Yes you heard right folks! Disney has officially announced that Toy Story 4 will be coming to theaters in 2017! If you aren’t excited then what are you doing with your lives?
According to this video, Disney announced yesterday that the Toy Story Trilogy (more of a saga now) will be continued featuring our favourite cowboy and intergalactic space policeman (that’s basically what Buzz is, a space policeman).
When I heard the news, I was so excited but then when the hype came down, I asked myself “What if it doesn’t hold up to the last movie?” and “What if it just gets boring and repetitive”? That’s when I wondered why Disney was still going on ahead with creating a new Toy Story movie and risk the success they created over the years. Well, according to this article, it’s really quite simple. Toy Story is one of the only movies that became more profitable over time! It would make sense for Disney to continue making Toy Story movies instead of other disney sequels (Personally, I wished they never made The Little Mermaid 2, or Pocahontas 2.)
However, while I am all for a new Toy Story movie, you would have to wonder if it really is worth it to be investing these resources here rather than in a whole new franchise. Financially, the budget for a Toy Story movie isn’t cheap. The first Toy Story movie had a budget of $30 Million while the second and third movie had a budget of $90 Million and $200 Million respectively. The accountant of the firm would say that the resources might be better spent on new ventures, such as the new movie “Into the Woods” or “Big Hero 6”.
However, marketing wise, Disney and Pixar has a good understanding of not only their current target segments but future target segments as well. I am eluding to the clever marketing strategy that Pixar played when they released Toy Story 3 when they did. The first toy Story movie was released in 1995 and their main target segments were kids between the ages of 4-9 but mostly the younger ages. Toy Story 3 was released in 2010, a 15 year gap between the first and third movie. Their target segments were still same ages between 3-9, however, they had a two other target segments. The children that watched the first Toy story when they were little and the parents who watched it with them.
The movie as we all know, was about toys that didn’t get along and got separated from their owner and had to work to get back home . In the movie, we see Andy, the owner, as a young child loving and playing with his toys. In contrast, Toy Story 3 tells a similar story but with one major difference, Andy is all grown up and heading to college. As a child, we would have related to Toy Story very well. It was about loving your toys and treating them right. In Toy Story 3, we relate to the fact that we’re all grown up and we will be moving on college and university, much like Andy. We’re invested in the fact that Andy represents us! On the flip side, parents also relate to Toy Story but not in the sense of growing up. Instead they relate to the fact that one day, their child will be grow up and leave home to pursue their dreams. They actually relate to Andy’s mother. Disney and Pixar understood their customer segments so well that they created a movie that would relate to them so deeply.
Image Source :http://cdnvideo.dolimg.com/cdn_assets/70058290f09e10d7c7fd3c9a11414fbbf5e1242e.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toy_Story
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toy_Story_2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toy_Story_3
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-11-07/toy-story-4-why-disney-cant-quit-turning-out-toy-stories#r=nav-fst