STRANGE MAGIC | 01.23.15 | Disney | final domestic gross: $12,429,583

[CloneWars]

Wait? What? Where did this come from? A LFL movie? Weird.

[filmlover]

I wouldn't be surprised if Disney found this thing in some storage room at Lucasfilm when they bought the place. And now they're dumping it in January.

Would not be shocked at all if that were true.

[Melvin Frohike]

So kind of like The Wild then? I remember reading years ago that Disney wasn't too keen on promoting it until William Shatner (who was in some way involved with the animation studio that made it) threatened to go to the press and raise a fuss. Sort of like what Elton John did after Disney dumped Gnomeo and Juliet.

Yeah, sometimes I think that projects such as these and Mars Needs Moms did as much to save WDAS as John Lasseter and WDAS themselves.

I don't know what the deal is with Strange Magic, but there must be some reason it has suddenly been revealed only two-and-a-half months out from its release date with no fanfare. In addition, it will be released under Disney's alternative Touchstone Pictures label, which is usually done either because of subject matter that Disney would not want to be associated with the Disney brand, or more generally because Disney wants to distance themselves from a movie. I had always presumed that whatever movies that Lucasfilm produced would be released under their own label, as with Marvel Studios' movies, or maybe the Disney label in the case of animated features, but apparently this won't be the case here.

I wonder how much Lucasfilm spent on this thing. They seemed to have put quite a hefty investment into their feature animation venture in general, leading up to a theatrical release.

[Melvin Frohike]

Wait? What? Where did this come from? A LFL movie? Weird.

They had been working on this for a while, but since I hadn't heard anything about it beyond Gary Rydstrom and Brenda Chapman being involved (as the director and a story consultant, respectively), I hadn't realized that they had gotten so far along. I figured that they were still building up the studio or something, since they've been working on other projects, too (all non-theatrical), and the story was in development hell for some time, but I had no idea until now what it was about, much less that it's already finished and ready to release (surprise!).

[Chinoiserie]

They should release a teaser trailer right way since it is coming so soon.

 

Since it seems to be dumped I hope they hope they emphasize it is from Lucasfilm, some people think that Valiant and Mars Needs Mom's are made by WDAS so I hope that does not happen again.

 

But if this has any potential there should be a trailer before Into the Woods, with the fantasy elements it could appeal to the same crowd.

[kitik]

We've seen unheralded animated movies do halfway decent numbers in the middle of winter, mostly due to a complete lack of competition.

 

So let's take a look at the upcoming animated/(kids) slate:

 

BH6 - now

Penguins - Nov 28

(Annie/NATM - Dec 19)

(Into the Woods - Dec 24)

Paddington - Jan 16

Strange Magic - Jan 23

(Max - Jan 30)

Spongebob - Feb 6

(Cinderella - Mar 13)

Home - Mar 27

 

 

Based on that schedule, there's a chance Strange Magic can do well, but it needs Paddington to flop, and it needs some strong marketing itself. Far more likely that Spongebob does well by default, due to all other kids/animated flicks tanking the month before it.

 

Unless Strange Magic has some really strong hooks in the marketing that make kids laugh and draw them in. But based on the source material, and super late announcement, I'm not getting my hopes up.

[Mulder]

This is going to flop hard.

[CloneWars]

I'm shocked this is actually our first LFL film released since the Disney accusation. This came out of thin air, it seems.

[SoSaysI]

This is really bizarre.  I wonder what the budget is for this. 

[kitik]

So how late can the possibly start the marketing?

 

At this point, should they just wait until January and then spend their entire marketing budget all at once?

[Sal]

This is really bizarre.  I wonder what the budget is for this. 

 

I'm guessing it came into Disney's possession mostly complete, so Disney itself may be paying for very little.  I agree though... I wonder how much its budget was.  Probably too much that they would simply trash the project.

[TServo2049]

So basically this could be like Cats Don't Dance with even less marketing. A nearly-finished film that was acquired in the purchase of another company (Cats was almost done when the Turner/WB deal happened), and is not really a going concern to the new ownership.

Though unlike Cats and Mars Needs Moms, the animation studio that made it will at least still be in operation when the film comes out...

Edited November 12, 2014 by TServo2049

[Darth Homer]

Rango was beautiful so I'm interested to see this despite the dumping ground release. Hopefully it'll make a small profit at least so Disney will allow ILM to keep doing animated features.

[filmscholar]

LOL @ "They found it in Lucas storage closet"  I'm sorry but it sounds true with how they are rolling it out, lol. 

[Melvin Frohike]

Since it seems to be dumped I hope they hope they emphasize it is from Lucasfilm, some people think that Valiant and Mars Needs Mom's are made by WDAS so I hope that does not happen again.

It seems that Disney is going to try to avoid tainting Lucasfilm as well by releasing it under their Touchstone Pictures label (must not hurt the new Star Wars movies!).

 

But if this has any potential there should be a trailer before Into the Woods, with the fantasy elements it could appeal to the same crowd.

Maybe that's exactly what they've been waiting for in order to maximize the effectiveness of a minimized marketing budget.

 

 

I'm shocked this is actually our first LFL film released since the Disney accusation.

How dare Disney accuse Lucasfilm of that?! And right before the acquisition, too!

Sorry.

 

This came out of thin air, it seems.

Sure feels that way given how little about it we've heard. There was, however, some fairly big news that circulated about this project, presumably, around mid-2013:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/gary-rydstrom-now-directing-mysterious-lucasfilm-animation-project-that-brenda-chapman-was-once-involved-with-20130612

I think it is reasonable to assume that they're talking about Strange Magic here. I just didn't think that the next thing I'd hear about it would be that it was done and ready for release in a couple of months.

 

 

I'm guessing it came into Disney's possession mostly complete, so Disney itself may be paying for very little.

It was certainly being worked on before Disney acquired Lucasfilm, but according to the article above, it was still being developed (or was near the beginning of full production)--with a new director now--well after it came into Disney's possession. So I don't think that it was anywhere near complete when Disney acquired Lucasfilm.

 

I agree though... I wonder how much its budget was.  Probably too much that they would simply trash the project.

Well, Disney has it now, one way or another, so they're going to try to get something out of it rather than throw it away. But Iger or somebody important at Disney must not like it very much if they're apparently trying to protect their key brands by using the Touchstone label.

How much Disney's financial involvement might have been is still an open question, as it undoubtedly depends on the terms of the acquisition that both sides had to agree on (since the movie was still either in development or production at the time).

 

 

Rango was beautiful so I'm interested to see this despite the dumping ground release. Hopefully it'll make a small profit at least so Disney will allow ILM to keep doing animated features.

Well, Pixar originally came out of Lucasfilm/ILM, so wouldn't that be redundant? I kid, but yeah, it would be interesting for Disney to have an additional feature animation studio to increase their footprint in this market against the likes of Fox. On the other hand, they've had many bad experiences before, and they still don't seem to know what to do with DisneyToon Studios after Planes: Fire & Rescue underperformed this summer, along with video sales continuing to decline, which spelled the end of the Disney Fairies direct-to-video franchise (should have released these movies theatrically WW instead because they're better than the Cars spinoffs--oh well).

So who knows, Disney may decide to either go for broke with four theatrical feature animation studios under their umbrella or pare their collection down to just WDAS and Pixar. At the moment, at least, the latter scenario seems more likely, but that could change depending on what is really being planned on the inside for the long term, and of course if Strange Magic unexpectedly breaks out, then that could change a lot of things.

Edited November 12, 2014 by Melvin Frohike

[Ezen Baklattan]

The fact that Disney didn't even announce it/release a trailer before Big Hero 6 is a sign that they pretty much know it's fucked. Interesting enough, it's being distributed by Touchstone a la Gnomeo and Juliet and The Wind Rises.

[CaptainJackSparrow]

Well...There goes the supposed Frozen 2 title.

[goldenstate5]

It's being released two weeks prior to Spongebob. Disney is basically going, "Uhhh hopefully a few people will see this."

Clearly this must have been some trade agreement when Disney bought them to keep Georgie happy.

[Melvin Frohike]

Interestingly, the general response I've seen around the Internet has been very positive, with the main exception being this thread in this forum. Are we really the only ones who realize that this movie is being dumped?

 

Well...There goes the supposed Frozen 2 title.

But for better or worse the speculation involving Frozen has given Strange Magic quite a bit more attention than it would otherwise have gotten, at least online. Yay Disney synergy?

 

 

It's being released two weeks prior to Spongebob. Disney is basically going, "Uhhh hopefully a few people will see this."

Clearly this must have been some trade agreement when Disney bought them to keep Georgie happy.

I'm sure that he was thrilled....

[CloneWars]

Supposedly, George Lucas was involved in this films production. This makes me believe that as part of the acquistion deal, that Lucas could see this film to completion and Disney agreed for whatever reason. Anyway, the studio that made it is LFLs signapore animation studio in Signapore, the same people who made the Clone Wars cartoons. So, seeing how it came out of a television cartoon studio, I am guessing the budget was relatively low. The most expensive aspect was likely the voice actors.