TheQueen
04-30-2010, 09:35 PM
May 1, 2010
Disney Uses Cliffhanger to Market ‘Toy Story 3’
By BROOKS BARNES
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2010/05/01/arts/01pixar_CA0/01pixar_CA0-articleLarge.jpgJoshua Lott for The New York Times
An abbreviated “Toy Story 3” screening drew fans in Tempe, Ariz., on April 21. The full film's release is set for June 18.
PHOENIX — About 200 college students, some who had waited as long as five hours, sat in a movie theater here watching one of the most hotly anticipated movies of the summer: “Toy Story 3.” But about 65 minutes into the film, just as Woody and Buzz were about to attempt an escape from their horrid new home (a day care center), the lights abruptly came on.
“No!” shouted most of the crowd in unison. “More!”
They had been warned. Walt Disney Studios, which will release this Pixar film on June 18, had billed the unusual free screening last month as a “cliffhanger” edition — everything but the chase-sequence ending. The goal of the event, part of a 40-city tour that started in April and continues this month, with screenings at spots like New York University still to come, involved activating “the Andyites.”
That is Disney’s term for 18- to 24-year-old consumers — typically not a big group for animated movies — who grew up with the “Toy Story” franchise and Andy, the boy at its center. Today’s college students were about 3 when the first “Toy Story” was released in 1995, and about 7 when the sequel arrived. “Toy Story 3” also has a natural tie-in, since it revolves around Andy’s departure for college and what that means for the oddball inhabitants of his toy box.
By reigniting these core fans — and withholding the ending — Disney hopes that they will not only buy tickets to opening weekend, but also bring their friends and chatter on Facebook and Twitter in the meantime about how much they liked the opening two-thirds of the film.
“Make sure to check out the full 3-D experience of ‘Toy Story 3’ when it hits theaters nationwide,” an ad at the end of the screening said. “The toys are depending on you.”
CONTINUE READING (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/01/movies/01pixar.html?hp)
Disney Uses Cliffhanger to Market ‘Toy Story 3’
By BROOKS BARNES
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2010/05/01/arts/01pixar_CA0/01pixar_CA0-articleLarge.jpgJoshua Lott for The New York Times
An abbreviated “Toy Story 3” screening drew fans in Tempe, Ariz., on April 21. The full film's release is set for June 18.
PHOENIX — About 200 college students, some who had waited as long as five hours, sat in a movie theater here watching one of the most hotly anticipated movies of the summer: “Toy Story 3.” But about 65 minutes into the film, just as Woody and Buzz were about to attempt an escape from their horrid new home (a day care center), the lights abruptly came on.
“No!” shouted most of the crowd in unison. “More!”
They had been warned. Walt Disney Studios, which will release this Pixar film on June 18, had billed the unusual free screening last month as a “cliffhanger” edition — everything but the chase-sequence ending. The goal of the event, part of a 40-city tour that started in April and continues this month, with screenings at spots like New York University still to come, involved activating “the Andyites.”
That is Disney’s term for 18- to 24-year-old consumers — typically not a big group for animated movies — who grew up with the “Toy Story” franchise and Andy, the boy at its center. Today’s college students were about 3 when the first “Toy Story” was released in 1995, and about 7 when the sequel arrived. “Toy Story 3” also has a natural tie-in, since it revolves around Andy’s departure for college and what that means for the oddball inhabitants of his toy box.
By reigniting these core fans — and withholding the ending — Disney hopes that they will not only buy tickets to opening weekend, but also bring their friends and chatter on Facebook and Twitter in the meantime about how much they liked the opening two-thirds of the film.
“Make sure to check out the full 3-D experience of ‘Toy Story 3’ when it hits theaters nationwide,” an ad at the end of the screening said. “The toys are depending on you.”
CONTINUE READING (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/01/movies/01pixar.html?hp)