If you grew up in the early 2000s, you probably saw a trailer for Kangaroo Jack. The trailer gives the impression that the movie is a screwball road trip comedy about two friends and their wacky, talking Kangaroo sidekick. Except it’s not that. It’s an extremely unfunny movie about two idiots escaping the mob. There’s a random kangaroo in it for like 5 minutes and he only talks during a hallucination scene that lasts less than a minute. Turns out, the producers knew that they had a stinker on their hands so they cut the movie to be PG and focus the marketing on the one positive aspect that test audiences responded to, the talking kangaroo, tricking a bunch of families into buying tickets.
What other movies had similar, deceitfully malicious marketing campaigns?
Spirit looked like it would be gritty but was goofy. After release the trailer for DVD made it look sexy.
Wait, Spirit the Dreamworks animation movie with the horse?
No, it may have been called “The Spirit” I think. It was a black and white comic movie, but it had some color. Like the tie was red I think. Idk. Very long ago and forgettable.
I think they are referring to Will Eisner’s The Spirit but also Spirit: Stallion of the Cimmiron or whatever the fuck it’s called is the worst film title ever.