It’s peculiar to see Disney send out an animated film with so little advertising. One of the common refrains heard about their latest movie: “What is that?”
I woke up today to check on the reviews for Strange World and something is not right. There aren’t nearly the number of reviews I would expect. Dan Murrell, formerly of Screen Junkies is my go to reviewer and he hasn’t posted anything about it. Other YouTube reviewers are also silent on the film: Jeremy Jahns, Chris Stuckmann, Film Threat (although that can be expected because Chris & Alan have better things to do than chase Disney clicks).
Under normal circumstances, you would expect they would be anxiously awaiting the review embargo to drop in order to discuss the film. If you’re ever wondering why all those reviews drop in your subscription feed a the same time, it’s because critics have been sent a screener (or link to a digital screener) so they can have their review ready to release as soon as the studio says “go!”
But Strangle World is out today and it’s… crickets.
The marketing for this movie has been non-existent and sending out screeners seems like the cheapest way to get some free traction online. Most YouTube influencers are falling all over themselves to send out a glowing review of the next big thing people are searching for online. Surely Disney will do as they always do and pick the low hanging fruit, right?
As they say online “it’s free real estate.”
Apparently that didn’t happen. It looks like Disney is hiding this movie.
here’s a reminder that Strange World is out in cinemas today!! this is the first Disney movie with an LGBTQ+ lead character and has received barely any marketing so it’s extra important to support this movie in person if we hope to see more major queer rep in Disney properties pic.twitter.com/n7yBKl7Zv1
— cara 🌸 (@mugicara) November 23, 2022
We can only theorize as to why. It could be that Disney believes the movie is of low quality, but the the access media seems to be giving it a pass. It could be that Disney believes their brand name is strong enough that families will just show up. The only other family-friendly movie at the box office right now is Lyle Lyle Crocodile. LLC may beat Strange World in total box office domestic runs — how is that for nuts?
Perhaps Disney is hoping that the parents and grandparents making the decision to go see a movie this Thanksgiving weekend have not been paying attention to news stories covering the film. In case you aren’t aware, Strange World has Disney Animation’s first gay male lead protagonist. Pretty soon Disney will run out of qualifiers on their LGBTQIA+ “firsts,” but today I would say this one is a legitimate big deal in the march of “progress.”
Recently, Disney isn’t talking much about their strides towards representation. They didn’t mention the first trans wedding in She Hulk, they didn’t shout from the rooftops about all the queerness in the Proud Family reboot or in the upcoming Moon Girl series. For Strange World, only influencers who have seen the film are talking about the LGBTQ aspect. Maybe that’s on purpose.
So I ask you (and not for the first time if you’ve been following That Park Place):
Is Disney not taking “pride” in what they are doing? Are they trying to make an end run around parental supervision? Or is the movie locked in and they know they can’t do anything about it so they’re just releasing the movie and holding on for dear life?
Either way, Strange World is out in theaters to today and on Disney+ in a month.
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