Building a fairytale world around a new animated adventure
Client
Charming Animation Company
Country
United States
Disciplines
Campaigns
Movie Marketing
Sector
Entertainment
Film Industry
Charming is an animated musical comedy produced by John H. Williams, whose credits include the Shrek films and Puss in Boots. Featuring the voices of Demi Lovato, Wilmer Valderrama, Avril Lavigne, Ashley Tisdale and John Cleese, the film brings Prince Charming, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White together in a playful new take on the classic fairytale world.
The brief
BakerWilcox was asked to create a visual identity and an international marketing campaign for Charming, extending through to the film’s title treatment, key art and promotional materials. The challenge was to establish a distinctive world that would feel magical and familiar to family audiences, while giving the film enough personality and contemporary energy to stand apart in a crowded animation market. The campaign needed to accommodate a large ensemble of recognisable fairytale characters, an internationally known voice cast and a story that gently subverts the conventions of the traditional romantic fairytale.
I cannot speak highly enough of their professionalism, talent and deep understanding of both the film industry and our requirements as a sales agent. I would recommend them without hesitation.
Managing DirectorSimon Crowe
The film’s title treatment was then developed to feel theatrical, romantic and instantly recognisable, balancing the elegance of a classic fairytale with the humour and energy of a modern animated comedy.
The principal key art brings the ensemble together within a richly constructed storybook landscape. Character positioning, scale and expression were carefully orchestrated to communicate the relationships at the heart of the film, while the castle, landscape and atmospheric effects create the sense of a fully realised kingdom.
The final creative had to work consistently across international sales materials, theatrical displays, outdoor advertising and fast-moving digital and social formats.
RICHARD BAKER
Beyond the main artwork, we created a flexible character-led campaign that allowed individual personalities to take centre stage. Dedicated layouts for the principal characters gave distributors and marketing teams a broader visual toolkit, while retaining a clear connection through typography, colour and the wider storybook aesthetic.
The identity was applied across a substantial range of launch materials, including international sales collateral, outdoor posters, character artwork, taxi graphics and social content tailored around members of the voice cast. From large-format displays to compact mobile placements, every element was designed to feel part of the same enchanted world, giving Charming a cohesive and adaptable campaign for audiences around the globe
It is rare for an early poster concept created while a film is still in development to survive almost intact through to the final international campaign. Seeing the original idea evolve with only minor refinements, then become the key art used as Charming was distributed around the world, was both unusual and immensely rewarding.
RICHARD BAKER
As part of the social campaign, we created bespoke wedding invitations for each cast member voicing one of the film’s princesses. Shared with their followers online, the invitations playfully invited fans to the characters’ weddings, extending the fairytale world beyond the film and giving the campaign a fun, highly shareable moment.
