Movies for children are a dime a dozen. From Aladdin to Shrek and everywhere in between. The production companies stick trailers everywhere. Commercials for the movies with all the must see clips are on your TV all day every day. These cartoon movies draw big name actors to give voice to the characters . Even before the official campaign starts , when the movie opens, kids are so gushy to see it that they have driven their parents crazy . That is just the start!
After the movie has premiered (sometime before it premiers) there are lines and lines of items related to the movie. It starts with toys at your favorite fast food place. Your kid’s meal comes with a toy from the newest movie out. And so it starts, your kid wants to eat there every day so they can get the entire set of toys from the movie. Those are just teaser toys. They don’t do much or move or make noise, you have to buy the real toys for that. The latest kids movie, Despicable Me, has everybody searching the world over for Despicable Me Toys. Little Minions and dolls modeled after the girls in the film. Despicable Me Toys are only the beginning. Next it will be lunch boxes, then back packs. A Despicable me blanket. It goes on forever and ever.
Aladdin the movie came out in 1992. That is 18+ years ago. The toys and items from that movie are still being made and sold today. Think about the movies that have had part 2 and part 3. Over and over again they show these toys to children and parents buy them.
A new way to draw income from movies has moved to the big time. The video game. I’m sure you’ve noticed that every movie for children is followed by a video game for the Nintendo DS or the Sony PSP or even the Wii. Never mind the 50 bucks it cost you to go to see the movie in the theater, what about the 60 bucks for the video game, 20 bucks for the dvd, untold amount for toys from the movie, the 10 happy meals to get the promo toys and school supplies?
So when you see a trailer for a new kid’s movie and you think it looks amazing , think about the money you would have to spend . Now think about the fact that as soon as the next movie hits the big screen , the process starts all over again. So while you are out buying Despicable Me Toys or backpacks, lunch boxes, pencils an notebooks, the movie production companies are already filming the next wallet pounding Blockbuster.