With Disney being one of the world’s largest and most influential media companies, it’s no surprise that their movies, from “The Lion King” to “Star Wars,” often find success worldwide. Add in the Disney+ channel, Disney theme parks, and Disney-related merchandise and you’re talking about an entertainment powerhouse that makes billions every year.
Recently, however, it would seem that Disney’s star has taken a turn for the worse.
For the past two years, Disney has been implementing a dubious brand strategy of constantly cash-grabbing and producing underperforming films. Marvel’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” sequel took a heavy hit at the box office, the expensive “Little Mermaid” remake produced low numbers of viewers, and their “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” sequel was a disappointment. The poor receptions continued into November of last year when their new series “The Marvels” absolutely flopped, and their 100th birthday cartoon “Wish” took the internet by storm for being notoriously bad. In fact, 2023 marked the first year since 2014 that the company failed to produce a billion dollar hit.
So, what went wrong? Disney appears to have lost its creativity and originality. The company’s recent animated movies don’t have the same turnout as their classic films, as the new ones generally lack substance and and weak plots. Instead, Disney has turned to making live-action remakes of their older, successful movies. For example, their 2021 animated film “Luca” has been criticized for being too much like the “Little Mermaid,” and 2022’s “Turning Red” was panned for having a poor representation of women getting their periods. Both movies failed to make back even half of what they cost at the box office.
Meanwhile, “Wish” gained an infamous reputation for being one of the worst Disney movies yet. Viewers described the animation as looking unfinished, the soundtrack as confusing and bland, and the storyline as unstructured.
“I feel like the live actions are turning people away from Disney because they scream ‘cash grab.’ Disney was always so known for their original content and soundtrack. They don’t have the same charm and it’s very off-putting,” noted Erin Ritchie of The Review.
Overall, Disney has become over-reliant on their branding merchandise and successful movies of the past. Every one of those movies, TV shows, and characters has been turned into a profitable Disney product, where commercialization is king, and creativity is an afterthought. They’ve become so accustomed to exploiting their legions of loyal fans that they’ve sacrificed their pursuit of art in favor of more merchandise at a Disney store. Unless they begin to once again put the wishes of their fans over the demands of their shareholders, Disney is doomed to spiral deeper still.
