Pixar’s ‘Up’: Wal-Mart is Unenthused

Travel Blog  •  Eva Holland  •  04.07.09 | 12:27 PM ET

Well, we may have listed “Up” as a travel movie to watch for, but it seems that some people are less excited about Pixar’s latest venture.

The New York Times notes that Wall Street prophets and major toy retailers alike are predicting a poor commercial showing for the flick, which tells the story of Carl, a grouchy old man who fulfills his dream of traveling to South America—by turning his house into a flying machine.

From the Times story:

Target and Wal-Mart say they will stock little “Up” merchandise, mainly because there was not much interest from manufacturers: Thinkway Toys, which has churned out thousands of Pixar-related products since 1995’s “Toy Story,” will not produce a single item. Disney Stores will offer “Up”-related products, but even that will be on a limited basis, according to analysts.

The folks at Pixar aren’t sweating the news. “We make these films for ourselves,” “Up” co-director Pete Docter said, when asked about the movie’s commercial potential. “We’re kind of selfish that way.” And to its credit, Disney—which bought Pixar in 2006—is backing its artists up, too. Said Disney’s CEO: “We seek to make great films first. If a great film gives birth to a franchise, we are the first company to leverage such success. A check-the-boxes approach to creativity is more likely to result in blandness and failure.”

The worries from industry types are contrasted throughout the Times story with hopeful early reports from animation lovers and Pixar-obsessed bloggers (“sophisticated, mature, poignant,” wrote one)—and, in a break with tradition, the Cannes Film Festival has scheduled “Up” for its opening night, marking the first time an animated movie has received the honor.

Call me an elitist, but I think I’ll take the opinion of the Cannes programmers over the backroom staffers at Wal-Mart. I’m officially bumping “Up” from a “travel movie to watch for” to a “travel movie must-see.”

Tags: Movies, Pop Culture Travel, Europe, France, South America, News and Briefs

Eva Holland is co-editor of World Hum. She is a former associate editor at Up Here and Up Here Business magazines, and a contributor to Vela. She's based in Canada's Yukon territory.


2 Comments for Pixar’s ‘Up’: Wal-Mart is Unenthused

Grizzly Bear Mom 04.09.09 | 10:50 AM ET

So maybe we can just watch a movie for the pleasure of it?  Nice to know that Walmart that there are limits on Walmart’s control and that studios develop movies regardless of whether it benefits large retailers. 

Otherwise we would have to purchase “Saw” action figures.

Dopey 04.09.09 | 4:47 PM ET

Perhaps someday people will consider animated features as films, not as vehicles for selling toys, and review these films based on the story, acting, and filmmaking, not on their Wal-Mart potential.

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