A recent analysis of the summer box office figures in the Los Angeles Times contained the tidbit that the Disney Studio was disappointed in the middling performance of their animated feature “G-Force,” because they had hoped to parlay the movie, which is about guinea pig spies, into a teen franchise.  This left me with a somewhat surreal question: Does anyone at Disney know anything about kids?

One would think that the Disney Corporation would have it’s finger on the pulse more than pretty much any other U.S. corporation when it comes to what kids want in their entertainment.  But someone at Disney, likely many people at Disney, thought that an animated film about high-IQ guinea pigs that are charged with saving the world from an evil billionaire would appeal to teens. Does this mean that the people at Disney think that the audience for the “High School Musical” franchise is actually high school students?

You would think that over all these years, someone would have told the folks at Disney what teens are actually interested in.

One thing a parent quickly learns when vetting books, magazines, TV programs and movies for their children is that kids like to immerse themselves in the world of people one age-group older than themselves.  Few girls older than 15 would be caught dead reading Seventeen magazine, and Hannah Montana’s appeal starts to wane at about age nine. The Jonas Brothers’ biggest fans are developmental light years away from being teenagers themselves.

It’s sort of sweet that Disney seems to not have caught on to the age-aspirational, kids-getting-older-younger nature of children today.  My guess that if Disney were to respond, they would say that their products are meant to span generations in their appeal, something that I admit they often get right in their movies.  Then again, the Jonas Brothers have a line of clothing out right now, and it’s not for teenagers, it’s for girls ages 5-12.  Women’s World Daily reports that merchandise from “Hannah Montana” and “High School Musical,” took in $2.7 billion in 2008.

Whether the target ages are right or not, kids seem to be buying what Disney is selling.

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