Frozen

Frozen was released on November 27, 2013, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The film became known for its addition two new princesses, and its relatability. Also this was the first movie to ever have the message that a  woman doesn't need to be rescued by a man, and that the love for a sister or family member is the most powerful force of all. The movie's female lead actresses are Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell. Idina Menzel has a Broadway background that was perfect for the role of Elsa. On the other hand it was not known that Kristen Bell, who plays Anna, had an incredible voice and as  result people were surprised to find out that she was the voice behind Anna. The film is quite popular for the soundtrack, as its songs are quite catchy and the lyrics are well-known to a large audience. The film had some sneak peek previews that took place on June 18, 2013 and September 26, 2013, teasing the audience quite a bit. Not only were there sneak peeks to raise awareness for the film but there had been some meet-and-greets with Anna and Elsa at Disney parks. Another marketing tool was Demi Lovato doing a cover of "Let it Go" (the film's number one song) before the film was released, and it was played repeatedly on Disney channel. The film was then released in November earning a gross of $400,736,600 (imdb.com). To gain a larger viewing audience "like other Disney media products which are often localized through Disney Character's Voices International, Frozen was translated and dubbed into 41 languages" (Disney.wikia.com). With more languages the film became more available in variety of countries. Frozen was available through download through Google Play, iTunes, and Amazon, and it was able to be purchased by DVD (the film sold over 3.2 million on the first day of purchase). In addition to downloads and DVDs, a game was created entitled Frozen: Olaf's Quest in many different formats. The film expanded from the film industry onto Broadway (soon to come) as "Disney CEO Bob Iger stated that Disney Theatrical Productions is in early development of a Broadway stage musical adaptation of Frozen (Disney.wikia.com) as of January 2014. So stay tuned for more Frozen that will be coming soon!
Frozen is a film that I fell in love with. The casting was done in a very meticulous manner, gathering a team of very talented actors and actresses. The title of the film is neutral, hoping to retrieve an audience of both boys and girls (the film was originally entitled Ice Princess, which sounds more girly). The film was extremely advertised, and I honestly found about it through Demi Lovato's Instagram because she was posting photos letting her fans know to listen to her cover of "Let it Go". I also remember the first day that the DVDs were being sold, and how many of my friends went to Walmart to purchase it. I also purchased an Olaf toy for my sister from the Frozen collection.

References

Cdn. (n.d.). Frozen poster. Retrieved from http://cdn3-www.comingsoon.net/assets/uploads/2013/09/file_109012_1_frozen-poster-small.jpg

Disney Wikia. (n.d.). Frozen - DisneyWiki. Retrieved February 26, 2015, from http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Frozen

IMDb. (n.d.). Frozen (2013) - IMDb. Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2294629/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Brave

Brave was released on June 22, 2012, produced by Pixar Animation Studios, and distributed through Walt Disney Pictures. The original release date was June 15, 2012. Just as the release had been changed, the title of the movie was changed several times. The film can described as the following "The film departs from the traditional fairy tale storyline, neglecting the romance that has been associated with these stories." (disney.wikia.com). During the process of creating this film, staff members traveled to Scotland to gather research of their culture, Pixar animators created a variety of 350 brushes in Photoshop, and some of the animators actually participated in archery classes and learned about sword fighting. A sneak peek of the film was shown, letting viewers watch the first half an hour of the film, and there was positive feedback, giving confidence to producers that it will be a successful film. When the film was released in June 2012, it made a gross of $237,282,182 (imdb.com). The film expanded into the video game industry by creating an app, which is similar to Temple Run, entitled Temple Run: Brave. The film was then later available for purchase through DVD format, and downloading in November 13, 2012.
I enjoy watching this film, and I have purchased the DVD version of it. I really like how the staff members traveled to Scotland to learn about the Scottish culture because it definitely showed through the attire, accents, and settings of the film. Giving a preview of the film was a great choice because it gave an idea of how an audience will react to the film, whether that'd be positively or negatively.

 

References

Disney Wikia. (n.d.). Brave - DisneyWiki. Retrieved February 19, 2015, from http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Brave

IMDb. (n.d.). Brave (2012) - IMDb. Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1217209/?ref_=nv_sr_2

IMDb. (n.d.). Brave poster. Retrieved from http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMzgwODk3ODA1NF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNjU3NjQ0Nw@@._V1_SX640_SY720_.jpg

 

 

Planes

Planes was released on August 9th, 2013, being produced by DisneyToon Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. The movie is spin-off of the film Cars, and was not produced by the same production company, which was Pixar Animation Studios. To promote the film, a product collection called "Cars Take Flight" as created. Also, on September 14th, 2012, an event called "Cars Take Flight" took place at the Chicagoland Speedway. Not only was this event hosted but a "Cars Take Flight" website was created, and on this website a contest was taking place. "Cars Take Flight official website launched a contest whose prize was a vacation to Cars Land" (disney.wikia.com). In addition to the collection, event, website, and contest, a display of several characters from the movie were shown at the San Diego Comic-Con 2013. Another unique event took place which was this: "To celebrate the release of the film in the United Kingdom, the 2013 Camp Bestival featured a world record attempt for the most paper airplanes flying at once" (disney.wikia.com). To get the film's word out, several pilots flew around in airplanes with banners of the movie logo on it. The film was quite successful due to all these different marketing methods. At the Box Office, the film earned a gross of $90,282,580 (imdb.com). Planes expanded from the movie screen to the video game world with a gamed entitled Planes: The Video Game being release in several formats.
The film is not one of my favorites because sequels tend not to live up to the high expectations of such a successful first film, but I definitely give props to the marketing plan the production team created. The marketing methods touched many areas that include the internet, video games, collection designs to be purchased, and several public appearances that were made. The film's target audience is clear, and straightforward going for a younger audience.

 

 

References

CDN. (n.d.). Planes poster. Retrieved from http://cdnvideo.dolimg.com/cdn_assets/7417b080bf128232622a34fd4e516af98b011490.jpg

Disney Wikia. (n.d.). Planes - DisneyWiki. Retrieved February 12, 2015, from http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Planes

IMDb. (n.d.). Planes (2013) - IMDb. Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1691917/?ref_=nv_sr_2

 

Monsters University

Monsters University was released on June 21, 2013, produced by Pixar Animation Studios, and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The film made earned  a gross of $268,488,329 at the box office (imdb.com). The release date for the film had changed several times, and was said "to be released on November 16, 2012, but was pushed back to November 2 to avoid competition with another film, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2." (disney.wikia.com). The official release had then been set on June 21, 2013. The plan to change the release was a smart move, as the movie may have been affected negatively with such a well-known movie series coming out around the same time. This is one of the many factors that made the film a huge hit. Let's talk more about the marketing strategy for this film. The first trailer to be shown was released online on June 20, 2012, and also in theatres while Brave was screening. Different trailer versions for the film were released by several news outlets like YouTube, ITunes Trailers, Yahoo!, and The Huffington Post. The film expanded from trailers to creating a website in October 2012 (click here to view the website), and is described as the following "The website covers all subjects of a real university website, and includes a store where related merchandise can be bought" (disney.wikia.com). The film had a playful, funny idea of playing an April's fools day prank in which "the website was changed to look like it had been hacked and vandalized by Fear Tech, Monster University's rival school" (disney.wikia.com). Another sneak peek for the film was shown on February 15, 2013, and it was also shown on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. The film was targeting a national audience, and released a trailer in Japan for example. The last major appearance for the film's promotion was during the Kid's Choice Awards in 2013. The marketing, and promoting methods for this particular film resulted with success.
I really enjoyed this movie, and own a copy of it. The website created is fun, unique, and interactive, and an overall genius idea. However, it does not work well in terms that the overall audience consists of young children, that may not be able to navigate the website as it resembles closely to an actual college website. Other than that, the marketing ideas were quite out of this world, and they definitely got attention for it, which resulted in a larger audience than ever imagined.

References

Disney Wikia. (n.d.). Monsters University - DisneyWiki. Retrieved February 3, 2015, from http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Monsters_University

IMDb. (n.d.). Monsters University (2013) - IMDb. Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1453405/?ref_=nv_sr_2

Monsters University. (n.d.). Monsters University. Retrieved from http://monstersuniversity.com/edu/

Nerdist. (n.d.). Monsters University Poster. Retrieved from http://www.nerdist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/MU_Bleachers_Online_1s_w2.0.jpg

Wreck-It Ralph

Wreck-It Ralph was released in theatres on November 2, 2012 earning 471,222,889 at the box office (imdb.com). The film was produced through Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. Wreck-It Ralph has been recognized for the variety of cameos the film contains (to see a list of the cameos here). The producers of the film were about use these characters "without consideration if they would legally be able to use the characters" (disney.wikia.com) but "then sought out the copyright holders' permissions to use the characters, as well as working with these companies to assure their character were being represented authentically" (disney.wikia.com). The majority of these companies responded positively to the use of these characters in the movie, and were only used if the role fit in the film. Other companies, however, negotiated prices that were quite high regarding the licensing fee. The original release date for the film was March 22, 2013, and it was then changed to November 2, 2012. Sneak peeks of the film were shown on June 6, 2012 (in theatres while Madagascar 3 was screening) and September 12, 2012 (when Finding Nemo in 3D was released). Wreck-It Ralph is available for purchase in Blu-ray format for both 2D and 3D.  The film created a video game "produced in collaboration between Disney Interactive and Activision and serves as a "story extension" to the film"(disney.wikia.com).
The film's collaboration with well-known characters from other video games was an extremely cool idea. It was nice to see the different roles they played, and recognizing them throughout the film. Not going to lie, I got quite excited whenever I noticed a character I knew. This movie definitely brought in an audience that consisted of gamers because the movie was created in a collaborative manner with some of the most popular video game characters. The film was a success, and is on my list of favorites.

References

Cdn collider. (n.d.). Wreck-It Ralph Poster. Retrieved from http://cdn.collider.com/wp-content/uploads/wreck-it-ralph-poster-main-characters.jpg

Disney Wikia. (n.d.). Wreck-It Ralph - DisneyWiki. Retrieved January 29, 2015, from http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Wreck-It_Ralph

IMDb. (n.d.). Wreck-It Ralph (2012) - IMDb. Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1772341/

Cars 2

Cars 2 was released on June 24, 2011, and produced by Walt Disney Pictures. The film is available in formats such as digital 3-D, IMAX 3D, and 2-D. The film's original release date was 2012, but the producers decided to release it one year earlier. For promotion of the film, sneak peek trailers were issued several times; the first sneak peek was on November 2, 2010. The film's official trailer was released through YouTube on November 15th, 2010, and also through a variety of movie screenings in theatres. While trying to gain attention for the film, "life-sized remote-controlled models of Lightning McQueen, Mater, and Finn McMissile were created for Cars 2 as part of the "Agents on a Mission" tour, presented by State Farm, to promote the film" (disney.wikia.com). These life-sized cars were shown in huge cities, like Miami and New York City. Cars 2 also made an appearance at the 2011 WonderCon, having a vehicle parked outside with inscriptions  that contained secret codes that gave access to another sneak peek of the film. At the box office, a total of $559,852,396 (imdb.com) was earned worldwide creating a huge success.
The film was overall good, not my favorite, the reason being that it was more reared towards a male audience. I do give credit though to their great promotion plans, raising awareness of the film. Creators of the film got quite creative in their marketing methods, using the life size cars and secret codes. Sneak peeks are always great teasers also, making the audience more excited for the film to premiere.

References

Cdn collider. (n.d.). Cars 2 Movie Poster. Retrieved from http://cdn.collider.com/wp-content/uploads/cars-2-movie-poster-cast-hi-res-01.jpg

Disney Wikia. (n.d.). Cars 2 - DisneyWiki. Retrieved January 22, 2015, from http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Cars_2

IMDb. (n.d.). Cars 2 (2011) - IMDb. Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1216475/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Tangled

Tangled was released on November 24, 2010, and the film was produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. At the Box Office, the film earned $200,807,262 in the U.S. and Canada, with a budget of $260,000,000. The budget is said to be "the most expensive animated film ever made and the second most expensive film of all time" (disney.wikia.com) around the time in which the movie was released. The movie was originally entitled Rapunzel, and then later changed to what people know now as Tangled. The title change was one of the film's marketing methods, trying to make the film appealing to both boys and girls, that resulted in a larger audience. To bring awareness to the film, in Disney Parks the characters were brought to life, meeting and greeting children and families as they strolled around the park. Tangled is a successful film, that has expanded from the screen to toys, dolls, and video games (released a day before Tangled premiered). The movie is available for purchase on a DVD and Blu-ray format. Over $95 million dollars of DVDs, and Blu-ray were old, making it "the highest grossing DVD of the year to date" (disney.wikia.com).
Tangled is a great addition to my favorite princesses. The film's music is beautifully made, having catchy lyrics to sing along to. The film's original plot has a cool spin on the Rapunzel story. The idea of changing the title from a girly tone to a more neutral one was a clever idea in wanting to gain a more diverse audience. By creating DVDs and other formats, the film was made more accessible for consumers to purchase, with the movie gaining a profit. The film was successful with its delivery, and it should definitely be seen.

 

 

References

Disney Wikia. (n.d.). Tangled - DisneyWiki. Retrieved January 15, 2015, from http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Tangled

Disney Wikia. (n.d.). Tangled Poster. Retrieved from http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110929034113/disney/images/c/ca/Tangled_rapunzel_poster_20.jpg

IMDb. (n.d.). Tangled (2010) - IMDb. Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0398286/