Right out of the gate I will say (both out of honesty and to a degree, protection) that I don’t really care if you race swap, sexual orientation swap or etc-swap, IF the writing is decent. You make me laugh, I enjoy the work, I don’t care. Times change and so must we, I get that. Some critics back in 1939 hated the Wizard of Oz for being a remake of the 1925 film starring Oliver Hardy (yes, of Laurel and Hardy) as the Tin Woodsman. Some saying that it had, quote, “No trace of imagination, good taste, or ingenuity” and it, “Weighs like a pound of fruitcake soaking wet.” I don’t know what that means, but points for originality in a movie review.
At times, reboots can be great. Credit Disney for in my mind straight nailing the Duck Tales reboot, it was engaging, heart felt and the voice cast was spectacular, and as Gen-X was raised & worshipped mostly everything Disney Afternoon back in the day.
We’re in a new age of content. With streaming services popping up hand over fist to do battle with YouTube, TikTok & the rest, competition has become more fierce than ever to provide new content to the public and keep the profits up. As a result, shortcuts have been increasingly common and in this case, reboots.
Prior to 2014, Disney had 5 live action remakes, reboots and sequels to starting in 1994 with Alice in Wonderland and Maleficent coming in late in 2010 & 2014.
Since 2015 there have been a whopping 13, including the upcoming Peter Pan & Wendy and Little Mermaid you’re at 15 before the Spring is out.
In an 8 year stretch that will be FIFTEEN live action films based on animated content, to say nothing of next year’s Snow White and Lion King sequel or the additional twelve movies in the works after that. Disney Live-Action, much like MCU and in some ways Star Wars is content fatigue to the audience. In the past I’ve called it “Fast Food Content” because that’s what it really has become. Quick, fast content to stuff your face and move on. None of these projects are meant to stand the test of time, they exist to turn a quick profit in the moment to keep the stock price up. Only it hasn’t been. Their stock price has dropped 35% since this time last year.
Subscriber count for Disney Plus is down. This isn’t working, this isn’t what the fans want. People will spend the money (oftentimes even when they don’t have it) for content they enjoy. And what people enjoy is original content. New material. The reason fans flock to YT & TT is because there’s always something new to see. Disney hasn’t learned that or worse doesn’t agree and as a result continues to struggle. And I want to see Disney get back on track; I grew up and lived on Disney and miss that feeling, even a 47 year old man like me can still relive those moments. But not from these cash grabs, not in today’s society. Holding out hope Bob.
About the author – Scott Churchson has been an actor in every way for the past 13 years, from BG to stand in to stunts and principal, a sports writer for the past 4 and is one of the people that created Stream Punk Entertainment. He’s married to a veterinarian, has a cat with three working legs, a mother-in-law who just moved in and is just a simple man trying to make his way in the universe.
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