Spit & Polish: 13 November 2011

We needed fantasy heroes back in World War 2 - and with the world in turmoil, we need them again now

A colleague asked me about the continuing popularity of fantasy films that are aimed at a young audience but also attract a substantial adult audience. The glib assumption is probably that most of the adults who go to see these films are parents taking their kids on a family outing.

The statistics, however, show a huge adult audience who do not have kids, but still flock into the movie malls because they love the escapist fun these films provide.

If you look at the box-office takings for 2011, you get a clear picture of what global audiences want to see. These figures, from www.boxofficemojo.com, show that 15 of the Top 20 box-office hits in 2011 were fantasy films.

Of the remaining five, three were raunchy comedies - The Hangover 2, Bridesmaids and Horrible Bosses. There was one demolition derby of wrecked cars in Fast Five and the one, single film that dealt with real social, political and personal issues was The Help.

So, must we lament this situation, accepting TSEliot's observation that "Humankind cannot stand very much reality"? Or do we examine how this fantasy empire works?

There are two possible scenarios. The hard-line explanation is relatively easy to figure out - it's all about the money. Hollywood's studios are promoting fantasy because they see serious profit in family films.

"Family films", to put it quite crassly, means buying multiple tickets, because the kids and their friends want to see the new flicks and the parents want to feel assured that they will not see anything inappropriate.

In the course of that family outing, you must add the obligatory popcorn and soda, because that's where the real profit is - the snacks and drinks. Check out the price of one of those "combo" packs and you will see that it costs almost as much as the movie tickets did. If the movie is in 3D, you have to cough up for the glasses, and that's where the profit is made.

It is truly "popcorn economics" and it is best explained in terms of this year's most unexpected box-office hit, The Smurfs. It took the world by storm, earning $150-million, more than major Hollywood movies such as Johnny Depp's Rango and the popular comedies Horrible Bosses and Crazy, Stupid, Love.

Its success was not based on the quality of the animation or the unusual production design. It was pure nostalgia and clever merchandising. The Smurfs brand became a global commodity in the 1960s. The kids who loved the Smurfs and bought the toys are now parents and they want to give their own kids a taste of what they loved in their youth.

With new 3D animation techniques, plus Smurf merchandising such as T-shirts, duvets and lunch-boxes, it became a self-replicating process. It wasn't a movie, it was a re-activated memory that made a ton of money, sitting in 15th place.

Fantasy adventures such as the Pirates of the Caribbean and animation charmers such as Shrek and Despicable Me no longer cater solely for kids. They delight adults as much as they do the kids, and that's not because the adults are getting dumber but because the films are getting smarter.

Think back to the animation films and TV series of the 1960s and 1970s. They were wrapped in cotton wool, sentiment and syrup. Happily, they are a thing of the past. The kids of this decade have never been shrewder and more discerning about the movies they want to see, and the studios have cashed in on that.

This year's most successful film is likely to be Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. That series has created a new benchmark for youth movies. It is well written and full of complex characters with challenging aspects and ideas.

It tells the young audience that the world does contain cruelty and pain, and that there are people who take delight in dark deeds. The point of these films is that they tell a young audience that courage and arduous effort enables you to endure and to find your true self. You may have to endure bad things to find your personal courage but, once you find it, you are empowered.

The days when a fairy godmother's wand turned Cinderella from a bedraggled girl into a beautiful princess; or a handsome prince who rescues a sleeping waif from a magic castle, are long gone.

The new films address - and, indeed, inspire - a child's self-reliance and they give children a sense of freedom to explore their possibilities. That's why Finding Nemo remains such a consistent favourite. It's about a frightened little fish that finds the courage and the ingenuity to feel free and safe "under the sea".

To underline the strength of that film, Finding Nemo will be released again in January, in 3D, plus new films featuring Batman, Superman, SpiderMan and the Avengers.

I mention Batman and Superman particularly because both those characters gained their fame in one of the darkest periods in human history, World War 2. Superman made his comic-book debut in 1938 and Batman did the same in 1939.

They were heroes for the 1940s and now they are back to be heroes in an unstable world, reminding us that the more things change, the more they stay the same.