INTERVIEW: Talking Disney's BIG HERO 6 With Bandai

[JeffSaylor]

A Chat With Craig Drobis, Bandai America's Senior Director of Marketing...

Interview by David Yeh


The Walt Disney Animation Studios is still high off its winnings from last year’s release, Frozen, but come November, it will hope to strike lightning once more with a Marvel property titled Big Hero 6. The toy makers at Bandai America have been awarded the toy license for all things Big Hero 6 so we took a moment to speak with Craig Drobis and find out a little more about the line.

Big Hero 6 6-inch Figure Assortment and 10-inch Armored Hero Baymax Action Figure

FIGURES.COM: Hi Craig, please tell us what you do at Bandai.

CRAIG DROBIS: I’m the Senior Director of Marketing at Bandai. Big Hero 6 is one of the big lines that we’re launching this year. I work with everything from the strategic development, product development – we’re working very closely with Disney to develop the product development on this one in particular and now we’re into the marketing phase of it.


FIGURES: Can you elaborate on how a toy company wins a license from a company like Disney?

CRAIG: There’s a process for it. Bandai has worked with Disney on a number of things around the world in the past, particularly in Asia, so when this property came around they saw the mash-up of Eastern and Western culture, you know with Tokyo and San Francisco (San Fransokyo), and it looked like it might be an interesting opportunity to work together. We pitched along with many other companies and they liked what we brought to the table, from appreciating the property and finding new ways to do the figures with innovative products that help bring the film to life.

Big Hero 6 Baymax 10-Inch Talking Plush and 5 1/2-Inch Plush Assortment

FIGURES: Does Disney have a set list of things they want to make or is it up to Bandai to pitch new things?

CRAIG: It’s a very collaborative process. They come in with the basics of the story, and they came in over 12 months ago saying here’s where they see action figures, here’s some role play aspects, and here’s some other ways we can play. We see plush opportunities; we see products for boy and girl opportunities. We may approach with some ideas and they’ll say to us what has been successful in the past. We’ll sort of massage the product together into something we want. It’s a very collaborative effort.


FIGURES: The film has a November release but working on a toyline, how much of the movie have you actually seen?

CRAIG: At this point we’ve seen a screening of the whole thing. The story is there, it’s still in the final rendering process so some of the images are more finished than others.


FIGURES: When you finally see the finished film how much does that change the end product? Are there many tweaks and changes?

CRAIG: On every movie property I’ve worked on there’s always the challenge when you start working on it a year ago, it is very different than what it was. So you plan for that in your cycle. We have to lock things down and tool it earlier than they (Disney) lock it down so we have to make some guesses and estimates. The great thing is that the characters haven’t significantly changed and we made some good guesses. We try to adjust as much as possible because we want it to be as perfect as possible when it hits the market but sometimes there’s tweaks that you just can’t catch. The good thing on this is that we pretty much nailed it because we’ve been working so closely with Disney during the process.

Big Hero 6 Basic Action Figures and Baymax Rocket Fist and Mask Roleplay Set

FIGURES: When it comes to making toys for Disney, do you create lines for kids as well as adults? How do you find the balance?

CRAIG: We’re definitely thinking with both in mind but we obviously start with the kids, with the figures and the role-play. For the collector we make sure that the detail is there. For a kid’s line they might skip a few steps to save money because it’s not necessarily what a kid needs but we’ll keep the details in there. We want to make sure that we put out the best product because we are catering to both kids and collectors.

Baymax Armor Up Action Figure and Baymax Projection Talking Action Figure

FIGURES: Have you gone on to make something that was too elaborate for Disney?

CRAIG: Disney’s very open in that sense. I don’t think there’s anything in this line that we’ve gone overboard on or anything that they’ve really pushed back on.


FIGURES: With the film getting a November release, many us are wondering what we can expect from Big Hero 6 next year if at all?

CRAIG: We’re preparing for that. We honestly believe that the story is that good and the movie is that good that we’re already well into development for more characters and figures that will be available for Spring 2015. We’re really thinking about how much more do we want to go, if it’s as far as Fall 2015, we’re not sure.


FIGURES: Will you also be involved with creating exclusive product for the Disney Store and/or the Theme Parks?

CRAIG: We are actually working with the Disney Store and with the Theme Parks as well so we have some exclusive executions with them, decoration or packaging related. One is a role-play item with sounds and the theme parks are going to have some of the main line as well. We’re working on all fronts and a few additional products too. It’s a good mix.

San Diego Comic-Con 2014 Exclusive Baymax Action Figure

FIGURES: Tell us about the San Diego Comic-Con exclusive. What makes this piece unique?

CRAIG: We wanted to get this product out there first and to make it special. It’s a metallic paint that we got on the Baymax, a much richer red that we have in the main line. And we also have very cool packaging that’s very different than the main line.


FIGURES: When can folks start seeing Big Hero 6 on the toy shelves?

CRAIG: Street Date is September 26

FIGURES: Thanks, Craig, for the time!

Big Hero 6 opens in U.S. theaters November 7, 2014.

Interview by David Yeh

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