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Credit: Walt Disney Animation StudiosWalt Disney Animation Studios is gearing up for the premiere of Strange World, an original film coming this November. But one film critic says that The Walt Disney Company isn’t doing enough to promote the movie.
Dave Lee Down Under has 125,000 subscribers on his film review YouTube channel. On Tuesday, Lee replied to a Strange World advertisement from Walt Disney Animation Studios:
Disney simply don’t know how to market originals. And everyone wonders why they’re so reliant on proven IP. Even Walt knew this — it’s why he built Sleeping Beauty castle at Disneyland 4 YEARS before the movie & commissioned a Lady & Tramp novelization for release 2 YEARS before
Sleeping Beauty was Disney’s most expensive & avant-guarde film to that point (with exception of Fantasia) & Walt knew it was a VERY RISKY sell. So he subliminally made audiences aware of the story and IP by using the most elaborate marketing tool in his arsenal — Disneyland.
Sleeping Beauty was Disney’s most expensive & avant-guarde film to that point (with exception of Fantasia) & Walt knew it was a VERY RISKY sell. So he subliminally made audiences aware of the story and IP by using the most elaborate marketing tool in his arsenal — Disneyland.
— Dave Lee (@daveleedwnundr) October 18, 2022
According to Lee, Disney doesn’t do well in marketing original stories. Many commenters agreed. @NCLuke1024 replied:
I hope this movie is good because they haven’t been doing a really good job with the marketing. They somewhat revealed what people predict the moral is gonna be, and the jokes (they’re not really jokes) presented in the trailer are a mixed bag and pretty mild.
I hope this movie is good because they haven’t been doing a really good job with the marketing. They somewhat revealed what people predict the moral is gonna be, and the jokes (they’re not really jokes) presented in the trailer are a mixed bag and pretty mild.
— Luke Perkins (5 DAYS UNTIL BIRTHDAY 10/24 🎂🎂🎂) (@NCLuke1024) October 18, 2022
@ScratMarcoDiaz said that though the marketing is poor, they were relying on director Don Hall to make a good film:
Hopefully the film does well, even with the limited marketing. Big Hero 6, which is from one of Strange World’s directors, managed to do well, despite not many people knowing the original comics the movie was based on.
Hopefully the film does well, even with the limited marketing. Big Hero 6, which is from one of Strange World’s directors, managed to do well, despite not many people knowing the original comics the movie was based on.
— Spider-Marco (“Aspiring WDAS Artist” Edition) (@ScratMarcoDiaz) October 18, 2022
Despite the criticism, many recent Disney originals have done well. Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Encanto (2021) brought in over $40 million on opening weekend and became one of Disney’s most successful titles in years.
More on Strange World
In the latest trailer, the Clade family is recruited by the President to go to a strange new world… where the youngest Clades meet their missing explorer grandfather for the first time! From Disney:
The voice cast includes Jake Gyllenhaal as Searcher Clade, a family man who finds himself out of his element on an unpredictable mission; Dennis Quaid as Jaeger, Searcher’s larger-than-life explorer father; Jaboukie Young-White as Ethan, Searcher’s 16-year-old son who longs for adventure; Gabrielle Union as Meridian Clade, an accomplished pilot and Searcher’s partner in all things; and Lucy Liu as Callisto Mal, Avalonia’s fearless leader who spearheads the exploration into the strange world.
Qui Nguyen is the co-director/writer of Strange World, and Roy Conli is the producer.
“Inspired by classic adventure stories, Strange World is an original animated adventure/comedy about three generations of the Clade family who overcome their differences while exploring a strange, wondrous and oftentimes hostile world,” the film’s director, Don Hall, said in a statement to The Walt Disney Company.
Do you agree with Dave Lee?