Next to “Twilight” fans, comic book geeks and romantic-comedy couples, children are the most marketed group in the movie business. Making a film for children doesn't take much effort and is guaranteed to make money since parents need something to distract their kids, right?
That used to be the case, but now kids are looking for sophistication as well. Note this doesn't count for all kid's films, as some, such as “Alvin and the Chipmunks” and “Yogi Bear,” mix live-action with animation. For some reason kids eat that up no matter what the level of intelligence is. I am expecting “The Smurfs” to ride on those coattails — if kids even think “The Smurfs” are relevant anymore.
But when a film is just animation, there has to be something more to it. It has to be enjoyable for adults, too.
I have sat through many children's films in my life. Many of them suck, yes, but many of them are great, too. Last year we got “Toy Story 3” and “How to Train Your Dragon,” and I must say those were two of my favorite films for the year. Heck, even “Tangled” was an enjoyable film.
And all these movies made money — lots of it. (Can you say “merchandising”?)
But there is another form of animation out there that both kids and adults haven't gotten used to yet. Live-action motion capture that makes the animation seem more realistic than normal CGI. For example, “The Polar Express” and “A Christmas Carol” used this technology and did fairly well, but not nearly as well as the previously mentioned films.
Were the stories bad? No, they were based off of popular stories already. So what went wrong with the latest film using this technology?
“Mars Needs Moms,” also based off a popular children's book, had about a $150 million budget, and it only made $6.8 million. Rope of Silicon did some calculations based off the amount made and the number of theaters the movie was released in. It came to the conclusion that there were approximately 14 people on hand at each screening this past weekend.
This film is probably one of the biggest bombs of all time and will lose a lot of money for Disney (as if that should bother the company). But does this bode well for future films using motion capture technology, such as Peter Jackson and Steven Spielberg's “The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn,” which is schedule to hit theaters in December?
We'll have to wait and see, but until then — be cautious as to what movies you are bringing your kids to, because you're going to have to watch the movie as well.
