In May 2009, Disney and Pixar's "Up" was released to theaters. In the story's plot, 78-year-old Carl Fredricksen ties thousands of balloons to this home and sets out to fulfill his lifelong dream to see the wilds of South America. Right after lifting off, he learns he isn't alone on his journey, since Russell, a wilderness explorer 70 years his junior, has inadvertently become a stowaway on the trip.I wanted to get the lead out on my promotional technique by doing something different for this film in particular. Since Westbrook is typically the short stick of the draw when it comes to getting promotional materials it created more of a challenge for me, though welcomed.
The week before the movie was to release I printed and created a cut-out, with a cardboard backing, of the house used in "Up" to attached to the top marquee box for theater hall one. Using the theater's contacts with a local party planning business, I was able to get 15 helium balloons to attach to the house. On the bottom side of the marquee I attached a cut-out of Fredricksen holding on to the garden hose to make it appear as though he is holding on to the house.
I'm happy to say that as families came into the main lobby during the first two weeks that we used the prop, quite a few of the small children would tug on their parent's shirts, pointing at the promotion and/or yelling out "Look at the balloons!" Knowing that the younger guests enjoyed the display was all the evaluation I needed to see for the display to be a success.
