Site icon Jim Hill Media

Disney Princess Palace Pets and Unbolt the Goat are among the domain names that Disney Company officials have recently registered

Jim Hill

It’s been quite a while since I last posted a piece about
the various domain names The Walt Disney Company has recently registered.  Which sometimes offers up a clue or two about
the Mouse has in the works for the weeks, months & years ahead.

Mind you, a lot of the news that I’ve uncovered this time
around won’t be all that startling. I mean, given that production just began
last week in Iceland on “The Fifth State,” (i.e. a movie about the
controversial website WikiLeaks, this DreamWorks Studios production will be
released to theaters on November 15th through Disney’s Touchstone label), does
it really surprise you to learn that — on January 27th — the Mouse’s legal
department snagged the following domain names?


Benedict Cumberbatch as
Julian Assange and Daniel Brühl as Daniel Domscheit-Berg
in “The Fifth
Estate.” Copyright DreamWorks / Disney. All rights reserved

Likewise given that DreamWorks Studios acquired the film
rights to Electronic Arts’ “Need for Speed” video games last June and
given that this Scott Waugh movie (which will supposedly pay tribute to “
… the great car-culture films of the ’70s) is slated to begin shooting late
next month in Atlanta … Well, it’s probably not going to shock you to learn
that Disney (which will — once again — be releasing this DreamWorks production
through its Touchstone label) snapped up all sorts of “Need for
Speed” film -related domain names back in September 28th …

… and September 29th of last year.


Copyright Electronic Arts
Inc. All rights reserved

… so that the Studio’s PR department will then have all
sorts of options available when it comes time to decide how exactly Disney is
going to promote “Need for Speed” online out ahead of its February 7,
2014 release date.

That was a fairly common occurrence this time around as I
went back through the past six months or so of domain names that The Walt
Disney Company had recently registered. Coming upon instance after instance
where the Studio’s PR department had grabbed up names that it might possibly
use as part of the online promotion of an upcoming motion picture. Take — for
example — what happens on December 14th …

 … and December 22nd
of last year …


Copyright 2012 Marvel &
Subs. All rights reserved

… when Company officials snagged the above domain names to
possible use out ahead of the May 3rd release of “Iron Man 3.”

Mind you, some of the upcoming online promotions that the
Mouse has in the works do sound genuinely intriguing. Take — for example …

… which Disney officials snagged back on December 22nd
supposedly to help support / promote the June 21st release of that
“Monsters, Inc.
” prequel, “Monsters
University.”

“So what does a goat have to do with this upcoming
Pixar Animation Studios production?,” you ask. Well, if you’ll check out
these promotional images from that Dan Scanlon film which were released to
various entertainment news sites during the month of December …


Copyright Pixar. All rights
reserved

… you’ll see that a small orange goat-like creature does
factor into “Monsters University”
‘s plotline. As I understand it, Mike and Sulley wind up joining Oozma Kappa, a
college fraternity over the course of this movie. And since rivalries between
different fraternities is kind of a college tradition  … The guys who are producing “Monsters
University” have evidently decided to have the frat brothers of Oozma
Kappa prank another fraternity on campus by having Mike & Sulley mastermind
the theft of that frat’s mascot. Which is this weird little orange goat-like
thing.

“So what does this ‘Unbolt the Goat’ domain name have
to do with ‘Monsters University’
?,” you query. Well, as I understand, Disney & Pixar are looking to
use various social media platforms (i.e. Facebook, Twitter and the like) as the
way to stage an online goat where “Monster
University” fans out in cyberspace
will perform some sort of virtual task that will then help Mike & Sulley
steal this rival fraternity’s mascot.


Copyright Pixar. All rights
reserved

Here. If you want to get a sense of what sort of online
interaction I’m talking about, check out this Twitter-based campaign that DDB
Spain put together for the Volkswagen Polo.

And speaking of interactive online stuff … I wish that I’d
actually been paying attention when Disney had the website associated with these
domain names …


Copyright Disney
Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

… up and running.

As I understand it, back in October of last year, the Mouse
was recruiting kids online to take part in the Beta test of Disney Qbotics.
Which was this ” … place where your child can design, build, and drive
unique vehicles, contraptions, and machines they’ve created with their
imaginations.”

Given that — during the big unveiling of “Disney
Infinity” earlier this month at Hollywood’s El Capitan Theatre — the
folks at Disney Interactive heavily hyped this video game’s Toy Box mode (which
will — in essence — allow users to build their own unique worlds and then
send Disney & Pixar characters off on adventures that are only limited by
that user’s imagination) — I have to admit that I was kind of intrigued by
this description of Disney Qbotics that I came across online. Which described
this proposed virtual community as being a place where …

… In Disney Qbotics, your child can use their skills in
collaboration, creativity, budgeting, and mechanics to create structures and
machines, to complete challenges, and compete against their fellow builder
friends, or build without limitations in Free Build Mode.


Copyright Disney
Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

Which makes me wonder if Disney Qbotics was in fact part of
the final phase in testing for Disney Infinity. Or whether Disney Interactive
had both of these projects with their Toy Box / Free Build Modes in development
at the exact same time and — in the end — opted to table Disney Qbotics in
favor of Disney Infinity?

More to the point, did any of you parents out there have
kids that were recruited to take part in the Disney Qbotics beta test last
Fall? And if so, what was your impression of this proposed online virtual
community?

And speaking of your children … I just want to give you
parents out there a heads up that Disney Consumer Products may soon be
launching a new product line that your children just will not be able to
resist. One that will possibly pair the Disney Princesses with cute little
puppies and kittens.


Copyright Disney
Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

Don’t believe me? Then check out this series of domain names
that The Walt Disney Company registered back on January 16th …

… and January 19th …

When Nancy and I are down in New York
City next month covering the 2012 edition of the
American International Toy Fair, I’d do some poking around and see if anyone’s
heard anything about Princess Pets or Palace Pets possibly being in the Disney
Consumer Products pipeline.

But what about you folks? Would you really be interested in
a new line of plush toys with direct ties to the Disney Princesses if it
featured cute little kittens and puppies? I mean, you have to admit that this
proposed product line would put a whole new spin on that classic “Snow
White” song, “Someday My Prince Will Come.”


Copyright Pixar. All
rights reserved

Here, Prince! Here, boy! Good dog!

Your thoughts?

Jim Hill

Jim Hill is an entertainment writer who has specialized in covering The Walt Disney Company for nearly 40 years now. Over that time, he has interviewed hundreds of animators, actors, and Imagineers -- many of whom have shared behind-the-scenes stories with Mr. Hill about how the Mouse House really works. In addition to the 4000+ articles Jim has written for the Web, he also co-hosts a trio of popular podcasts: “Disney Dish with Len Testa,” “Fine Tooning with Drew Taylor” and “Marvel US Disney with Aaron Adams.” Mr. Hill makes his home in Southern New Hampshire with his lovely wife Nancy and two obnoxious cats, Ginger & Betty.

Exit mobile version