Make overs for Cartoons....

What is similar between middle aged women and Strawberry Shortcakes, and Angelina Ballerina? Well they all get a facelift, liposuction, stretch marks, crows feet, boob-job, six pack abs, and botox shots to look young, hip and happening- NY Times article calls this “ their corporate owners try to cater to parents’ nostalgia and children’s YouTube-era sensibilities”.

Time and age never leave anyone untouched – be it in real life or reel life and from Simran to Sarah Jessica Parker. Honey, you can play a mother hen on reel, but in real you are mother hen with stretch marks. Bugs Bunny and Scooby-Doo are in the make-up room waiting to get spruced up. Can we call it their mid-life crises?

For shortcakes and Angelina Ballerina, it is life without retirement. “I love classic Mickey, but he needs to evolve to be relevant to new generations of kids,” Robert A. Iger, Disney’s chief executive, said in an interview.

NY Times says “Reinventing these beloved characters without inflicting indelible damage is one of the entertainment industry’s trickiest maneuvers”.

Not all cosmetic work pays off. Did you look at Micheal Jackson and his melted nose? May be he is sporting a new look? If done correctly, it can be incredibly lucrative. Mickey Mouse produces an estimated $5 billion in merchandise sales every year. Strawberry Shortcake, even in her diminished state, has generated $2.5 billion in revenue since 2003, according to American Greetings.

Old is gold is doesn’t sell well in the Entertainment mascots. NY Times says, “If the classic characters look less stodgy, the companies hope, they will appeal not only to parents who remember them fondly, but also to children who might automatically be suspicious of toys their parents played with. For parents, nostalgia is considered a bigger sales hook than ever because of the increasingly violent and hyper-sexualized media landscape. Most of the brands getting a makeover are from the 1980s. Licensing experts say they perceive a subtle psychological game at play, an attempt to hit the nostalgia button on a generation of young parents just as they start to feel their first twinges of middle age. Playing up nostalgia, of course, has long been one of this industry’s favorite gimmicks.”

Who makes it big, who stays on top, who rakes more at the cash register and who comes down all depends on looks. Entertainment industry is all about keeping the invigorating looks, lavender smell and petite size. Does it sound like prostitution?

Click on this link www.nytimes.com/2008/06/11/business/media/11cartoons.html to read the original article on “Beloved Characters as Reimagined for the 21st Century”