Jim On Film
Page 4 of 5
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Hercules, 1997--The first glimpse of this film was the song Zero to Hero. While this is a wonderful song, it is full of trendy pop culture and contemporary references. People looked at this film and saw it as a rehash of Aladdin. While it is a great film and deserves to stand independent of other films, Disney tried very hard to make the film look like a rehash of Aladdin (which, in some ways, it was), and audiences wanted something new. Furthermore, the second trailer for the film, the more traditional one, emphasized its overly-trendiness, and many of the jokes which were so funny in the movie were so not funny in the trailer where they were removed from their context. It might also be suggested that by this time, audiences saw through to a perceived Disney formula. What is probably more the stamp of composer Alan Menken in relation to song placements and styles may have made people think that this (as well as the two preceding films) were copies of something more original. At the same time, as with Hunchback, good word-of-mouth and high quality brought this film a respectable audience.
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Mulan, 1998--Mulan was successful, from its marketing campaign to the film itself. If it was a box office failure, it was only in the eyes of Hollywood "insiders." Like Tarzan after it, not only did the film look fresh in previews, but it balanced humor, heart, and seriousness (read "maturity") better than any film since The Lion King.
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Tarzan, 1999--Like Mulan, Tarzan was successful in every way. It was a box office success, though not in Lion King numbers (see section on The Lion King). From previews, the film looked exciting and attracted audience members of all ages.
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Fantasia 2000, 2000--For the first time in many years, the new Disney film was not released in the summer. Fantasia 2000 was released in limited release in Imax theaters on January 1. It did extremely well in this format; however, with fewer theaters, fewer people could see it. Those who lived in large cities who wanted to see it might have to travel far to get to the theater if it were located on the other side of the city. This makes repeat viewing difficult. Furthermore, the marketing of the film for its summer wide release was botched. It was promoted as being out for only three weeks, and it opened against Fox’s exciting Titan A.E. Animation fans then went to the film they had not yet seen, and three weeks was not enough time to see it before it left theaters. In opening in wide release, Fantasia 2000 was a hardly blip in the box office totals for the weekend. And the sad reality is that while animation fans, film critics, and the Disney Company hold the original Fantasia as a triumph in art and animation, the average viewer doesn’t. I know some people who call it downright boring. So, between a lofty advertising campaign to people who wanted a film for their entire family and topsy-turvy marketing and releasing, the film did not do as well at the box office as might have been hoped.