de una película importante para Pixar, pues era el primer proyecto de la era post Disney, y debía tener por lo tanto todos los elementos de un éxito. Y...

re: Why For did Disney struggle to come up with a marketing campaign for Pixar's latest picture ? Because the Mouse wasn't originally supposed to release "Ratatouille"

Jim Hill — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 16:59:44 GMT

"From what I've heard is that what gets people most excited that 'Brazil' is used, is that it is the version from Terry Gilliams film."

Exactly--the typewriter-influenced sound that came from Terry Gilliam's film is impossible to miss in this version.

Disney's marketing department is clearly full of dolts, as evidenced by their enthusiasm for the approach of TOY STORY 3, as "a movie we know how to market." Uh, all you have to do is hang up a hand-lettered sign saying "TOY STORY 3" and people will still line up to buy tickets because the movie needs no marketing. It will sell itself based on how good the past outings were.