Who was Disney's target demographic with Into the Woods?

This afternoon I had a great time seeing Into the Woods. I really loved it and thought that it was a great stage to film adaptation. The ones that saw it with me and didn't enjoy it were the young children that were there as well. After hearing some of them say to their parents (a little too loudly if you ask me, but I don't think that they were intending to be as loud as they were) that they couldn't follow what was going on and that they didn't like the music.

Now, if I were a parent of a small child, and I knew nothing of the show, I'd think that a Disney movie with popular fairy tale characters would be a great movie to take my child to. However, that appeared, at lest to me, to not be the case. So, I was wondering what the target demographic is for this film. Does anyone know or have a thought? The only people that I know who wanted to see it were those who were already interested in theatre. And, those that I know who aren't didn't really express any interest in wanting to see it. That's what got me wondering who this film's target audience was. If it was for children it may not have worked out well as they thought. But, I could be wrong on that one. After all, many complaints from the kids in the screening I was at were that they couldn't follow the plot and had even a harder time following the music. Sondheim, as great as he is, is far from your typical Disney song. So, does anyone know who the targeted demographic was/is for this movie?

Pre-teens11-12 on up it's not a kids movie for the under 10

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Updated On: 12/27/14 at 03:28 AM

The theater I was in for the show today was packed with little kids....under tens. Halfway through the show they started getting restless. The 6 year old next to me was asking questions throughout and her dad was answering. Bored and lost in the plot, she started talking to the screen. Parents should know how much there is in this movie that makes it NOT kid-friendly. Target audience has to be older teens and adults. After the word gets around, I think the audience will become a more selective theater-going, Sondheim-familiar crowd.

They advertised it brilliantly because everyone around me in the theatre all generally said, "the commercials looked really cool" and it was quite obvious where I was that a lot of people didn't know the music beforehand. It could be where I live, though.

Maybe it's just me, but do people really go and see a film without knowing what it's about? Any film? I don't think I've ever done that. But on Twitter and elsewhere I've read people being surprised it's dark and even that it's a musical, I mean, you couldn't just google it before you went? I haven't seen any marketing of this that's led me to believe it's particularly small child friendly, the cast have been everywhere and I'm fairly sure every interview has addressed the much darker tone of the film. Just to look at the trailer, it's clearly aimed at a slightly older demographic. That said, my 7yo niece was desperate to see thisand sat transfixed and unfazed by any deaths, scary bits etc. She left the movie in love with Chris Pine and singing to herself. But she has been brought up on musicals tho, not Sondheim, but she's seen Cats and others.
As for parents being outraged, are people forgetting that Disney has always had dark moments, even in the very early cartoons. They're not exactly sweetness and light

I went to an advanced screening and the theatre was full of small children including the ones surrounded by me. Fortunately, they were quiet for the most part, the parents are another story. When I got into a conversation with two women beside me, who brought five small kids, they were suprised when I stated this really isn't a children's movie. They were shocked and stated well it's Disney and fairy tales. They had done no research on what the movie was about. When I mentioned that it was a musical, one mother stated "my child won't like that". I agree on 11 and up, unless a younger child is mature and familiar with musicals.

I think the question should more pertinently be "Who was Mssrs. Sondheim and Lapine's target demographic?"

1. Duped parents.

2. Their duped children.

3. Those who derive pleasure from seeing 1 & 2 duped.

It's interesting that no one is really talking about the solid box office performance of Annie thus far, which is even more remarkable considering the horrendous reviews.
It made me wonder... when is the last time movie audiences could choose from 2 big-budget (ie, 50 million+) movie musicals?

I think parents saw the commercials and thought, "Oh, it's about mixed-up fairy tales, like 'Shrek'. My kids love 'Shrek' - they'll love this too!"

There was actually a baby at the screening I went to on Christmas night at 7:00. It started crying as soon as the movie started, fortunately the mother took it outside the theater pretty quicklu.

In the weeks before the premiere I saw two different entertainment gossip shows promote it as a children's movie. Made me shake my head.

Aren't the Harry Potter movies really dark? I know of parents who took kids ages 6 & under to one of the early ones and sort of questioned it. It's very interesting to me on what some parents will let their kids see, but complain about things that are not as bad or equal. Granted, I've never seen Harry Potter, but to me those look like they would be for older kids like Into The Woods seems to be for.

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Since the average moviegoer pays no attention to Broadway, I thought it was rather disingenuous of the Disney marketers to completely avoid in its advertising revealing that this is a musical. Not a "Bibbidy Bobbidi Boo" Disney movie with a few songs, but a sophisticated (sorry, After Eight) SONDHEIM musical with wall to wall songs intended to appeal to adults. I think OP is correct in wondering who the intended audience is? Seemingly, aside from those who know the material, it seems marketed towards those who can be duped into believing it is a big screen variation of the current "Grimm" or "Once Upon a Time" type tv shows or as suggested by someone earlier a contemporary "Shrek" kind of take on the genre.

Disney is strictly corporate now. If you can put a butt in the seat, that means money. And money is the bottom line for Disney now. That's how it has been for a long time.
This is not to say Walt didn't like making money, but he had a slightly different approach. It was one that we Cast Members could still see into the 70s and early 80s.
After that we could see the paradigm shift and that corporate writing on the wall.
True. many will say that the "company" was saved in the 80s from a takeover that could have changed the face of Disney. And in some cases that is true.
But many faces of Disney did change anyway; something that Cast Members began to see immediately.
And money was at the root of it. An impersonality set in that hadn't been there before.
Thirty years later it continues to be full steam ahead toward the corporate dollar.
So I would say the demographic will include anyone they can appeal to to get them in the seats.
I didn't pay much attention to the advertising for this. It seems some are saying the company was disingenuous; others are saying they were upfront in the press about the themes of the story. If it was the latter, then kudos to Disney. If it was the former, then it doesn't surprise me. What little I did see seemed to appeal to both: fairy tale characters (kids) and darkness (adults).
I still love Disney, and I still believe that they provide a nice outlet for families and children.
But the feel has changed. It's not quite what it used to be. At the root of it is money because it's now a corporation, not a magical entity that had a unique sense of warmth, closeness and family connectivity to it.
But again, that couldn't have lasted forever anyway. We're 50 years beyond Walt's direct influence on Walt Disney Productions (and his unique, personal, impassioned, magical, inspirational genius). We're about 30-35 years past the influence of his family and direct cohorts. Since then it's about the Walt Disney Company (and its corporate genius). It was bound to change. Now you have corporate mindsets, and that means money. Which is understandable.

Updated On: 12/27/14 at 11:07 AM