Disney’s Lost its Magic

There is one brand that comes to mind when you hear the word “Magical.” It is one that has built over a century’s worth of nostalgia, innovation, and enchanting entertainment for hundreds of millions of people all around the world. With numerous world-renowned theme parks, resorts, cruise liners, and everything in between, it’s hard to imagine an empire like Disney could ever lose its spark.

Well, it sort of has.

While it’s always been a symbol of creativity and imagination, they really don’t act like it anymore. Putting all of Disney’s other issues aside, including its overbearing chokehold on seemingly every entertainment company in the U.S. and its arguably controversial CEO Bob Iger, Disney has strayed far far away from its roots as a humble animation studio. As much as the Disney adults don’t want to believe it's true, Disney has lost its magic.

I don’t say this to condemn the Walt Disney Company, as I have been a fan of their work for as long as I can remember. Everyone grows up loving Disney movies and dreams to one day go to the parks and experience the magic in real life. I still, to this day, enjoy many of their movies and could watch classics like Beauty and the Beast or The Lion King over and over.

But that is where I find the biggest issue lies. Disney has lost its originality. I understand fully well that 2D animation is a thing of the past and wouldn’t hold up for today’s crowds, and I understand that making timeless classics isn’t easy either. Yet, considering the massive corporation that they have become, why does Disney rely on soulless reboots and live-action adaptations to make a quick buck? I would argue that they have turned to quick cash grabs as a means of income, spitting out one poorly written movie after another, because they would prefer to make a profit rather than come up with any semblance of a new idea.

For example, take Disney’s newest brainchild, the live-action Snow White. Not only did they dig up one of the oldest movies they have ever created, but they turned it into yet another live action adaptation, slapped more GCI and a new story line on it, and then proceeded to put in into production after the train wreck of a publicity run Rachel Zegler had during the production. They netted a grand total of $43 million from the film after spending $250 million to produce it. Do you see the issue? Not only this film, but within the last 10 years, there have been 20 live-action remakes of their own classics, with many more planned ahead. Where has the creativity gone that Disney once cherished?

But that’s not all. Disney’s declining creativity has opened the door for extreme commercialization and a shifted focus toward buying up everything they can in sight to keep that false idea of “originality” they claim to possess. If they can’t come up with new ideas, why not buy Marvel and Lucasfilm and milk them for as much as they possibly can until the films are nearly unwatchable?

It doesn’t stop there! They’ve even left the film and animation industry behind to pursue the hospitality and merchandise businesses. The people need more resorts and cruise lines to spend money at! And then after that, we’ll put 6 different gift shops in the hotel, so you buy even more products you don’t need! Yet, Disney knows that even its dumbest fans will continue to purchase every new popcorn bucket they put out until their customers can’t afford the next one.

Surely that’s the extent of Disney’s declining innovation, right? They wouldn’t find themselves at the forefront of every diversive debate being held in the media, right? I’ll spare the prodding into numerous online arguments held by every side of the political compass, but I am sure you’ve heard the term “woke” and Disney in the same sentence before. The problem is, Disney’s increased focus on diversity, inclusivity, and progressive values in its recent films has led many viewers to feel the content is forced, alienating, or overdone.

That’s not to say that seeing some fresh ideas is unwelcome, but Disney has been notorious for overdoing in regard to just about anything. I adored seeing them include so many different backgrounds and cultures in their movies, like Mulan, The Princess and the Frog, and even more recently Encanto, but it gets to a point where they stop doing their creative works justice and instead harm their reputation in the process.

Disney has come far from its roots and built itself an Empire like no other ever seen in the entertainment industry before, let alone any other industry for that matter, and has been a source of innovation and creativity for over a century. But they’re tired. And we are tired. It is no secret that they have started to run out of ideas, and they have begun to make it their consumers’ problems too. I look forward to something fresh and exciting from the Walt Disney Company, but I question if we will see it anytime soon. They have lost their Magic.