Jungle Book Exemplar Questions

The 1967 Jungle book relied on a budget of $4 Million as they key focus was that of the animation as Disney himself had developed a multiplane camera that enabled special effects like moving water. Disney was very involved with the making of The Jungle book due to the last Disney release (The Sword and The Stone) proving underwhelming at the box office,

Trailers
Posters
Convergence
Social media
Triptych posters


Sir's Exemplar

Both The Jungle Books (1967 and 2016) were mainstream films distributed by Disney - this would mean a saturated marketing campaign targeting a mass, mainstream audience.

The economic context underpinning production and distribution links to patterns of ownership which means Disney, in 2016 as one of the so-called big six would have significant funding as a multinational conglomerate to fund high production value films with cross-platform marketing campaigns. In the case of Jungle Book 2016 (estimated budget of 177 million dollars), Disney used high production values which means 'A' star marketing (voices), more time spent on production, access to the latest CGI (with live action) and important synergy with the 1967 film including iconic soundtrack but also institutional synergy. The Jungle Book 2016 was heavily promoted through its theme parks. The same could be said about the 1967 version ( estimated budget of 4 million dollars) as they used the latest technology in animation (the multi-plane animation camera and technicolor).

In 2016 and 2017 Disney was the number one distributor in terms of theatrical revenue including films that are part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (that it owns). Early Jungle Book teaser trailers made direct intertextual homage to the 1967 film with familiar characters and an emotive narrative. Mowgli featured extensively in a range of posters targeting global audiences, particularly the lucrative asian market - with Shere Khan, Bagheera, King Louis and Baloo. The unique selling point from 1967 of animals raising a human boy in Mowgli was heavily exploited in 2016 across platforms in the run up to the films release. A website was the central marketing hub that allowed audiences to click through convergent links to YouTube trailers, Social networking platforms, behind the scenes and interviews with the cast and the crew. The Jungle Book 2016 marketing was an interactive experience that targeted parents and children - primary and secondary audiences including families.

Bloggers and entertainment sites were used to get the message across - paid for communications and 'mentions' built viral hype along with 360 degree Facebook videos. More traditional marketing included trailers and 3D trailers played before the late 2015 Disney brand Star Wars: The Force Awakens but also during high rating TV spots like Superbowl (a telecast known for having the most lucrative advertising break in the world).

3D marketing was important to 2016 Jungle Book as available technology meant the film could be marketed as 'the spectacle' in IMAX format whereas 1967 Jungle Book relied on character and narrative. However, the iconic status of the 1967 Jungle Book cannot be underestimated in the marketing of the 2016 film with nostalgia targeting older audiences.
Both films relied to some extent on Disney merchandising with 1967 focusing on animation technology and humour to sell the film. Obviously in 1967 there was a heightened print campaign as a result of a lack of technology that is available nowadays.

In terms of ownership and economic context and mapping the theories of David Hesmondalgh, at the time, Disney were also vertically integrated linking funding, production and distribution ensuring commercial success for a safe genre film thus minimising risk and maximising profit.