Why Some Disney Movies Flop

When you her the names G-Force and Bolt what do you think of? Some people think of two bad movies that they didn't see.  Some people think of two good movies that no one saw.

I have to say G-Force and Bolt were good movies but they did awful in the theaters.  So why didn't they make it as movies?

I've found that Disney Marketing is a strange duck.  To be honest I blame them for the failures of the two afore mentioned movies.  Before those movies came out I didn't know they were coming.  I saw maybe one or two TV ads for them.  In the case of Bolt I saw far more ads for the Blu-Ray then I did for the actual movie. 

I really belive that Disney sometimes totally fails when it comes to pushing their movies.  Take for example Tangled.  It comes out on Thanksgiving. I saw the first trailer for it on Novemeber 17th.  That's barely a week before it comes out.  Before that I didn't even know when it was coming out. 

I'm sorry but that's a total failure.  The Disney Machine should have kicked in gear and stuffed that movie down my throat.  Does no one realize how important repeated exposure is? Take for exampel Tron Legacy.  I loved Tron but didn't have any plans to see Legacy.  I saw the first trailer and it didn't change my mind.  I saw another and I was a little intrigued.  I saw a couple more and I'm almost ready to line up a midnight. 

Each type of marketing has it's place.  Movie trailers and tv ads are still the most important to draw a wide audience.  Viral is ok but it's better used to kick a promotion off.  Online serve as good reminders.  In an online ad you should push the release date.  Online makes sure the people who already decided to see the movie don't forget. 

If you focus mainly on viral and online ads you're not going to reach your goals.  You really need a wide reaching promotion that hits all channels.

Disney to Offer Light Cycle Rentals

In an effort to promote the up coming Tron Legacy movie Disney is going to start offering light cycle rentals in its theme parks.

The light cycles can be rented from the same locations that offer wheelchairs, motorized scooters, and the ugly plastic strollers. The cost is $500 a day but you can obtain a discount by purchasing a length of stay package.

The light cycles have a top speed of 150mph and leave a fancy light trail behind them.  They come equipped with extra shielding in the front whish has been designed to act as a battering ram for those crowds that just don’t get out of the way in time.  

New light cycle parking areas will also be available next to existing stroller parking areas in the parks.  The only difference between the parking areas is that the light cycle parking areas will have parking meters which sell time in 10 minute increments for $10.  Instead of feeding the meters a day pass can be bought for $100.  

“When you think about it the parking pass is a great deal.  One time through the standby for Toy Story and the thing will pay for itself,” stated the head of Motorized Rentals Mater from Cars.

The new rentals are expected to bring in an enormous amount of new revenue for the Disney theme parks.

“We expected every dork who was a kid in the 80’s to come out of the wood work. What D&D playing nerd hasn’t dreamed of riding a light cycle?” asked Disney’s most famous nerd, Goofy.

The light cycles will be available starting next week.  It is unknown if the rentals will continue to be offered beyond after Tron Legacy is released into theaters.

If you couldn’t tell from the fact that Mater and Goofy were interviewed, the above is a fake story. Light cycles don’t exist and even if they did Disney would at least put a governor on them so they couldn’t go more than 5mph in the parks.  However if you are insistant on having a light cycle in the parks, here you go.