The Filmdom Doom of Disney

By Bryana Sorto

The Reimagined Classics. Or are creators using live-action remakes as a safeguard for the company’s lack of new ideas?

While Disney’s first attempt at a live-action film was Stephen Sommers The Jungle Book which was released in 1994, the past 15 years have been a new surge of these reimagined classics. Tim Burton’s rendition of Alice in Wonderland shifted what live action movies meant, especially with its dripping Burtonesque aesthetic and directional choices, steering from the original feel and plot of the 1951 version. Many felt that the movie focused too heavily on the aesthetic and use of CGI, losing the essence of the original film that was full of a certain childlike wonder.

Burton’s Alice in Wonderland has subpar reviews on Google with a 6.4/10 on IMBd and a 50% on Rotten Tomatoes. Despite paltry reviews, the movie received a whopping $1.025 billion in the box office with a budget of 200 million. Clearly, this meant live actions were incredibly profitable, so why not continue?

Since Disney’s 2014 antagonist focal film, Maleficent, starring Angelina Jolie, there has been a consistent stream of live action films every year. Maleficent was a live-action remake of the 1959 Sleeping Beauty, focusing on how Maleficent came to be a villain, and essentially making her an anti-hero of sorts. Although the 2010 Alice in Wonderland received an amazing box office presence, Maleficent only received $758.8 million in revenue with a budget of $180 million., much less than its precursor.

As mentioned before, every year since 2014 there has been a reimagined classic released by Disney:

●      Cinderella (2015)

●      The Jungle Book (2016)

●      Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016)

●      Beauty in the Beast (2017)

●      Christopher Robin (2018)

●      Dumbo (2018)

●      Alladin (2019)

●      The Lion King (2019)

●      Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019)

●      Lady in the Tramp (2019)

●      Mulan (2020)

●      Cruella (2021)

●      Pinocchio (2022)

●      Peter Pan & Wendy (2023)

●      The Little Mermaid (2023)

●      Mufasa: The Lion King (2024)

Upcoming:

●      Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (2025)

●      Lilo & Stitch (2025)

●      Moana (2026)

●      Hercules (TBD)

●      Robin Hood (TBD)

●      The Aristocats (TBD)

●      Bambi (TBD)

●      Tangled (TBD)

https://youtu.be/m5fMyIImwEY?si=qLqlM6kR2_SL6HPQ

Aside from the upcoming live action films, sequels, James Cameron's Avatar movies, MCU and Star Wars projects, there is only one original idea film coming out this year called Elio which is being produced by Pixar.

There is clearly a lack of original content being produced by Disney, they continue to piggyback off older classics and already established plots. Disney no longer possesses the same movie magic that was present over a decade ago with constant innovative works.