What stands over 60 feet tall, weighs nearly 500 pounds and needs 50 people to keep it under control?
If you guessed “Michael Eisner’s ego” … Well, you’re close. After all, the object that I’m referrring to does have direct ties to the Walt Disney Company and does have an over-inflated sense of itself.
But — then again — what else would you expect from the “Chicken Little” balloon? Which is due to make its debut later this week as part of the 78th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Now you’d think that the animators who actually worked on this film would be thrilled that the Walt Disney Company was working so hard at getting the word out about this motion picture. But instead — the very idea that the Mouse’s marketing staff has already started its big push for “Chicken Little,” a full nine months before this CG feature actually arrives in theaters — is making many toonsmiths nervous.
What’s the problem? Here, let’s let one unnamed Disney animator explain:
It’s too much too soon. Those PR idiots are already overselling “Chicken Little.” First the balloon in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. Then the Disney Dollars thing in January. Trying to up audiences’ awareness of the film. All they’re going to wind up doing is over-hyping the picture. Making “Chicken Little” sound like it’s a major motion picture that there’s just no way that the finished product can actually meet that expectation.
“What’s that Disney Dollar thing that this animator is talking about?,” you ask. Well — starting in January — the Walt Disney Company will be pulling all of the $1 Disney Dollars that the corporation currently has in circulation and replacing them with a brand new buck. One that features Chicken Little’s face where Mickey Mouse’s usually goes.
Again, this — plus Chicken Little’s appearance in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade — is all part of a carefully mapped-out campaign. Disney’s marketing department’s effort to make sure — well before this all-new CG film finally shows up in theaters on July 1, 2005 — that movie-goers around the world actually know that “Chicken Little” is on its way.
“So why is Disney trying to get the word out so early about ‘Chicken Little’?,” you query. One word, folks: Pixar.
You see, “Chicken Little” is the Walt Disney Company’s first official foray into the computer animation field. (“But what about ‘Dinosaur?,” you sputter. Well, given how that much hyped motion picture only made $137 million during its initial domestic release [Which didn’t even come close to covering “Dinosaur” ‘s production & marketing costs], Disney executives now like to pretend that that May 2000 release never actually existed. That the Walt Disney Company didn’t really make an effort to get into the CG market ’til just now. It’s interesting to get a glimpse of how a Hollywood exec’s mind actually works, don’t you think? Anyway …) Which is why Mickey’s marketing staff expects that “Chicken Little” will — rightly or wrongly — wind up getting compared to the pictures that Pixar Animation Studios has been cranking out for the Mouse since 1995.
This is why Disney’s PR staff is already mounting such a massive campaign for “Chicken Little.” Knowing that Disney’s diminutive rooster will (perhaps unfairly) be compared to such memorable CG stars as Woody, Buzz, Flik, Jessie, Sully, Nemo and Mr. Incredible. Which is why you see the Mouse ‘s marketing staff already doing such over-the-top stuff as turning an exterior wall of the Brown Derby restaurant at Disney-MGM Studio theme park into one giant billboard for “Chicken Little.”
Photo by Jeff Lange
Again, you’d think that an effort like this would make Disney’s animators glad. But — based on the e-mails that I’ve been getting from these guys — the staff at WDFA are all stronger believers in Murphy’s law. As in: Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.
Want proof? Then let’s go back to that unnamed “Chicken Little” animator, shall we?
It’s ridiculous to try and compare “Chicken Little” to something like “The Incredibles” or “Finding Nemo.” Don’t get me wrong, Jim. Mark [Dindal, the director of “Chicken Little” and “The Emperor’s New Groove”] is a really nice guy and a very talented director. But this is Disney’s first time at bat doing a cartoony CG film. So we’re just not in a position to compete with Pixar right now. You throw one of our movies up against those guys, it’s no contest. We’re going to get our ass kicked.
Sure, a couple of years from now, it’ll be a different story. “A Day with Wilbur Robinson”? That’s going to be a classic right out of the box. But that movie’s at least three years away. For now, all we’ve got is “Chicken Little.” Which admittedly is a very entertaining little movie. With the emphasis on “Little.” Which is why I think that it’s a huge mistake for the company to mount such a massive marketing campaign for this movie.
To be honest, it would probably have been better in the long run if the studio had just taken a more modest approach to “Chicken Little” ‘s marketing. Put together a quieter, cleverer campaign for what is actually a fairly small film. Something more along the lines of 1986’s “The Great Mouse Detective” and 1988’s “Oliver & Company.” You know, back when the second coming of Disney Feature Animation was just getting underway.
That way, we’d have been able to actually deliver on audience’s expectations. Maybe even exceeded moviegoers’ expectations. Which is always a good thing to do.
But now, what with all the hype surrounding “Chicken Little,” I just don’t think that we’re not going to live up to the hype. And Lord knows, Disney Feature Animation can’t afford another disappointment right about now. We need “Chicken Little” to be both a critical and a financial success. Otherwise … Well, never mind what it would do to morale. We just can’t afford to let the execs make another staff cut. Or let them get away with what they really want to do here. Which is farm out all the actual animation out to some third party contractor and just have us do the initial story work back here in Burbank.
Sounds kind of depressed, doesn’t he? Well, you have to understand that “Chicken Little” has already had to suffer through four full years of executive meddling. Which saw this movie’s title character — thanks to indecision on Michael Eisner’s part — go from being a boy to a girl to back to being a boy again. And let’s not even talk about the first version of this motion picture — which had Estelle Harris doing the voice of Chicken Little’s mom and Penn Jillete doing the voice of the Wolf-in-sheep’s-clothing — which has CL uncovering a horrible plot at Camp Yes-We-Can.
Would you like to know what the final version of “Chicken Little” ‘s story turned out? Well, then I suggest you head on over to Skwigly Magazine (www.biganimation.com), where you’ll find a brand new story by yours truly that reveals many significant plot points from this Summer 2005 release.
Your thoughts?