‘Bolt’ Sidekick Pops Up in iPhone Game
Disney Entertainment and digital marketing agency AvatarLabs have collaborated to produce a mobile game for the Apple iPhone to promote the Disney animated movie “Bolt,” in theaters now.
The “RhinoBall” 3-D game centers on Rhino, the fat hamster in the plastic ball who idolizes Bolt the dog in the film.
In the new casual game, players maneuver Rhino—in his plastic ball—past obstacles to get to Bolt. Using the directional orientation of the iPhone, they can play the game by actually tilting the phone forwards, backwards and from side to side. As they dodge through city streets, avoiding cars and other hazards, players can also pick up lightning bolts and hit launching ramps for added distance.
The game, a free download from the iPhone App Store, comes with both the “Bolt” TV spot and the movie trailer. Launched at the time of the movie’s Nov. 22 debut, the RhinoBall iPhone app was downloaded 700,000 times in its first six weeks, according to the marketing agency.
“Advergames on any platform are proving remarkably successful,” AvatarLabs producer Josh Golsen said in a release. “The most logical place for them is via online and mobile. We are fortunate enough to have created and produced eight years of highly successful online film marketing campaigns.”
Developing RhinoBall for the iPhone makes sense on several levels. While “Bolt” is not an official production of Pixar Studios, the animation company that Disney bought in 2006, the movie was executive produced by John Lasseter, a Pixar veteran and the creative mind behind the “Toy Story” movie series. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was the CEO of Pixar Animation from 1986 through the 2006 Disney purchase.
“This is a very exciting new way to interact with the people you want to be interfacing with your brand,” said Rex Cook, executive creative director and founder of AvatarLabs, referring to the Apple iPhone. “All the clichés—hip, savvy, cool, influence peddlers—all apply to the users of this remarkable game-changing device.”
AvatarLabs is also currently involved in online marketing campaigns for the movies “Four Christmases,” “Slumdog Millionaire” and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.”
