Ecosystem Marketing and Stage Musicals at Walt Disney World
Location
Rosen Classroom 111
Start Date
20-6-2024 11:15 AM
Description
The franchise of a Disney title comprises film, toys, accessories, as well as presence in theme parks, on Broadway, Disney on Ice, Disney channel, Disney+, and Disney Cruise. Performances of songs from animated films activate a franchise and establish innovative and engaging touchpoints with audiences by connecting with them both emotionally and nostalgically. This paper demonstrates that three stage versions of animated musical films at Walt Disney World, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage, and Festival of the Lion King, have reimagined and reinvented these titles’ franchises, ensuring that customers experience something “new” through music and live performance.
I use Philip Kotler and Christian Sarkar’s concept of ecosystem marketing, which consists of positioning a product across platforms and media to gain and engage customers. These attractions amplify the Broadway aesthetic that inspired their original animated film counterparts without expanding them to a full-blown piece of musical theater, and they coexist with parades and other musico-theatrical attractions (like Fanstamic!) in the park itself, thus providing a comparative approach to study how the musicals in the park operate within the ecosystems of these titles. The songs are the main conduit of the attractions since these are abridged versions of the animated films that presuppose audiences’ familiarity with plots and characters. I consider the order of songs in each attraction (which differs from that in the films), form of presentation (linear narrative, revue of songs), reliance (or not) on orchestration and vocal techniques from the films, and employment of visual effects (puppetry, acrobatics). I conclude that through music these attractions promote absorption of and immersion into the titles’ ecosystems through both active and passive participation.
Recommended Citation
Bádue, Alex, "Ecosystem Marketing and Stage Musicals at Walt Disney World" (2024). Theme Park Music and Sound. 5.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/tpms/2024/thursday/5
Ecosystem Marketing and Stage Musicals at Walt Disney World
Rosen Classroom 111
The franchise of a Disney title comprises film, toys, accessories, as well as presence in theme parks, on Broadway, Disney on Ice, Disney channel, Disney+, and Disney Cruise. Performances of songs from animated films activate a franchise and establish innovative and engaging touchpoints with audiences by connecting with them both emotionally and nostalgically. This paper demonstrates that three stage versions of animated musical films at Walt Disney World, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage, and Festival of the Lion King, have reimagined and reinvented these titles’ franchises, ensuring that customers experience something “new” through music and live performance.
I use Philip Kotler and Christian Sarkar’s concept of ecosystem marketing, which consists of positioning a product across platforms and media to gain and engage customers. These attractions amplify the Broadway aesthetic that inspired their original animated film counterparts without expanding them to a full-blown piece of musical theater, and they coexist with parades and other musico-theatrical attractions (like Fanstamic!) in the park itself, thus providing a comparative approach to study how the musicals in the park operate within the ecosystems of these titles. The songs are the main conduit of the attractions since these are abridged versions of the animated films that presuppose audiences’ familiarity with plots and characters. I consider the order of songs in each attraction (which differs from that in the films), form of presentation (linear narrative, revue of songs), reliance (or not) on orchestration and vocal techniques from the films, and employment of visual effects (puppetry, acrobatics). I conclude that through music these attractions promote absorption of and immersion into the titles’ ecosystems through both active and passive participation.