Over at Jim Hill Media, ol' Jim is pontificating the reactions of the Disney/Pixar Execs to the data that "The SImpson's Movie" is quite solidly kicking "Ratatouille's" hiney.
Naturally, most of Jim's readers are accusing him of Pixar-bashing yet again. I don't think he is. I just think he has very high expectations for the house of Toy Story, and calls them on it when they fail to deliver. And the fact is the last two Pixar films have not pulled in the bucks like their predecessors.
Now I would love to make a film that made the type of cash that "Ratatouille" is making. But the trouble is profit margin. If a film makes $200mil, but cost $150mil, that's not good business. (I am making those numbers up - I have no idea what "Rat" cost or has made so far.)
Here's what I posted over at Jim Hill (misspellings and grammar corrected):
Bald Melon Tim said:
Why is "Simpsons" doing better than "Ratatouille"?
1 Eighteen years of marketing.
2 Consistently funny characters that a huge audience knows & loves.
3 Great word of mouth.
4 A title that everyone can pronounce without a phonetic guide.
5 Formula plot (SPOILER! SKIP THIS NEXT SENTENCE IF YOU HAVEN"T SEEN SIMPSON'S): Man loses family. Fights to get them back. Big action finish. Sounds like "The Incrdibles", eh?
Don't misunderstand me. I loved "Rataouille", every frame of it, I drooled over. But I have to concede that if a studio is going to produce a film for that kind of cash, there needs to be a little more "lowest common denominator" factor ...if they expect it to be a blockbuster.
"Ratatouille" spoilers ahead:
"Rat" doesn't fit into a mold. It's kind of a buddy movie, but not really. Remy doesn't have a clear "want" early in the film. he just spends a long time not fitting in, then he stumbles into his calling. The villain (the chef, not the food critic) struggles more against Linguini than Remy, so his goals are split. And the climax is a man eating vegetable stew.
Again... I loved every minute of it! It was fresh storytelling and great characters with depth. Plus... there hasn't been a drunk character in a Disney film since, what... Sir Hiss in "Robin Hood"?
As an audience, we all have a tendency to pigeon hole our plots. Good Hollywood execs know this. Blockbusters need to be a little simpler. "This is the good guy, this is the bad guy, Now they are going to fight." or "Boy meets girl. They are separated by: a) feuding families, b) he's trying to put her bookstore out of business, c) he thinks she's falling in love with his pirate friend." Etc. etc... They can be complex stories, no doubt, but not complicated.
The trouble is, as I stated before, budget to return ratio. Rat's BO is very respectful... if the budget was under 30-40 million. But it looked like Pixar spent four times what Fox did (and that's a very conservative guess).
I have two teen-age kids (boy and a girl) that were raised on Pixar films. Yet, during the weeks leading up to "Ratatouille", they were both a little blasé about seeing it. (When they did see it, they liked it). But they were both waiting with heightened anticipation for the release of "Simpsons".
Lesson here? If you want to tell a fresh, original story that doesn't fit into a mold, don't spend more than it will make back.
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4 comments:
My family sees maybe one theatre movie a year... this year it was Ratatouille. We loved it. Even went to the market for eggplant that very same night and spent the next afternoon recreating our version of the signature dish. SO we are simple folks with simple tastes. We like peasant food. Maybe that's why this film appealed to us...that and the fact that we keep a rodent as a pet.
Here, here!
And I am happy to report that "Rat" has made it past the $200mm mark!
And it's doing even better overseas.
Unfortunately, in the list of Pixar films, it has been among the slowest to do so. Concerns for the bean-counters, no doubt. But these concerns will either mean that Pixar spends less on future films or spends more in story development and audience feedback.
I just hope they keep these great stories coming!
I agree with what you said about Rat especially the idea of simplification. I saw Ratatoiulle (sp?) and really liked it. The animation was wonderful, the story good and the characters developed. Having said that, however, the plot/story did not seem to have a clear goal in mind until quite far along in the story.
While we may want lots of action, some setbacks, and a side plot or two, we also want a straight line from beginning to end. Who ever likes wandering in the darkness created by a meandering plot?
I could take a side track here and talk about movies that try to be so metaphorically meaningful that they lose even themselves ("The Fountain" anyone?), but don't get me started on that.
Back on topic...does that mean simple? No. We all know the simplest of ideas can play out the most complex of issues. Look what we got out of good vs. evil (the most basic of struggles since the garden of eden) - "The Lord of the Rings". From beginning to end, we knew exactly what the struggle was and what needed to be done, but that one idea was wrapped in wonderfully complex layers of lives, friendships, loves, struggles, heartaches, failures, and triumphs. Those kind of movies are the ones I remember best and enjoy most.
Good post, Tim!
Hope all is well with you and your family!
your pal,
rocky
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