When it was announced that the giant 3D animation studio Pixar’s latest masterpiece Up will open for the prestigious Cannes film festival in France, it was celebrated as the very first 3D animation film to hold such distinction. After all, only edgy films with stalwart and even socially responsible themes get to be played at Cannes. Thus, there is eager anticipation for the movie because it may break movie standards once more.
In a nutshell, Up is a movie about a 78-year-old man who goes on a trip to the world by attaching balloons into his home. He is joined by a stout boy who sneaked his way to the trip. With the premise alone, the film promises to have much potential for creativity.
However, much to the dismay of the Walt Disney Company and Pixar, there are two major sectors who are not so high on the movie: both Wall Street and toy retailers.
The argument: who would be excited with toys of a grumpy old man? Moreover, there are no female characters in the film – a move which will already alienate the massive fan base of Disney Princesses. Accordingly, although the film may become a film with excellent content, there may be problems with potential suitors for character licensing deals.
“The worries keep coming despite Pixar’s track record, because each film it delivers seems to be less commercial than the last,” says Doug Creutz of Cowen and Company.
With a budget of $175 million, it is easy to see the attention it attracted from Wall Street. Retailers are forecasting slim character licensing revenues for Up compared to the most recent Pixar film Ratatouille which was a weak performer for Pixar.
Major stores such as Target and Wal-Mart are stocking up little “Up” merchandise, mainly because there was not much interest from manufacturers: Thinkway Toys, which has churned out thousands of Pixar-related products since 1995’s “Toy Story,” will not produce a single Up item. Disney Stores will offer “Up”-related products, but even that will be on a limited basis.
However, Robert A. Iger, Disney’s chief executive, gave this response: “We seek to make great films first. If a great film gives birth to a franchise, we are the first company to leverage such success. A check-the-boxes approach to creativity is more likely to result in blandness and failure.”
So what should it be? It is easy to focus on the creative aspects but the commercial part can never be taken for granted because it is still a crucial element. Thankfully, for a huge studio such as Disney, such money can be overlooked somewhat in the early stages.
John Lasseter, a co-founder of Pixar and now Disney’s chief creative officer, believes that marketability is not a factor in decisions about what projects to pursue. “Quality is the best business plan” is one of Mr. Lasseter’s favorite lines.
The animation of Up is said to be heavily stylized. The cranky old antagonist, Carl, is not realistic looking but has square attributes. Moreover, there is a lovable 8-year old kid character, an exotic bird, and talking dogs. When carefully studied, it can still have potential for character licensing. After all if children fall in love with the characters, there will be a demand for retailers.
“We wanted more ‘Dumbo’ and less ‘Star Wars,’ ” says director Pete Docter. With improving technology, more and more films may put the emphasis on special effects and profitability to recover production costs – but the moviegoers have not changed a bit throughout the years. They still want quality for their movie tickets.
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