Disney’s Wish: will this movie bring back their success?

            For this assignment I decided to look at Disney and their brand. I choose Disney because I like and also dislike Disney. I think looking more into their brand and how other people view them and why will help me also find a better understanding of where Disney stands in my heart. Specifically on the topic of their movies. Currently Disney has been working on a new movie that has been leaving many people torn, me included. Disney’s newest movie “Wish” is what this post will be mainly centered around.

“Wish”, from what is promoted, is a movie about Asha, a 17-year-old girl who sees the evil in the Kingdom of Rosas’s Ruler and pleads to the stars to grant her wish. With the help of her new star company she goes against the King to save her community. Many people have left a variety of comments on the official trailer announcement released on Disney’s Instagram. Here are some comments I found:

@user.858536 on Instagram comments “i better see y'all supporting this movie cuz all y'all talk abt how disney only does remakes and then when they come out with an original idea yall dont even care”.

@fantesjame33 on Instagram types “Yes thank you! I prefer watching a new Disney movie with a new princess than watching those horrible remakes”.

@jonahfrank4 on Instagram states “I’m sorry but this animation is really bad. Cel-shading isn’t enough, you need to design characters with that style in mind. This looks like their previous movies but with a cheap filter added on. You guys are supposed to be professionals at animation but significantly smaller studios are outdoing you.

(Disney’s Official Poster for Wish)

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Based on these comments, the mass majority are rather excited to see a new Disney original. Looking to have more people support this movie because it isn’t a remake. Prior to this movie's releases Disney had been mainly focusing on remaking live action versions of their older movies. However many of these movies flopped and received harsh feedback from their community. Now that they’re coming up with an original, more people are excited and looking forward to watching it when it releases in November. Although, on the other hand many people feel like the art style is very choppy and incomplete. I agree with this on some level. It doesn’t feel very Disney-like, as they’re trying to get ahead of the other studios but exploring a new style. This style is called Cel-shading or Toon-shading. This style in animation gives 3D characters a more 2D look, and while this style can be very beautiful and can captivate many people. Disney isn’t approaching it from the right angel. While there are still many people that enjoy the style, others who better understand animation and the style are finding many problems with it. That it looks unpolished and is subpar quality, and that smaller studios are actually producing this style of animation better than they are. 

When it comes to “Wish” I’m certain Disney is marketing on the fact that they have only been making remakes, and are now trying to draw back in viewers. Producing an original movie after all of the live actions will and are cultivating more people. On top of that the new style they’re trying will bring in a new audience as well. However they also run the risk of the movie quality being bad and losing people because of their trial run with this style. Both of their posts about “Wish” on their Instagram page and received lots of feedback. The official trailer has received over 338 thousand likes and over 1,300 comments. While the official movie poster has received around 318 thousand likes and about 1,000 comments. Comparing this to their last movie, “The Little Mermaid” live remake, the official poster only received around 214 thousand likes and 2,128 comments. While this might not seem that vast it’s still significantly better by about 124 thousand likes, and while “The Little Mermaid” received more comments, those were from fans fighting one another and harshly criticizing Disney and the movie. Compared to this, “Wish” has been receiving better praise and bringing in more people and providing a more positive comment section. Thus, Disney is succeeding, so far, in bringing back in their viewers.

Disney has not yet responded about the animation to its fans, and will most likely not. I don’t think Disney has to or needs to explain why they’re trying a new style. However, I believe this style is what will really make or break this movie for many fans. If they’re not to respond they should at least take the criticism and make sure to patch up anything that’s choppy or that may look unfinished. If I was their brand manager I would make a public announcement that their concerns and critiques have been heard. As well as reassure them that the movie isn’t finished and that it’s still undergoing changes and fixes. This would help fans remember that the movie isn't out yet and that the movie is still in progress. Which should help assure them that the final product should look even better than the trailer was. As the final movie turned out to be the best looking thing, while the trailers and posters are important, if the movie sucks no one will want any of it. 

From this assignment I’ve learned that Disney is trying new things to get ahead, however new doesn’t always mean that it’s good and people will be split about it. I learned that it’s important to take everything into consideration when learning a new animation style. And that the way movies are done, style/remaking, can heavily impact the viewership. And that I’m still torn on Disney movies, personally I’ve found that there has been a drop in their production. Primarily in story and characters. I, just as many others, depend on this movie actually being good enough to keep us interested in what Disney has to offer next.

The McDonald's Japanese Advertisement.

    There's something so interesting about how an ad can spark such a ruckus throughout the community. The recent McDonald's advertisement that aired to the Japanese public has recently been receiving a lot of backlash. Not only from people in Japan, but also from the people in America. While I personally don't care to eat at McDonalds, my interest has peaked when it comes to this animation. How it's impacting the community and what that's doing for McDonalds as a company. 

McDonaldsJapan posted a short animated advertisement to their Twitter. It includes a generic family eating McDonald’s together. It features soft lo-fi music in the background and inviting colors. At the end of the video it shows a happy meal and roughly translates to, “it’s not a special, happy time”. McDonald's made this advertisement to promote their happy meals to families and remind people of the nostalgia. While this ad wasn’t to showcase any big event or celebration, but the craze the internet went through because of it is equal to none. 

    When I first saw this animation, I thought it was absolutely adorable. The colors were inviting and happy. Paired with the soft lo-fi music it was a very calming and yet nostalgic advertisement. Honestly it did make me want to get some fries, it was cute and short. Not even talking and instead just letting you feel the memories of the food. Which is why I was astonished to find such a heavy backlash against it. In just one week the advertisement had already received over a hundred million views. And many people were quick to comment about how nostalgic it was. Other comments claimed it was homophobic, transphobic, and even racist. People were even lashing out at the artist that had been paid to make the advertisement.

DailyDot mentions Stan Glass, a digital illustrator who’s portfolio centers around homosexuality, posted a redraw of the animation where “He replaced the heterosexual parents with two dads.” Which, caused him to receive hateful comments and death threats when he posted it. Many people hated the fact that he redrew over it and changed it from the original white, heterosexual family shown in the ad. This was the first of many redraws that would be posted showcasing more diverse families. The internet had created an imaginary war with itself. Fighting about the original and redrawn versions of the advertisement. Most of the people who were actually redrawing it weren’t even against the original ad either. The people in the comments just took things too far. 

         (By Stan Glass on Twitter)

Honestly, I think McDonald’s did nothing wrong here. I see nothing wrong with the original animation. It’s the community that has turned it into an issue, and the issue is between the people. The redraws are just redraws, and those who don’t like them simply don’t have to look at them. On top of that, those who claim the original is phobic in some way. They don’t really seem to realize that it’s a 21 second advertisement. There simply isn't enough time to put in more families without making the advertisement longer. And let's be honest, no one these days really cares to watch anything longer. Besides that, this isn’t the first time McDonalds has made Japanese advertisements including different groups of people However, it seems that this one just happened to receive the most backlash. 

I think McDonald’s is right for not addressing its community. Let the people figure it out for themselves and get over their little war.  I think this whole scandal has really been a failure for them, but also a positive. It might not have gotten the best response, but all of this engagement, redraws, and retweets, no matter good or bad, are helping McDonalds. Each time someone interacts with the advertisement it gets spread around to more people, it gets seen and piques people’s interest, and they end up looking at McDonalds all the same. And probably went to eat it later that day.

    From this assignment I've learned that even the simplest of things can cause issues in the media. That a community can start a backlash against something that doesn't even seem inherently bad. Which makes advertising to people harder when trying to avoid the negative response from the media. That even though McDonald's was aiming for a group of people, this decision was one that didn't fully reach sit well with the people they wanted to deliver it to.