Pixar vs Marvel and Lucasfilm

[James]

As we all know, Disney's Marvel films all feature just the Marvel theme and logo. Iger recently announced the Star Wars films will have just the Lucasfilm logo and fanfare. Any chance Pixar might be able to get the same treatment?

I would have said no way a few years ago, but now that Disney has rebounded from the lean years (with Pixar's help admittedly) Disney doesn't need the Pixar crutch. They could let the Pixar films stand on their own like their other acquisitions now.

Probably won't happen but an interesting thought.

[Dacey]

Disney and Pixar are so one and the same that they are going to always have their logos together.

The only reason the Disney doesn't put their logo before Marvel and now Star Wars is they don't want to scare obnoxious fanboys away from those films (remember the "fear" that The Avengers would turn into a musical?). It's been working for them so far, so they're going to keep doing it, even though anyone who regularly goes to movie news sites is going to know that Disney owns both. It's not about letting them "stand on their own" so much as it is them deciding that their brand name could potentially hurt the franchises, which is obviously not a concern with the the target audience for Pixar movies. In fact, the Disney brand name helps Pixar, especially since many moviegoers just think of Inside Out as a "Disney movie" anyway.

It's like when Disney awkwardly put the studio logo at the end of the first Pirates film, out of concern that teenagers wouldn't give the film a chance otherwise. Disney's always been weird about seeming too "family friendly" when they're aiming for a "broader" audience.

[ShyViolet]

I think back in 1988 Disney didn't even want Roger rabbit to have a Disney logo right? (Too much adult material). Which is kind of funny since Tink appears at the very end! Lol.

[Randall]

Right--- Roger Rabbit, like Nightmare Before Christmas, was a Touchstone release with no "Disney" branding initially.

If Pixar was being acquired right now, there could be a chance of eschewing the Disney logo. But I don't think they'll take off the Disney logo now, after so many films together. As Dacey said, the brands are seen as nearly one and the same (even if the studios are in different towns), whereas Lucasfilm and Marvel are more distinct.

[Bill1978]

I'm more concerned with the Star Wars movies not starting with the Fox Fanfare. Whenever I hear that Fox Fanfare I instantly expect the Star Wars theme to follow.

[Ben]

Um, the Disney logo is used next to Lucasfilm on promotional items for Star Wars...?

I think they mean that the film's themselves will not start with the Disney castle logo on the front, even though I think that would work in the same way the extended Fox Fanfare used to.

Pixar won't ever be Disney free: having both logos together was part of the agreement when the Mouse bought the Lamp.

[James]

But that agreement was made Disney needed it there to prop up their own brand. Dacey said "the Disney brand name helps Pixar" which may have been true in 1995. But by 2005, it was the other way around. Now in 2015, with Disney doing fine on their own (with a big assist from Pixar admittedly), and as they allow their other acquisitions their own identity, maybe the guys at Pixar decide they don't want "moviegoers [to] just think of Inside Out as a Disney movie" anymore...

[Dacey]

It's still about the brand name, though. Disney applies it when they think it will help the final product, and also their own image. And, as Ben said, it's a contractional obligation anyway.

Everyone thinks of Pixar as Disney and vice versa. And the movie are doing so well that there's no need for them to change what's working for them. I don't think either side is complaining about it.

Bottom line is, the Disney name is always going to help a family film, and I firmly believe that Gnomeo and Juliet would've done even better than it had (it almost, almost, almost got to that magical $100 million mark) if Disney hadn't made the frankly bizarre decision to distribute an extremely kid friendly film under the Touchstone banner. Same goes for Real Steel (which I'm aware was a DreamWorks release, but very much felt like a "Disney" movie).

[Ben]

My mistake...the Disney-Pixar branding actually goes back to A Bug's Life, when they agreed to co-pro films together, so it has been there practically from the start (when Disney did not need Pixar to prop them up). Only the first Toy Story was promoted as a Disney-only movie, until *that* film was rebranded when they were bought.

Gnomeo was switched to Touchstone because Lasseter hated it.

I agree with Real Steel.