Disappointing Aladdin Sales: A Theory

[Prince Eric]

I hope I'm not opening up a can of worms here, but I think I've waited long enough from the Aladdin: Platinum Edition release to suggest this.

About two years ago, I wrote a journalism piece that won a national award about Disney and their marketing strategies. A good chunk of it was concentrating on Aladdin, especially the delays in its DVD release. As everyone may know, it was moved back a year and switched with The Lion King. The reason was supposedly to cross-promote the animal friendly Brother Bear. In my opinion, this raises the first big question mark. Besides the fact that they're animal movies, they have no connection, and one was being released on DVD and the other touted for the big screen. I did a little research, and found an obscure chat transcript with someone who had been involved in the Aladdin production and said things were coming full circle. Aladdin had been postponed for production/theatrical release because of the Gulf War, and he said now, the events of 9/11 were preventing the DVD release. In other words, Disney wanted to give the public an additional full-year before releasing the DVD release of Aladdin, a film based on Arab folklore and a movie that made mention of Allah.

In my piece, I mentioned (half-sarcastically) that perhaps Disney has realized that there once properous franchise has been ruined - I mean, would families who had loved ones in Iraq by a movie with Arab characters, no matter how "Americanized" or "Disneyfied" they were? I didn't really take my rant seriously, but when 2004 ended, and it was reported that Aladdin was a dissapointment on DVD, I couldn't help but wonder if what I had written was really true. Now, I'm not saying America is racist and anti-Arab (and I KNOW no one on here is, because we all bought like, two copies of the Aladdin: Platinum Edition DVD), but what I DO think is that maybe American as a whole has decided to push Aladdin out of the popular zeitgeist. American is just conflicted, uncertain, and uncomfortable in this regard. While people will never say it directly, I do feel that the situation in Iraq may have had something to do with poor sales. Say what you must, but the point is, it IS a possibility.

[Raydawggie]

I certainly hope not. The Arabian nights are one of the most beautiful collections of legends in history, and it has absolutely nothing to do with the current conflicts in that region. If this is true, my opinion of my countrymen will take a hit.

[Lightyear]

Very quite a possibility.. But I don't see it being that.. It's difficult to say exactly what caused DVD sales to drop as they had. But would wonder if promotion played a part in it. Was the economy soaring or falling?

I have no doubt in my mind that there are some people who didn't buy it solely because of it's origins as a "protest" gesture.. But I think those numbers are minimal at best.

Disney's advertising campaign I feel leaves a lot to be desired.. Without this site, and the few Best Buy ads that advertise releases less than big names (Lion King, Cinderella, Etc) .. My ad had nothing about some recent releases. I wouldn't know about them, unless I saw the DVD in the store.. And I just happen to be a person that goes to BB just to look at movies.

But, that's my $.02 worth.

[Mr. Toad]

How did this year's spring release Bambi do?

Maybe not having Christmas sales was a big factor.

[ichabod]

Although, another point worth mentioning is that only half as much was spent on marketting Aladdin, as was spent on The Lion King.

The disappointing sales is probably what shocked Disney into going all out with the marketting of Cinderella.

[Wonderlicious]

I heard that rumour that Aladdin was pushed back due to 9/11, but I believe that Disney (and even the animation industry equivalent of Michael Moore Jim Hill) said that it was due to the IMAX disappointment of Beauty and the Beast; I heard that Disney thought that if their most popular film came to IMAX, people would be more aware of Disney Classics in Super Size, thus making it profitable.

I think that one of the three most likely theories for some of the good but not spectacular Aladdin sales were to do with the fact that the film was unavailable for ten or eleven years, meaning that the possible families of today may not have been familiar with Aladdin. Even the sequels would have been oldish considering that it was 1997-9 when Belle's Magical World, The Enchanted Christmas and The Lion King 2 all came out. Most people that like Aladdin the most are in the 15 plus range. Also, I think that the Princess line had something to do with the mild failure; the name Jasmine would have been more famous than Aladdin, so there was unfamiliarity with the actual title. Also, I seem to remember that in England at least, there was less promotion of the DVD than The Lion King and even Bambi.

EDIT: Damn, I should type faster.

[Disney-Fan]

It was also not for sale for a good 10 years or so. It could be that the public forgot about this movie so they couldn't care less when it was rereleased.

[Disneykid]

I think the marketing campaign for the DVD release had some to do with it, but not completely. I actually think Disney's merchandising campaign is the biggest factor as to why Aladdin didn't do that well. When the film first opened, it was massive. You couldn't go anywhere without seeing Aladdin merchandise or ads. One The Lion King was released, though, Aladdin seemed to disappear from the world of Disney merchandise. Disney failed to keep Aladdin in the public awareness. The best they've done was make Jasmine part of the princess line, and Aladdin as part of the much more limited adventurers line. Before the DVD was released, I bet most little kids had no idea who Aladdin was. The only people who'd remember the film were adults and teens. Out of all the Platinums, Aladdin seems to be the one that public is least aware of. Snow White, Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, and Beauty and the Beast are everywhere thanks to the princess line merchandise, The Lion King was too massive for ANYONE to forget it (plus the sequels kept it in the spotlight), and Bambi, Lady and the Tramp, 101 Dalmatians, and The Jungle Book are all old enough to be considered classic staples of the Disney canon. Plus, the latter three films have already been released on DVD, so some families who bought them originally are still conscious of their existance.

EDIT: Disneyfan and Wondy seem to already have expressed my thoughts in much simpler forms. That's what I get for being so long-winded.

[yankees]

I relle dont think America is racist I think that America just forgot about Aladdin...

Dont get me wrong Aladdin is my fav second disney film... but I think most people just forgot about it.... Aladdin was more of a in movie... it had some humor that shrek did..... Robin Williams wasnt fond of the fim... him and disney had problems about money... Sure the movie had amazing animation and memorable music... but I dont think alot of America remembers it. It could also be that there were more upcoming popular DVDs for the holidays. So films like Spiderman 2, Elf, Harry Potter 3, and Shrek 2 may have made it loose business durin the holidays.

The Lion King had great sales because its still around today..... The Lion King Is On Broadway in NYC an they have a show in Disney World... Animal Kingdom also has a litle thing. Plus the Lion King was just on IMAX at the time. Also they did alot more advertising for this film... every where u went it sed for the first time on DVD. I bought the Lion King The First night and tons of people were buying it.

Bambi had decent sales... It had decent sales because of the good ads. Also people who remember watching it when they were little bought it just to relive the memeories... It was also for a new generation for Little Kids.

So the way I look at it is just how popular the film is. Thats why The Lion King had great sales while Aladdin didnt.
________
Herbal vape

[MickeyMousePal]

Maybe everyone forgot about Aladdin or didn't like it that much.
Probably they already own it.

[orestes.]

I bet the reason some people did not buy it was because that it had Arabian references but I seriously hope that it's not widespread.

I have met so many Americans that are against any Arab and they believe Islam is "evil" because they are all terrorists (so is Muhammad Ali a terrorist?). I can't bellieve how many people are close-minded. Then again it could not fully be their fault but the company they keep.

What would be interesting to see is the sales for every Disney release to see if there is a decline and see how much Disney spent on promoting all of their movies on DVD as well.

Personally I see Disney promoting newer films and Pixar movies more than others. When they released the latest wave of Ghibli titles I saw 'The Cat Returns' promo on TV two dozen times but neither of the other movies. 'Bambi' was promoted well though for an older classic.

...and the excuse people have forgot about it... no one I know has but I really don't see that as a reason. Well it's possible but around me everyone knows about it young and old.

[Little Red Henski]

I relle dont think America is racist

That is very funny. I guess all those Red State voters voted for Bush because they think he is a nice guy.

[AwallaceUNC]

It's an interesting theory, and that may have been the case with some people, but I really don't believe it accounted for any significant low numbers.

At the time that Aladdin came out (and for a while before and after), I was a cast member working as a marketing representative for Buena Vista Home Entertainment. Aladdin definitely didn't have a TLK-esque promotion, but I did feel like it was pretty good. How much Aladdin was promoted probably had some to do with it, but I think the biggest problem was <i>how</i> it was promoted. As I was working in stores, meeting with managers and organizing in-store promotions, I can't tell you how many people didn't even know what Aladdin was. Either that, or they vaguely remember it, or had it confused with another movie (like Sinbad ). For the most part, these were 20-year-old-and-up (I didn't talk to a whole of kids in my job). People of lots of age groups would tell me about their disinterest or confusion over what it was- which I of course tried to clear up. I had a very, very hard time moving units of Aladdin in my stores.

Disney released Aladdin and promoted it as something that everyone loved and just couldn't wait to get on DVD. Instead of reminding people about the movie, they just let them know that a really good DVD was finally on the way. The truth is that people weren't waiting for one. Disney made a mistake by putting 10 years in between home video releases. They should have started their marketing campaign MUCH earlier, maybe aired it on TV 8 months prior and made a DVD announcement just after it. They needed to remind people of what Aladdin was and reawaken interest.

To be fair, I was with Disney in thinking that Aladdin is one of a handful of films that EVERYONE would know. Turns out it wasn't/isn't, which is a shame. I was taken by surprise and so were they. I got an email shortly after day 1 closed saying sales were disappointing, and after a week we were still being told it was less than expected, and Disney tried to reroute things, but it was largely the same and too little, too late.

For those who don't know, though, it should be pointed out that Aladdin did well. It's still a popular movie. It just fell beneath expectations (no, I don't know exactly what those were, but I'm guessing pretty high but not TLK-high).

-Aaron

[AwallaceUNC]

I relle dont think America is racist

That is very funny. I guess all those Red State voters voted for Bush because they think he is a nice guy.

Let's set a standard of discourse slightly higher than "republicans=racist" for ourselves, why don't we? ...Especially in a thread where that's irrelevant.

-Aaron

[Disney-Fan]

Seems like The Lion King overshadows everything else, as usual: Pocahontas and every other classic from that point, Aladdin's DVD, even Disney's other sequels are shameful compared to Lion King 1.5/II...

[orestes.]

Aaron, what you said is what I wanted to say. I would have thought everyone knew about it too. Everyone I know does and I'm the centre of the universe.

[orestes.]

I relle dont think America is racist

That is very funny. I guess all those Red State voters voted for Bush because they think he is a nice guy.

I don't think Americans are racist. (Most anyways)

I would say more are ignorant than racist but you find people like that in every country.

As what Aaron said as well... Republicans do not equal racists. Republicans do not equal idiots either. (for the most part )

[Little Red Henski]

So John McCain didn’t lose the 2000 Republican nomination because he has a Black daughter? Anyways if people really think Aladdin didn’t lose sales because of Arabian themes, they are dreaming.

[AwallaceUNC]

So John McCain didn’t lose the 2000 Republican nomination because he has a Black daughter? Anyways if people really think Aladdin didn’t lose sales because of Arabian themes, they are dreaming.

Well, at least you're allowing room for different takes to be discussed.

-Aaron

[Lightyear]

I have met so many Americans that are against any Arab and they believe Islam is "evil" because they are all terrorists (so is Muhammad Ali a terrorist?). I can't bellieve how many people are close-minded. Then again it could not fully be their fault but the company they keep.

The same close-minded goes against America and American's, Just because I'm from this country, doesn't make me a killer.. Or the anti-christ. I'm just like the next guy, trying to make it in the world on my own two feet.

Closed-mindedness(sp) knows no boundry.