ST Who will Episode VII be marketed towards?

Everyone.

 

but aren't we all kids at heart.

 

What does "made for kids" mean exactly?

Episodes IV and V felt more like pre-teens (10-12) to teens.

Episodes VI and I felt more like younger children (about age 6 or 8) to teens. I'm talking about things like Ewoks, Jar Jar, silly things happening during battles, kid Anakin and fart jokes.

 

I'd say primary audience would be kids 5-13. Which sounds too big, but the movies have the kind of adventure story that it can be widely appealing. That's why everyone likes Star Wars, not just kids. Certainly some movies (like Empire) might resonate differently with different audiences, but Star Wars has always been good about putting something in there for everyone. While I see what you're saying, I'd have to disagree with your assortment of the films. I feel that every one of them features specific things geared more towards specific audiences, so that in the end both have relevance to the entire "kid" demographic. While Episode I has Jar-Jar, it also Maul, the most disturbing-looking villain of the series. Episode VI may have Ewoks, but it also has droids getting tortured and slaves being eaten by monsters. (In fact, I'd argue that the Jabba Scene was too violent compared to the rest of the film). So I don't really feel that you can categorize them based on how old the children are.

With the exception of the fart jokes (which I thought were unfunny even as a young child), I don't really see how the other things you mentioned are meant for younger children vs an age like pre-teens. Anakin was a kid in the film because it was more interesting than meeting Anakin at like 20 years old or something. I as an adult don't feel weird about Anakin being a kid the same way I wasn't weird about seeing Indiana Jones as an old man in 4. We're seeing a character in different stages of his life, which to me is interesting. Yes, he was likely meant to in some way resonate with the audience, but he's right in the middle between child and pre-teen, in order to have the most connectabliilty. Ewoks are designed to be cute, to be lovable, non-threatening teddy bears that are able to defeat the scary empire with all of its equipment. (A very child-like idea, from a certain perspective - that something like that could happen - but Kasdan and Lucas specifically wanted to make that point). I'm 20, and I still love Ewoks. Considering that Star Wars is a fairy tale (and not a Grimm fairy tale - much more like a Disney retelling), cute creatures seem to fit perfectly for me. Regarding silly things happening during battles, that's been happening in every movie - usually revolving around C3PO. Now, whether one or two of the movies did it to much might be another matter, but it's not like it suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

So as someone who grew up with the PT (and watched the OT around the same time) I have to say most of those things (except for Jar-Jar, who I'm indifferent towards, and the fart jokes which I can't stand) are things that I and many others liked about the movies, both in our younger childhood days and our pre-teen years. And while I may not connect to Anakin anymore, or think the silly stuff is as entertaining as I used to, when I see kids watching the movies they enjoy it as I did.

So I think in conclusion, we have to be careful not to project our adult sensibilities onto the films when it comes to the question of "who's it meant for". When I go to VII, there will probably be something I'm not a fan of because I think its unnecessary or childish. So the test will be to ask someone in that demographic if they liked the part I didn't. If they say they didn't like it, I'll know it was just flat-out bad, but if they enjoyed it I'll have to ask myself if it just wasn't meant for me. Like I said, I see what you're saying and now that I'm an adult I agree with a lot of it, but I do remember really liking a lot of those elements as a child, and I think they're important parts of what Star Wars is.

 

I never denied the teen appeal of any of the episodes ("pre-teens (10-12) to teens"), so Maul would definitely fit well with them. I also never said Episodes VI and I didn't have more mature levels of violence, like the scenes at Jabba's palace. What I was getting at was that it felt like those two movies had more content in them that appealed to much younger audiences than the other films.

Watching kid Anakin have a carefree, tensionless blast in that Naboo fighter while accidentally saving the day, spend some time with his neighborhood friends and fly in the pod race, as well as seeing how Jar Jar, Boss Nass and various aliens and robots behaved (cutesy or silly on Tatooine during the pod race, battle droids' "Roger-Roger!", etc.) affected the overall tone of Episode I by making it feel more like it was meant for younger children than the other movies, even though there's plenty of content there for older audiences as well.

Nothing wrong with cute characters in Star Wars, in and of itself. However, I liked how the short and squeaky Jawas were slaughtered when the stormtroopers attacked. Besides being cute, the Ewoks killed most of the stormtroopers by hitting them with sticks and stones. They didn't even have brute strength on their side. C-3P0 is a comic relief character who doesn't actually fight with weapons. I'm talking about that Ewok who hit himself with his own weapon or Jar Jar's antics during the battle. Han was silly with the stormtroopers on the Death Star, but IV's climax was 100% serious.

I don't want the new films to be more adult; I want them to return to IV and V's overall tone.

 

I'm sure Disney is aware demographics are being skewed these days. I'm sure they realize "all demographics are covered"

 

I see what you're saying. Personally, I never really felt a tonal difference between I, IV, and VI, but keep in mind I saw all 6 within 6 years of each other so maybe they all blended in a bit. I also never personally felt that the "silly scenes" in the battle detracted from the seriousness of the overall battles/endings. I look at them similarly to the trope seen in Horror/Suspense films where there's one character that's always making jokes the whole time in order to "reset" the mood. Some of the scenes with Han in the death star were silly, but it wasn't the character himself being silly - it was more the situation. That kind of humor is more appealing to me as an adult, but I also think its good for there to be a Ewok type character occasionally in the battles, since it's a way for the movie to say to the really little kids "It's ok, it's not all killing. Here, look at this funny guy." Similar is the C3PO complaining on Chewbacca's back during the Bespin fight scene in V. If a kid thinks it's getting too intense, he can always just focus on C3PO. I see what you're saying about the climax thing, though; if it wasn't for the Luke/Lando plots happening, I'd probably feel like the latter half of the movie was too silly. I do feel like the Emperor & Luke and the Ewoks balance each other out though.

And I agree about the tone, although I'd be more inclined to say IV. I feel like V is a little too dark to start out the trilogy with. I'd love to feel hopeful and excited for these new characters and then go everything go to hell in Episode VIII. But after ROTS, I'm ready for Star Wars to feel positive again.

 

At a guess ages 5 to 95 ..............

 

The vast majority of Episode V wasn't dark. It's the only Star Wars film where nobody important to the story dies. Even II had Shmi and Jango. I would also like VII to end on a happy note. I was referring to Star Wars movies in general having degrees of V's darker tone at the end.

 

I would say its aimed at the 30 year old market.

 

Movies can be dark without people dying and ESB accomplishes that. The overall tone, atmosphere and of course the finale... it is way darker than others, except maybe ROTS.

 

I'm going to jump on the everyone bandwagon. They know the SW fans are going to see it, now they are going to try and bring in a new audience like the Marvel movies or Star Trek movies have done and making it something for everyone is how you do it.

 

Of course movies can be dark without people dying. I just found that part interesting. How was the overall film darker than most of the others? Luke is rescued from the blizzard. Besides the people killed in battle, everyone escapes the Empire's invasion on Hoth. The gang spends most of the movie successfully fleeing the Empire. They never feel hopeless or depressed about their situation. Luke spends most of his time training with Yoda. While there are certainly some darker moments here, there's also plenty of light ones as well. Although Lando was dealt a bad hand, he was able to eventually turn it around and save the day, thus becoming V's unsung hero. Han being frozen in carbonite was tragic and dark, but there was always the hope of seeing him alive some day.

No question Episode III was way darker than V.

 

BTW - after watching the recent Rebels episode... and seeing as how that show is rated on TV for kids at the age of 7....and seeing as they just had a couple of Imperial officers beheaded (yes, they were just off screen when it happened, but there was NO DOUBT it was a beheading!)... I still see no reason why TFA will have to be anything besides rated PG - Fantasy/Sci-Fi violence isn't considered harsh for kids. They compare it equally with typical cartoon violence.

I doubt we're going to get a full on screen beheading of a human like in ROTS with Dooku, and complete human decapitation and burning on screen like ROTS with Anakin.

Just typical blaster fire, ship explosions, and maybe someone losing a hand or something from a lightsaber etc. Typical of all the other PG rated Star Wars films.

 

Just make a great film, and don't think about the age range. Well, as long as it doesn't get an R-rating...

 

I am sure it will be marketed for Families it always has been that way weather it be the OT or the PT ....

 

Since Anthony Daniels said 7 will be "in the spirit of 6" I expect it will have a similar tone to that film and be marketed towards a similar demographic, plus the nostalgia market of us 30-40 year olds who grew up with the OT.

 

Everyone. Kids, adults. Women. Men. I am sure they will market to a variety of demographics.

The original Star Wars hit everyone on many levels, it's family entertainment.

 

tweeners.

 

Thank god someone said it. Star Wars was always intended for 12-14 year old boys, as repeatedly acknowledged by Lucas (sometimes as a defense of the prequels). Disney and Pixar animated films are for kids, yet adults have no problem liking them (Lion King is a masterpiece). My sister was just as excited as her kids for the new spongebob movie (i was considerably less excited for it).

 

Star Wars fans, their kids, Disney's demographic, everyone with good taste...

 

Exactly.

 

I sincerely hope they aren't trying to pander too hard hard to any demographic. All they should be doing is making a great Star Wars movie, and a great Star Wars movie appeals to anyone who enjoys a good fantasy, kids included.

In my opinion, some of the more childish gags, especially in the PT and ROTJ, did more harm than good. Sure, a kid might find a poop joke, a cute pit droid, or an ewok falling over to be amusing, but are those kinds of things necessary to draw the attention of a child? An overt attempt to be kid-friendly almost seems a bit condescending. It's fantasy, with wizards and sword play and heroes. Kids don't need to be talked down to to enjoy that. They're a lot smarter than some people think.

 

Just me and only me, and if it's not what I've always wanted I shall release furious anger on the internet in the form of an overlong video review in a slow monotone drawl that becomes unexplainably popular and quoted in arguments for years to come.