Let’s say that you were a major Hollywood studio that was producing a motion picture that had recently gotten some bad buzz. Like – for example – Disney’s “Meet the Robinsons.”
How would you go about turning around that bad buzz? Convincing movie-goers that this project – while it may have experienced a few bumps during the production process – was still well worth seeing once it hit theaters?
Well, if you were the Mouse and you had a pre-existing business relationship with the Starz Entertainment Group (I.E. The largest provider of premium movie services in the United States), you could do a very ballsy thing. Which was to present an exclusive sneak peek of your upcoming motion picture on Starz Kids & Family.
So – starting later today (At 4:28 p.m., and then again at 7:39 p.m.) – that’s exactly what Walt Disney Pictures is going to do. Repeatedly air a preview of this Stephen Anderson film on Starz Kids & Family now through April 23rd. With the hope that this sneak peek will then get people talking about how good “Meet the Robinsons” looks. Rather than swapping stories about how this new animated feature is reportedly having some production problems.
Now what I found truly extraordinary about this move on Disney Feature Animation’s part is the amount of info that they’re now willing to put out there on the Web about “Meet the Robinsons.” Take – for example – this detailed description of the film’s plot:
“Based on William Joyce’s book “A Day with Wilbur Robinson,” this comedic-adventure follows Lewis, a brilliant twelve-year-old with a surprising number of clever inventions to his credit. His latest and most ambitious project is the Memory Scanner, which he hopes will retrieve early memories of his mother and maybe even reveal why she put him up for adoption. But before he can get his answer, his invention is stolen by the dastardly Bowler Hat Guy and his diabolical hat – and constant companion – Doris.
Copyright Disney Enterprises LLC
Lewis has all but given up hope in his future when a mysterious boy named Wilbur Robinson whisks our bewildered hero away in a time machine and travel forward in time to spend a day with Wilbur’s eccentric family. In a world filled with flying cars and floating cities, they hunt down Bowler Hat Guy, save the future and uncover the amazing secret of the Robinson family.
”
Now what’s really fascinating about all this is that – as JHM readers already know – WDFA’s new bosses, Ed Catmull & John Lasseter have reportedly had some concerns with this Stephen Anderson picture. They particularly had a problem with the film’s villain, the Bowler Hat Guy (FYI: This character’s lead animator is industry great Dale Baer) and had supposedly discussed dropping this character from the picture entirely.
Clearly (Based on Steve Hulett’s recent entry over on the Animation Guild Blog) some serious work is about to get underway on an overhaul of the second act of “Meet the Robinsons.” And yet even with all these story changes about to come down the pipe … Disney is still out there, thumping the tub for a film that won’t even show up at “a theater near you” for another year yet.
Like I said earlier: This is an incredibly ballsy thing to do. And – to be honest – I have to admit that I kind of admire Disney for trying to do this. To get on out there and try & change all of this bad buzz about “Meet the Robinsons” back into good buzz.
Copyright Disney Enterprises LLC
As for me … I know where I’ll be tonight at 4:28 p.m. That is – of course – if I convince my cable provider that Starz Kids & Family actually does exist.
To explain: Nancy has been on the phone with Direct TV since earlier this morning, trying to get us hooked up in time to see the “Meet the Robinsons” preview later this afternoon. And – to be honest – the people that she’s been talking with don’t seem to have a clue as to what Starz Kids & Family might be and/or what the deal is with this “Meet the Robinsons” sneak peek.
Still, given that this preview is scheduled to run through April 23rd, Nancy and I are going to keep plugging away. Hoping that we’ll eventually be able to catch this “Meet the Robinsons” sneak peek while it’s being aired.
Here’s hoping that some of you other folks have better luck than we are with tracking down Starz Kids & Family.
Oh … And just in case you need some additional incentive to try & track down this “Meet the Robinsons” sneak peek, here’s some more info about the movie:
Produced by Dorothy McKim, “Meet the Robinsons” features a voice cast that includes Angela Bassett, Kelly Ripa, Tom Selleck, Harland Williams, Adam West, Tom Kenny and Ethan Sandler. Danny Elfman does the score and singers Rob Thomas & Rufus Wainwright compose original songs for the soundtrack.
Sounds pretty cool, don’t you think? So if you actually do manage to see this “Meet the Robinsons” sneak preview on Starz Kids & Family over the next 10 days, be sure and drop by JHM’s new talkback section and share your thoughts on this upcoming Walt Disney Pictures release.