DISNEY'S MARKETING DILEMMA: HOW 'BOUT A PLUSH RAT WITH THAT TRANSFORMER? (LAT, NYT, JHM)

By Nancy Vialatte

How do you market a rat in the kitchen? Much has been made of the fact that Disney and Pixar had a difficult task in figuring out how to promote what sets �Ratatouille� apart from other animated fare without hearing audiences call out for an exterminator.

"This is the toughest movie we've ever had to market," Ed Catmull, president of Pixar and Disney Animation Studios told the Los Angeles Times. "It's difficult to convey such an odd premise - rats and cooking�We're in unknown territory."

In Hollywood and on Wall Street, "Ratatouille" is being closely watched as the first film released since Disney acquired its longtime partner last year for $7.4 billion. So far, Pixar is a perfect seven-for-seven at producing hits. Disney and Pixar used to share the movie costs. Now, Disney foots the entire bill, which, in the case of "Ratatouille," comes to more than $200 million in production and worldwide marketing expenditures. (LAT)

Many industry watchers believe the subject is a gamble and some analysts believe "Ratatouille" may not perform up to the blockbuster level of such past Pixar gems as "Finding Nemo," "The Incredibles" and "Toy Story 2," all of which grossed more than $450 million worldwide.

And yet, Disney couldn�t have wished upon a star for better reviews. In his New York Times review A.O. Scott said today, ��Ratatouille� is a nearly flawless piece of popular art, as well as one of the most persuasive portraits of an artist ever committed to film. It provides the kind of deep, transporting pleasure, at once simple and sophisticated, that movies at their best have always promised.�

Still, analysts aren�t judging the Disney/Pixar deal on this film alone. "It's an important movie," Merrill Lynch�s Jessica Reif Cohen tells the LAT "But even if it underperforms the other Pixar films, the acquisition won't be judged by this movie alone."

Media analyst Richard Greenfield of Pali Research agrees with Reif Cohen that although there's a general concern that "Ratatouille" may not live up to past Pixar hits, he believes the picture will ultimately be profitable worldwide.

Meanwhile, in terms of marketing, getting retailers to agree to hawking a plush rat was not an easy sell. Yet, in a departure, the studio is selling kitchen utensils at the Disney Stores chain along with a children's cookware and tableware line exclusively at upscale kitchenware retailer Sur La Table; cheese platters and "Ratatouille"-branded French chardonnay wine that goes on sale exclusively at Costco Wholesale Corp. in August.

This marks the first time that Disney is promoting an alcoholic beverage tied to a film, but that�s part of a larger strategy to extend the family entertainment giant's name into adult products.

But if Disney�s creatives have faced an uphill battle, some of it can be explained by the fact that Disney was never really meant to market �Ratatouille� in the first place. Pixar greenlit the film on its own during a time when the animation studio was looking to team up with a different studio.