Blame it on World War II. All those baby boomers now have kids of their own, creating an enormous demographic bulge of parents desperate for entertainment they can share with their children. For decades, moms and pops turned to Disney for family fare - so much so that Disney had to create a separate division, Touchstone, to market adult films without defiling the Disney name. Now the trend is exactly the opposite, as every purveyor of adult fare, from Warner Brothers to Miramax to Roger Corman, has created a separate department to market family films.
It started with the majors. Just a year ago Warner Brothers announced the creation of their ``Family Entertainment'' label, along with their first release, Dennis the Menace. Since then, they hit the jackpot with Free Willy, and there's more to come, especially as their animation wing plays catch-up with Disney.
Warner Family Entertainment's first animated feature was Batman - Mask of the Phantasm which was initiated as a home video project. ``There's no such thing as a safe bet,'' explained Tom Ruegger, executive producer of Warner Brothers Animation. ``No one has the organization, expertise, or track record of Disney. They know how to open, promote, and to give the audience bang for the buck. Their films are full of bravura moments. Who would have guessed that Universal's We're Back, which was packed with dinosaurs, wouldn't open well. So it's not automatic that kids will show up to a Disney style movie. They're tough to emulate.''
As Warners makes more animated features, they're sure to borrow from their own television department. ``We would very much like to get Animaniacs into movie theaters in long form,'' says Ruegger. ``It's a really special show. With it, we are only trying to please ourselves and our contemporaries, while maintaining the tradition of lunacy and irreverence from the old Warner cartoons.''
One of the forerunners in this year's family sweepstakes is The Pagemaster, a Twentieth Century Fox presentation in association with Turner Pictures, starring Mr. Cottage Industry himself, Macaulay Culkin. It's a live action tale that turns animated as a timid boy in a library finds himself sucked into a mural that comes to life. He meets the Pagemaster, played by Christopher Lloyd, who takes him on a journey through the world of fantasy, horror, and adventure books. Written and produced by David Kirschner (An American Tale), it's a pro-reading escapade that will presumably send kids out of the theaters and into the libraries.
Though the rosters of all the
majors have routinely offered up a small proportion of family films, indies
have traditionally steered clear. This fact is obvious at the American
Film Market, where there is rarely a dwarf or princess available among
the blood and guts and T&A. This year there were about half a dozen
films that might be construed as family, and next year that amount will
surely escalate as more indies jump on the family bandwagon.
To many people, Roger Corman
would seem to be the most unlikely candidate to produce family fare. Surprisingly,
his New Horizons family division is now responsible for one quarter of
his total output. According to Jonathan Fernandez, President of New Horizons,
``We've found that the market is looking for these films; there's a demand
that's not being met.''
There was no particular breakout
family film that caused Corman to go after this new market; rather it was
his own fatherhood. ``Me and my wife, Julie, were aware for years that
there were not enough family films to take our children to see in theaters,''
explains Corman. ``Three years ago we tested the waters with Munchie
and A Cry in the Wild and they both succeeded beyond our expectations.''
These films got very limited
theatrical releases, then went to home video - a policy Corman has since
abandoned. ``We've found it's cleaner to put money we would have spent
on theatrical advertising into standees and other extras for the video
market.'' His upcoming, direct-to-video releases include No Dessert
Dad, Till You Mow the Lawn, starring Robert Hayes and Munchie Strikes
Back, starring Leslie Anne Down.
Marketing family films presents
a particular challenge to companies like Corman's because ``We're always
fighting the fact that everyone stands in the shadow of Disney. We try
to maintain our identity, while still selling films like `White Wolves'
to the Disney channel. If you try to make your films appeal to 5 and 6
year olds, they won't work for 10 or 11 year olds. Younger kids always
want to see older films. I think the perfect target audience age is about
10 to 15 years old.''
Corman was not a fan of family
films when he was a kid. He was looking for blood and gore and action,
which pretty much explains the first part of his career. Films like Little
Shop of Horrors, The Raven, and the more recent Stepmonster
(She's mean, she's green, she's your new mom!), are perfect examples of
Corman's unique brand of subversive family filmmaking. He continues in
the same vein with How Much are Those Children In the Window?, due
soon from New Horizon.
Jan Glazer, who does casting
for Corman, finds herself in the new position of auditioning more children
than aliens. On her slate are Captain Nuke and the Bomber Boys featuring
three teenage boys, and Cry of the White Wolf, about six teenagers.
She sees hundreds of kids per film.
Another independent producer who cut his teeth making bloody Bs is Charles Band, whose Full Moon Entertainment gave us Demonic Toys and Robot Wars. With his new ``Moonbeam Entertainment'' division, in conjunction with Paramount Home Video, they've found amazing success with Prehysteria and Remote, low-budget family videos that have already sold more than 65,000 copies apiece. Coming up next, Dragonworld, in which a tycoon exploits a dragon by bringing him back to the city, and everyone experiences King Kong deja vu.
One more surprising entry in
the family arena is Chuck Norris and the Tanglewood Entertainment Group.
Chuck and his brother Aaron Norris both have families, and, like Corman,
were also inspired by the lack of films to take their children to. Aaron
decided to expand the market for his martial artist brother by making ``Sidekicks,''
which actually managed to be more about martial arts than beating people
up.
Foreign markets are still hungry
for action films, so they won't be making strictly family fare, but Tanglewood
founder Andy Howard definitely has an agenda. ``Nothing upsets me more
than sensationalizing criminals,'' he explained. ``I'm fed up with families
of criminals getting rich while families of victims suffer. I'm against
violence, and though it's difficult, we're looking for action films with
that philosophy.'' Look for Top Dog, starring Chuck Norris and a
dog (``One's Tough... One's Smart, but who's who?'').
Another dog picture on it's way is ``Napoleon,'' an Australian import that follows the cross-country adventures of a golden retriever puppy. It's courtesy of The Samuel Goldwyn Company, another indie actively searching for family programming to compete with the majors. ``We considered Much Ado About Nothing a family film,'' says Steve Bickel, Goldwyn's President of International sales and operations. ``We're looking for product with that quality. It's rare to find one with broad appeal. This is a cynical era. I think parents are looking for films that give their kids an optimistic start. Napoleon does that.''
The animal parade continues with The Silver Stallion, another beautifully shot Australian import, this one about a mystical horse, that's soon to be distributed by the Pangea Film Group. According to Jeff Schechtman, CEO of PFG Entertainment, ``There's been a backlash against violent films, particularly concerning international censorship problems. Children's films are also more expensive to market. Kids don't decide to see films because of articles or reviews. To capture their attention, you have to rely solely on advertising and word-of-mouth. If you're a major, it's no big deal, but indies can't just dump the film on the marketplace and hope they'll do well.''
Miramax made its name with esoteric adult fare like The Crying Game. For them to start making family films conjures up images of The Cook, the Wife, the Thief, her Lover, and That Darn Cat. According to whoever we end up talking to, ``.''
The family film boom is impacting the hiring of kid actors in a big way. According to Miss Pseudonym of the Mixed Metaphors Children's Casting Agency, ``We're getting more calls than we can shake a stick at.''
Virtually every male child in
the country wanted to see Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,' but no
parents really relished the same experience. Many children's films seem
to typify the formula that what attracts the kids must also repulse the
adults. With Aladdin and The Lion King, Disney has redefined
the family formula, giving entertainments that delight children while simultaneously
mollifying adults with in-jokes the kids can't possibly understand. Most
films that attempt to be all things to all audiences end up tame. The real
challenge the indies have to face is not whether they can market family
films but whether they can create films that are simultaneously entertaining
to every age group.
