Disney's A Christmas Carol

     The timeless classic, A Christmas Carol, made its way into theaters in 2009. This film was the first of any Disney film to be featured in IMAX 3D. By including popular actors voicing the characters in the film, such as Jim Carrey, the fans of not only Disney, but of Jim Carrey as well made up the target audience. According to PRnewswire, "This arrangement makes some of the Studio's most highly anticipated theatrical releases from November 2009 and beyond available to IMAX venues across the country and around the world." However, the film did make $30 million less the opening weekend setting their expectations way back. 
     The classic story A Christmas Carol will forever be a tale that is passed down through many generations. The film, with a Disney twist is loved by many and will without a doubt be played year after year on Christmas Eve.

Citation:

Disney's New Five-Picture Deal With IMAX to Begin With 'A Christmas Carol' (n.d.). Retrieved February 27, 2015, from http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/disneys-new-five-picture-deal-with-imax-to-begin-with-a-christmas-carol-65472392.html

Monster's University makes a Scare in Theaters

     Our favorite monsters took the big screen once again in 2013 with the release of Monsters University. This movie was produced as the prequel to Monsters Inc., the original film. This film was geared toward everywhere from young children, to teens that grew up with the original film, and to parents. Four teaser trailers kicked off the marketing of this film in 2012 followed by a full trailer release in 2013. Disney marketed this film in such a way that allowed audiences to see their beloved characters in a whole new light; the college years. Disney also had a total monster takeover at their theme parks leading up to the release. This included character interaction, posters for the film, recreations of the university featured in the film, and large amounts of merchandise. Making $268.5 million in box offices, the film was not only popular in the U.S., but in Europe as well.
     According to Rotten Tomatoes, "Monsters University unlocks the door to how Mike and Sulley overcame their differences and became best friends." This film broke barriers in creating such a large target audience because of its funny story line which appeals to all ages. This piece will continue to be enjoyed for years to come as the story of how two different monsters became more similar then they would have ever guessed.

References:
(n.d.). Retrieved February 19, 2015, from http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/monsters_university/

Monsters University. (n.d.). Retrieved February 19, 2015, from http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Monsters_University

Monstrous Summer at Walt Disney World Resort. (n.d.). Retrieved February 19, 2015, from http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/let-the-memories-begin/monstrous-summer-walt-disney-world/

Be Careful What You Wish For With Disney's Into The Woods

    Disney entered into a new type of movie with the adaptation of Sodheim's musical Into the Woods. This fairytale which is a combination of many beloved stories, called for a different marketing and distribution approach. This included early announcements of the adaptation to audiences that reached to theater fans as well as Disney fans. Disney also released trailers early on in the films' journey to the big screen. The big name actors and actresses including Meryl Streep, hyped up the films expectations that much more. Additionally, by choosing Christmas as its release day, it had many families marking their calenders in advance. According to The Hollywood Reporter, "This twisty fairy-tale mash-up shows an appreciation for the virtues of old-fashioned storytelling, along with a welcome dash of subversive wit."
    Disney not only captured the beloved fairy-tale musical, but also made a film that will go into the Disney legacy as a high quality artistic piece. With a distribution and marketing plan that circled the globe, this film will be popular for many years to come. With Disney's first musical film adaptation, I do not doubt there will be many more to come.

References:
'Into the Woods': Film Review. (n.d.). Retrieved February 12, 2015, from http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movie/woods/review/758611

Bon Appetit! Disney's Ratatouille

     Step aside Mickey Mouse there's a new mouse, or rat, to be more specific in the kitchen. Disney's Ratatouille cooked up a new approach to market this new film. Disney reached out to bloggers to spread the word about this new film. According to Cinema Tech "It succeeded, but only because I think this kind of outreach is important for all filmmakers/studios to understand -- and I don't think you need to hire a marketing agency to make it happen." Additionally, Disney released many trailers prior to the movies release as well as featured the characters at Disney parks. Originally, Disney was not suppose to be creating this film so when they got on board with Pixar they knew they needed to reach out to bloggers to make the film popular.  
     This project brought along many new struggles in order for Disney to make this movie a success. It took experimentation of old marketing ways and new ones within social media to create the perfect combination to sell this film. This film is an example about how the media is powerful enough to boost viewings of the movie as well as advertise the next Disney movies that will capture our hearts as the rat in the kitchen did in Ratatouille. 

References: 
CinemaTech[ Digital cinema, democratization, and other trends remaking the movies ]. (n.d.). Retrieved February 5, 2015, from http://cinematech.blogspot.com/2007/06/how-disneypixar-is-using-blogs-to.html

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" (n.d.). Retrieved February 5, 2015, from http://jimhillmedia.com/editor_in_chief1/b/jim_hill/archive/2007/06/28/toon-thursday-why-did-disney-struggle-to-come-up-with-a-ratatouille-marketing-campaign-because-the-mouse-wasn-t-supposed-to-release-this-particular-pixar-film.aspx#sthash.NrwjdYGG.dpbs

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)>.