Those affable Smurfs gave one of the summer’s biggest films a run for its money over the weekend.
Yes, “Cowboys and Aliens” defeated “The Smurfs” at the box office, but it was a photo finish. Whoda thunkit?
So where does that leave “The Muppets,” the super-hyped return of Kermit, Miss Piggy and the felt-covered gang coming Nov. 23? Nostalgia can be a powerful motivator for movie goers, but we’ve already seen a recent example of it falling on its face.
“Winnie the Pooh” stirred countless childhood memories in this film critic, but it underwhelmed at the box office last month. And I’m being kind.
“The Smurfs” didn’t simply revive the popular ’80s ‘toon. It tweaked the format to bring the blue creatures into the real world via CGI. “Winnie the Pooh,” by comparison, stuck straight to the formula of yore.
Clearly, the kiddie contingent noticed.
“The Muppets” ups the hip factor by casting Jason Segel and Amy Adams in lead roles. But children care more about Elmo, Woody and Nemo than Amy or Jason.
So all the clever marketing in the world might not save “The Muppets” if today’s audiences aren’t in the mood to see old school puppets at play.
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Who cares about the kids? The Muppets have been the most reliable providers of laughs and movie fun for me since forever. It’s too bad Disney hasn’t used them more often.
Kids count because they drive the box office and will likely determine whether we see more films of a particular ilk. It’s frustrating but true, although I wholly agree on your point!
Christian, when you talk with insiders or industry types, have you ever asked anyone why some similar films are marketed differently than others?
For example, I can see people looking at the run of the Winnie the Pooh story and say that its performance was weak, and then use that as a reason to give it the CGI treatment. However, making a comparison to the Smurfs to make that case is not really an apples to apples situation as both films were marketed differently.
It seems like it would be a major stretch to claim that CGI films ALWAYS perform better than regular animation unless both films were marketed THE EXACT SAME WAY, and that was the end result.
What do you think?
Currently being too lazy to bother to google, wasn’t the smurfs originally a European cartoon before it was brought to the U.S. those many years ago? If so, how much did the popularity of the overseas market determine the making of the film?
Pardon my cynicism but if the Muppet movie isn’t the big screen adaption of “Pigs in Space”, I have absolutely no interest.
Drewster, I confess I don’t speak to many movie marketers, but I think your question is valid and it’s something I’ll think about for future posts.
It’s often tough to find apples to apples comparisons in Hollywood. To me, the Pooh ads targeted those who grew up with those ‘toons (i.e. Me) and perhaps forget that it’s the small ones who tell Mamma and Papa what they want to see.
OK! The Muppets I think will be fun especially with Amy Adams and Jason Segal I hope although it cold also go in a bad territory and bomb big time but I think it might be cool.
Was never a Pooh fan myself so I’m not sure what to say about Pooh. And the Smurfs movie got such bad reviews I think I might have to secretly catch on video or perhaps on cable or something. There’s something about the Smurfs that I will always love but I sometimes rely on review (especially when most are bad) so I will skip seeing the Smurfs in the theater and catch later and look forward to positive reviews for the Muppets!
Let’s not forget that Pooh bear and especially the Smurfs have consistently been geared towards children. The Muppets? Not so much. There’s a lot for kids to enjoy, of course, but adults have also been entertained by Kermit and company thanks to witty writing. Adults without children are far more likely to go see a Muppet movie than a Smurf or Pooh movie.
“But children care more about Elmo, Woody and Nemo”
And therein lies my point. The last two there were in movies that appealed to all ages – not just kids. No way Pixar’s movies would make hundreds of millions of dollars if they didn’t appeal to all ages. As for Elmo, remember back in the 90s the last time Muppets hit the big screen. Both the Muppets and Elmo had theatrical releases, the former staying true to all ages and the latter more for kids. “Muppets from Space” did bomb out, but it still outperformed Elmo’s own movie (which was only made and came out at the peak of his popularity).