Disney's The Princess and the Frog

     The buzz for Disney's The Princess and the Frog all began when information on the first African American princess was released. This new princess was made the movie so popular.According to Brooks Barnes "Disney has been criticized for years for its lack of African-American royalty" which only shows how the edition of Princess Tiana into Disney Princess history, was well waited for. The marketing of this movie included Halloween costumes reflecting the characters in the movie, and online video games becoming available were only the beginning of the mass advertising of this film. Within the theme parks, Disney World put emphasis on New Orleans, the films setting, by having actors dress in the ways of the time and place of the movie. The movie was released all over the United States and included a limited day release grossing $263,980 and $786,190 its opening weekend.
     Princess Tiana took the world by storm being the first of many ambitious princesses marking a new era and meaning to what it takes to be a princess. The Broadway resembling soundtrack captivated the audience and made the popularity of the movie increase tremendously. Disney added its touch of magic to this film that will be continued to be cherished for years to come.

References:
Barnes, B. (2009, December 13). Disney’s ‘Princess’ Displays Limited Box Office Magic. Retrieved January 29, 2015, from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/14/movies/14box.html?_r=0

The Princess and the Frog. (n.d.). Retrieved January 29, 2015, from http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/The_Princess_and_the_Frog

Disney is Tangled in Success

    When released in November of 2010, Tangled instantly became a success making $200 million in North America alone. In collaboration with Pixar, Tangled is one of Disney's most popular and profitable films. Prior to the release, Disney promoted the film in an interactive way. At the Disney parks guests could meet characters from the movie and play games with them letting guests be a part of the magic. As well Disney released a short clip for the film months before it hit the theaters and continued to release more clips as the date got closer. The soundtrack was released on ITunes before the film came out which allowed the fans to be able to listen to the songs before they were seen on scene.
    "Thats the magic of the Disney business (bloomberg.com)." This quote is proof that Disney's magic is timeless and is spread throughout each Disney production. It is this magic that keeps the audience coming back for more and more.

References:
By Christopher Palmeri and Anousha Sakoui. (2014, March 14). Disney's 'Frozen' Passing $1 Billion Cements Rebound. Retrieved January 22, 2015, from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-13/disney-s-frozen-passing-1-billion-cements-rebound.html

Disney's Maleficent Casts a Spell on the Audience

     Disney took a huge risk when they created the live action form of Sleeping Beauty from the perspective of the villain. There was much talk by the production team on whether or not this would change the public's opinion on the timeless classic that is Sleeping Beauty. With a production at this challenging of a level, the Disney team had to market and distribute it in a special and unique way. Disney first revealed its plans for Maleficent in 2013 as a part of the motion picture panel of the Disney D23 Expo in the Anaheim Convention Center in California. At this event Disney released a minute sneak preview and Angelina Jolie herself (Maleficent) made a special appearance to help promote the movie. Disney also used social media to their advantage when marketing this film. They hit their target audience by finding out the most popular age range and gender of those on Instagram, Pintrest, Facebook, and Twitter. According to commercialAppeal.com, Maleficent is one of the most stylish Disney villianesses of all time, and has inspired on of the most extensive assemblages of fashion and beauty tie-ins in recent film history.

     Disney's ability to take this 1959 classic and turn it into a popular movie of 2014 is what makes Disney timeless. By connecting with their target audience, the films popularity increased largely making the film gross to about $106 million in just its opening weekend. Disney's endless skills in marketing and distribution of the film is what continuously expands the company while creating highly successful films. 

Refernces:

"Movie Capsules: What's Showing." MCA. Web. 15 Jan. 2015. <http://www.commercialappeal.com/go-memphis/movies/beifuss-on-movies/movie-capsules-whats-showing_65796337>.

"Maleficent (film)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 15 Jan. 2015. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maleficent_(film)>.

Disney's Finding Nemo

     When released in 2003, Disney's Finding Nemo was highly successful grossing $339.7 total in the box offices. The success of this film is owed to its salty sweet marketing and distribution strategy which time and time again has made Disney films top notch and popular. Disney used trailers prior to the film that gave out little information entailing the storyline. However, as the release date got closer pieces of the story were told to the public as Nemo and other friends in the movie made appearances at the Disney parks. This allowed guests to interact with upcoming film character thus building the anticipation for the film. This proved to be successful as according to Disney Wikia "The film's use of clownfish prompted masspurchaseof the animal as pets in the United States." The film's popularity still lives on as there are currently rides in the Disney Parks as well as an upcoming sequel to the movie to be released in 2016.
    Disney new and original ideas are what consistently keeps the target audience of not only children but adults too, interested and anxious to see what is next. It is films such as Finding Nemo that proves that Disney is timeless and can be enjoyed by everyone. With it's stellar marketing and distribution techniques, Disney will never go out of style.

References:
Finding Nemo. (n.d.). Retrieved January 9, 2015, from http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Finding_Nemo