The first Disney movie I remember seeing in theaters was a life-changing experience. I remember the excitement sitting in the big reclining chair, looking up at a larger-than-life screen as a princess twirled and sang across it. Disney used to be exciting, but now, Disney has lost its magic.
Disney has become a corporation that values financial gain over creativity. They use the same story line over and over again, profiting off of live-actions and sequels.
โRather than gamble on something thatโs original, they would rather put their money in something thatโs tried and true,โ David Grannis, associate professor of Film & Television at California Lutheran University said.
Grannis said Disney aims to make blockbuster films, a film that not only does well in the box office, but continues to profitย through merchandise and other related products.
Associate Professor and Chair of the Film & Television Department at Cal Lutheran John Fitch said Disneyโs reliance on sequels and remakes is a purely profitable choice for the studio.
โItโs a no-brainer for the studios from a financial [perspective], itโs purely a financial decision,โ Fitch said.
While sequels are profitable for Disney, Grannis said the storylines of original films need to be updated to be considered contemporary and socially acceptable.
โIn making something contemporary, thereโs a lot of social issues that have to be updated. And in doing so, a lot of the storylines started to get compromised,โ Grannis said.
Junior Samuel Zurek, a film and television major, said viewers tend to watch movies to escape the current world they live in, and forcing contemporary views in film feels insincere.
โDisney is amazing at fantasizing things and creating worlds, but when you recycle worlds that have already been created, especially in a way that has a lot of political bias and outside influence, I think it really starts to destroy the point of film,โ Zurek said.
Senior Tori Peterson, a communication major emphasizing in film and television, said early Disney movies, particularly Disney animations, provide a sense of nostalgia that cannot be replicated in movies today.
โI feel like, for some of the Disney live action movies, I feel like they kind of miss the whole point of their whole character arc that they go on throughout the original movie,โ Peterson said.
Disney has made efforts to rewrite and cast more inclusive and diverse identities in their existing storylines, when really they should take the opportunity to produce new creative projects that allow for intentional casting and modern day storytelling.
In addition to Disney abandoning its creative nature for financial profit, Disney is pushing out too much subpar content due to the rise in use of subscription platforms like Disney+.
โWe donโt have the patience to wait for something thatโs quality over quantity anymore,โ Peterson said.
Grannis said along with content accessibility via steaming subscriptions, the prices of movie tickets and concessions have skyrocketed. Grannis said this could be the generation that sees the death of movie theaters.
While young kids today can still enjoy the magic of a first time movie theater experience, it feels as though Disney is seldom producing quality movies that stir excitement among my generation.
Having worked for Disney, Grannis said he saw the magic disappear off screen as well, when Disney shifted to a โbig business.โ
โPeople just no longer feel quite as much of a family as Disney originally was,โ Grannis said.
In a follow-up email, Grannis said when he asked his film class if they felt like Disney had lost its magic, they all said yes.
โI think that Disney has a lot of opportunity to grow, and the beautiful thing about film and about art is not everything is gonna be great, but there is always an ability to create more,โ Zurek said. โI wouldnโt lose faith in Disney, but I would be a lot more critical of Disney.โ
Disney needs to find a way to bring back the magic and creativity they have seemed to have lost, while adapting to todayโs social and political climate. Young kids deserve the same movie magic so many young adults of this generation felt. Itโs not too late to make a change.
