Picture your favorite production- maybe a Disney film, a favorite childhood TV series, or even one of those guilty pleasures you always go back to – now think of the worst way someone could ruin them. If you’re anything like current Monte Vista students, the one thing that would make you roll your eyes more than anything is the combination of animated and live-action movie remakes. So why does Disney, the company that is a cornerstone of Hollywood, keep rolling out these unwanted projects?
Since 1923, the Walt Disney Company has paved the way for the film industry with its talented staff and innovative storytelling. From creating the first full-length animated film, Snow White, to fan favorites like Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King, Disney continued to produce unique, audience-grabbing films.
However, in recent years, the company has fixated on producing sequels and live-action film remakes such as The Little Mermaid and Moana 2. The only new stories that have made it to the big screen have been box office failures, including Wish, which grossed $255 million, and Strange World, which grossed $73.6 million. These may seem like large earnings, but coupled with production costs and marketing, both of these movies combined lost Disney about $300 million.
Another movie that had significant box office loss was the live-action adaptation of Snow White. It grossed about $205 million globally, but again, this does not constitute a success. After production costs, the studio lost between $250 million and $290 million. With another massive failure in the books, Disney decided to postpone production on their live-action adaptation of Tangled, which was in the pre-production phase of the project. Maybe this is their way of steering away from their live-action adaptation trend, or maybe it’s just a short pause before they come back in full effect.
“Disney reboots feel less like original films and more like something you put on in the background while doing your history notes or laundry,” said Sophia Shen, a junior at Monte Vista. “It’s just there to exist, I guess. These remakes don’t spark excitement so much as déjà vu: Oh, I’ve seen this exact story before… except last time it didn’t involve CGI or political correctness. They’re bland, but dependable corporate comfort food.”
As the release of Disney’s Zootopia 2 approaches, fans are forced to indulge in yet another unoriginal story, wondering if this will add to the long list of Disney’s recent failed projects. Hopefully, it will be the last recycled story Disney decides to release, and they can put this era in their company behind them with original stories on the horizon.
