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

17 years ago

Over the past six months, JHM has featured a number of stories that talked about the Walt Disney Company’s concerns about “Ratatouille.” How the marketing department at the studio has been struggling to find just the right way to promote this new Brad Bird film. (Don’t believe me? Then check out these three wildly different takes on how to sell this animated feature. The stateside version of the “Ratatouille” poster tries to sell this CG movie as a slapstick adventure …

… While one overseas poster for this Pixar picture plays up Remy & Luigini’s unlikely friendship …

… while still another international poster highlights the inherent romance of this movie’s Parisian setting).

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.

Still, looking back on Mickey’s behavior, you have to ask yourself : If Disney executives had such little confidence in “Ratatouille” ‘s audience appeal, why did they then allow production of this movie to go forward? I mean, what’s the point of greenlighting a motion picture that your marketing department doesn’t know how to sell?

Well … That’s actually Disney’s real problem with “Ratatouille.” Company executives didn’t greenlight this particular Pixar production. You see, “Ratatouille” was never intended to be released by Walt Disney Studios.

Strange but true, folks. Remember back in January of 2004 when Steve Jobs officially broke off talks with Mouse House officials about possibly extending Pixar’s co-production deal with Disney Studios? Which meant that — once “Cars” was delivered to Disney for what was then-supposed-to-be a November 2005 release date — Pixar would then be a free agent. Free to cut a new distribution / production deal with any other company that they desired.

Of course, in order to do that, this Emeryville-based animation studio actually had to have a new film to show these studios. So that they could prove to these very powerful people that Pixar was still capable of producing hit motion pictures without Mickey’s input. More importantly, without the Mouse’s marketing might to help sell their movies to audiences worldwide.

So — with this goal in mind (I.E. To come up with the best possible carrot-on-a-stick to dangle in front of all of the studios that were now vying to be Pixar’s new distribution / production partner) — that animation studio’s management went through all of the projects that were already in their development pipeline … and eventually settled on Jan Pinkava‘s “Rats!”

Mind you, there was method to Pixar’s madness. Given that this proposed animated feature was set in Paris, “Rats!” was thought to have international appeal. Which (oddly enough) would be a key factor in the animation studio’s upcoming negotiations. Given that Steve Jobs was looking to cut a deal with a corporation that — just like Disney — already had a strong global distribution system in place to help sell their films.

Then — of course — there was the twitting-Disney factor. After nearly a decade-and-a-half of making movies for the Mouse, what better way was there for Pixar to signal to the world that “That phase in our history is over” than by making a film that starred a rat?

Anyway … On paper, this seemed like a great idea. And based on the colorful settings & cute characters that Pixar’s creative team had developed, “Rats!” did look like it had all the necessary ingredients to become the studio’s first post-Disney success … Except that Jan Pinkava could never quite seem to get the story of his film to jell.

By the late fall of 2004, the “Rats!” production team had put together a story reel to show Pixar management. And while individual elements of the film that Jan Pinkava planned on making were admittedly charming & quite entertaining, its narrative as a whole fell flat. You never really got caught up in Remy’s quest to become one of the greatest chefs in France.

Recognizing that “Rats!” (at least in its current form) was not going to be the great carrot-on-a-stick that he had been hoping for, Steve Jobs bought himself a little time by pushing back “Cars” release date from November of 2005 to May of 2006. Jan & his “Rats!” story team were then sent back to their drawing boards with some very specific orders : Make the story stronger and make us really care about the characters’ struggles.

In the late spring of 2005, Pinkava delivered his second set of story reels. Which — while they had these beautifully designed characters & settings with lots of atmosphere — Jan’s movie still lacked narrative oomph. And given that “Rats!” was supposed to be the film that proved to the world that Pixar could succeed without Disney (More importantly, given that this was the project that was supposed to incite other studios to come sign a deal with this Emeryville-based operation) … Something had to be done to fix this picture’s problems. And fast.

(L to R) Brad Bird, Patton Oswalt and Brad Lewis at a “Ratatouille” recording session.
Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. and Pixar Animation Studios. All Rights Reserved

Enter Brad Bird. Who — at that time — had just finished a promotional tour for the DVD version of “The Incredibles” and was getting ready to go on a well-deserved vacation. As Bird recounted to Bob Miller in an interview for the July issue of “Starlog” magazine:

” … Two weeks before I was set to leave, they asked me to help the ‘Ratatouille’ people fix up the storyline. So I did that for two weeks, and I got them through the structure and about halfway through Act Three. Then I waved goodbye and said, ‘So long, and good luck,’ and went on my vacation. I was away for two days when I got phone calls from Steve Jobs, John Lasseter and Ed Catmull, basically asking me if I would come back and take over the project.”

And why was it so urgent that Brad come back and ride herd on “Rats!” ? Now turning to an interview that Bird just did with Steve Daly for “Entertainment Weekly” :

“[Jobs, Lasseter & Catmull] were in a tough spot at a very vulnerable time. They were potentially going to be on their own [if they broke away from Disney]. It was the first film — the only film — that was greenlit by Pixar alone, without anyone else having anything to do with it. It was an important film to get right.”

(L to R) Brad Bird directs Peter O’Toole at “Ratatouille” recording session.
Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. and Pixar Animation Studios
All Rights Reserved

So given the precarious situation that Pixar now found itself in (I.E. That “Rats!” had to work as a motion picture. Otherwise, Pixar’s reputation as a hit-making machine might then get dinged. Which then would make it difficult for the Emeryville-based animation studio to get the best possible terms on its new production / distribution deal), Bird agreed to step in and take control of Pinkava’s project.

And as if this situation wasn’t already stressful enough, in an interview that Brad did yesterday with Susan King of the Los Angeles Times, the director recounted how …

“I committed to keeping the animation start date, which is like the start date of principal photography, to hold to the original [opening] date.”

… so that Pixar management could then go forward with their original plan. Which was to have their animation studio emerge as Disney’s direct competition in the Summer of 2007. And then to have Pixar establish dominance over the rest of the CG field.

Of course, the irony of all this is — after all this behind-the-scenes drama about making sure that their studio’s first post-Disney picture will be as strong as possible — what does Pixar then do in January of 2006? It allows itself to be acquired by the Walt Disney Company for $7.4 billion.

And — of course — part of that agreement was that the Mouse would now have to distribute “Ratatouille,” a film that its studio execs had not greenlit, that Disney’s own creative team had had zero input on. Which perhaps explains why the Mouse’s marketing staff has had such a tough time trying to come up with the proper way to promote “Ratatouille.”

Now what’s important to understand here is that — ever since Oren Aviv (I.E. The former head of Buena Vista Pictures Marketing) became the new Creative Officer at Walt Disney Studios — Mickey doesn’t put movies into production that it doesn’t already know how to sell. That’s one of the main reason that Dick Cook (I.E. Chairman of Walt Disney Studios) significantly cut back on the number of films that the studio would produce each year. So that the Mouse could then concentrate all of its marketing might behind films that it already believes will be box office champions.

Which brings us back to “Ratatouille.” More importantly to the promotional campaign that Disney hopes will help would-be moviegoers overcome any problems they may have with seeing rats in a kitchen. Whether or not they were ultimately successful will be determined this coming Monday morning when all of the weekend box office tallies finally come in. But given that — earlier this week — studio officials were quietly spreading the word that an opening weekend gross of $55 million (down from the $60 million that was originally projected) now seems very likely … Well, that news doesn’t exactly scream huge box office success. At least to me.

FRIDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: Well, $55 million used to be what “Ratatouille” was initially projected to make over its opening weekend. Now newly revised tracking for this Brad Bird film has come out, which suggests that it is far more likely that Pixar’s latest will only sell $48 – $51 million worth of tickets during its first three days in domestic release. While Nikki Finke over at Deadline Hollywood Daily is saying that “Ratatouille” may earn even less than that, with an opening weekend take of only $40 – $45 million.

If that happens … Well, you can bet that Wall Street will weigh in come Monday morning. With all sorts of pundits pontificating about Disney’s Pixar problem, wondering aloud whether this CG studio is now losing its magic touch.

Mark my words, folks. If “Ratatouille” ‘s opening weekend numbers are really that low, you’re going to see lots of stories just like that next week. Not just here at JHM, but all over the place.

Now I know that I was among the first to point out the potential problems with Pixar’s latest production. But it’s not like I actually wished Brad Bird or John Lasseter any ill will. So please don’t shoot the messenger, okay?

Anyway … Let’s get back to the original version of today’s article now, okay? …

Mind you, the Mouse’s marketing department also seems to be having some trouble getting a handle on how to properly promote Pixar’s next release, “WALL * E.” Several industry insiders that I’ve spoken with about the teaser trailer for this new Andrew Stanton film have already suggested that it might be a mistake for Disney to try and sell this particular Pixar project as a worthy successor for “Toy Story,” “A Bug’s Life,” “Monsters, Inc.” and “Finding Nemo.” That this approach may raise would-be moviegoers’ expectations so artificially high that the finished film might then have trouble delivering on that promise.

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.

So is it any wonder that Disney’s marketing staff are so looking forward to 2010 when “Toy Story 3” will finally arrive in theaters? Now that movie, the Mouse knows how to sell.

Anyway … That’s why Disney’s PR department has been having such a tough time trying to get a handle on the proper way to promote “Ratatouille.” Given that the studio was never supposed to be releasing this Brad Bird film in the first place … Well, perhaps now you may have some sympathy for what the Mouse’s marketing staff has been going through. As they struggled to find just the right way to sell Pixar’s rat picture.

Your thoughts?