Why is Big Hero Six being marketed as a boy's film?

[Lovecat]

Yes, this is petty, yes there are more important things to get worked up about, but this has really annoyed me!

Took DD and her BFF to see this film in half-term, they both loved it and came out talking excitedly about what they would call their superhero duo team and what their powers would be/what they would invent to fight crime. There are 3 strong female characters in the film doing 'science stuff' (Honey Lemon, GoGo and Abigail the test pilot) and the auntie who looks after Hiro and Tadashi is a sympathetic (if ditsy) character.

So why, when we went to the Disney store the next day to spend some birthday money, were we greeted by a display of BH6 toys and clothing on a stand that was labelled "Oh Boy!", on the "Boy" side of the shop (don't get me started on the sexual apartheid practised in the Disney Store with princesses vs. superheroes) and NONE of the t-shirts featured the female members of the team? Not one of them! There wasn't even a separate "girls" shirt with just Honey Lemon and Gogo.

I asked (nicely) and a very apologetic assistant said that this was what they'd been sent and how Disney had decided to market the film merchandising. He suggested I look elsewhere as they 'might' have licensed the characters to other stores and made clothing with the entire team on them. He also said that he agreed it was silly and they'd done the same thing with Guardians of the Galaxy (ie removed the women).

But really? Do they think boys will be contaminated by having female characters on their shirts, even though those female characters are part of the team - the film's not called Big Hero Four, is it? Why not all of them? And do they think girls don't want a t-shirt with the characters on it at all?

I've found a grand total of 3 t-shirts on Amazon with all the team on them, the vast majority of most of them are of the four men.

Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

slightlyglitterstained great links really enjoyed them, especially the second one, thanks :)

scallopsrgreat
"Well that last post really shows how much you don't know DotheyFloat.

But we all like to have our language policed by a bloke. So feel free to carry on making a fool of yourself."

You've hijacked a name of a brutally oppressive racial system (apartheid) in the misguided belief that the name will impart gravitas to your own cause; the discrepancy between the two realities, i.e. of South African racial apartheid and not being able to buy Jacasta the Disney T-shirt you want, ensures the exact opposite.

And you call me a fool. LOL.

Lovecat
"I'm actually half-South African, I'm well aware of the meaning of the word apartheid.

Please stop before you embarrass yourself any more."

You suffered under South-African racial apartheid?

You get a t shirt with the whole 6 including the females at primark. My DD asked for it and got it last week.

I haven't hijacked anything. You are still a fool.

Glad you liked them Pilchard - it couldn't really be any more explicit than that, could it?

Which I guess explains the fervent wading through almost the full set of derailment bingo - addressing this directly doesn't leave much wiggle room, so divert & distract it is. Moving on.

QueQuesto - that's interesting, so they exist but aren't stocked elsewhere? Hmmm....

For those of you who've watched Big Hero 6 - is it likely to be too confusing/loud for a toddler? Thinking of taking DS to the cinema this weekend & that or Shaun the Sheep are the options.

My 4 year old liked the robot but I think a lot of the plot went over her head.

That's good to know, Que

My 4 year-old sat there with big wide eyes, loving it (and hid under my arm at a couple of sad/scarier bits - but he's not very good with those, other kids would probably be fine)

My 1 year old (yes, I know, stupid idea, but it was a 10am showing so already full of kids, and DS1 was desparate to see the movie) upended his sweets into the popcorn, then upended the popcorn on the floor to find the sweets that had sunk to the bottom, then insisted on sitting on the stairs rather than in his chair. He won't be going back to the cinema for a good couple of years I think.

I also hate the 'sides' in the Disney store and feel obliged to point out that they completely marketed Frozen as a girl's film. My boys both loved it originally. My older one asked for the DVD for his 7th birthday last April and now he refuses to watch it because it's 'for girls'. Similarly when he was little he loved Tangled and wanted a Flynn duvet cover but the only ones available had Rapunzel on.

Primark is brilliant for this sort of thing - it was definitely the first place I saw Frozen stuff for boys.

I think it's far more sinister than just a marketing decision, but if we take it on face value, it's a very poor marketing decision - cutting out half of your potential customers.

Wiping the women out of films is dreadful. And I have SO much rage over Black Widow's whole role in the Avengers (her shoes! Her ridiculous shoes!) that my boys won't let me watch the film any more.