Twice Upon A Time

Have Disney lost their creativity and originality? Recently, Disney have opted to remake old movies or continue to do spin-offs and sequels rather than making new films. Between 2015 and 2025, Disney has released more than 1 and a half as many remakes as original animated films. Today’s blog is going to dive into why this might be happening, how people are feeling about the lack of new content and what this means for the future of Disney movies. Let’s get started!

Taking a look over the past decade, there have been over 15 remakes and a handful of sequels premiered. As for new movies, we have seen 9 completely new stories. When asking myself why they have made this decision, I have thought about which movies they have decided to remake into live-action. The earlier films like The Jungle Book, Dumbo, Peter Pan, The Little Mermaid, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves are the ones that have been recycled. Why? Maybe they are seen to be outdated and inappropriate? This could be why Disney have decided to remake them. To ensure that children in this generation and beyond are consuming content that is appropriate and that uses language, imagery and characteristics that will not offend or upset anyone? Many of these older movies do have content warnings on them if you go to watch them on Disney+. It states that "This programme includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures. These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now.” To me, it seems logical from this that Disney are aware of the messages that could be delivered to young people and may be using the opportunity to create live-action versions as a way of updating them and ensuring that they are no longer offensive. I have to wonder whether this is the right thing to do. It doesn’t erase the past and the original movies that people have grown up watching and loving. These are still readily available to watch, so does it make a difference whether you update it or not? Would Disney be better off using their time, creativity, advanced filming technology and CGI to create new stories that encourage the children of the future? Thinking about successful examples of this, Encanto (2021) and Inside Out (2015) spring to mind. They have new characters which, in my opinion, successfully promote strength, unity and individuality. Instead of continuing to create movies like these, which stick with you, the lack of new and original content suggests that the producers have become lazy. 

When The Little Mermaid remake came out in 2023, there was a lot of frustration surrounding the casting. This was specifically about the casting of Halle Bailey, a black actress, as Ariel. Justifications were made by referring to mythology, the original Hans Christian Anderson tale and the fact that ‘it doesn’t make a lot of sense to have someone with darker skin who lives deep in the ocean’ (Matt Walsh). Although I do not agree with these racially led comments and criticisms, I would say that Disney haven’t helped themselves. If their casting was on purpose, to make the movie more ‘inclusive’, more effort should have been made to give Halle Bailey and Rachel Zegler (Snow White, 2025) a story worth writing home about. Being inclusive and giving young people someone to look up to, and to be inspired by, requires more creativity, care and meaning than just changing a previous character. Characters give role models, inspirations, and people to look up to, so just replacing a white cartoon with a black actress doesn’t have the same profound impact that creating a new story, with new characters, would.

I do think that the number of remakes over the past decade begs you to ask the question about why this is, if it isn’t to update the movies. Alexandra Martinakova, writing for the Quinnipiac Chronicle, suggests that Disney are ‘recycling everything for profit.’ Kristen Acuna for the Business Insider explains this in more detail, suggesting that remaking classic Disney films enables them to ‘deliver something nostalgic for fans of the originals while offering something new for young children, many of whom may be children of fans who grew up with the originals.’ Remakes do create profit. People are intrigued about what will have changed. Young children love a princess movie, and if you love the original, you think it's a safe bet, just as Disney think it's a safe bet and an easy money maker to remake them in the first place. 

Whatever the reason is for remaking Disney classics, people want more. They want something new, something original and imaginative. Let’s think about the new films that have come out since 2015. As I mentioned, Encanto (2021) was a huge success, grossing $256.8 million at the box office. Inside Out (2015) also, the Seattle Times says it leaves you ‘changed, entertained, nostalgic, dazzled’, the Chicago Sun-Times announcing that it was ‘brimming with sparkling visuals, filled with first-rate voice performances, thrilling adventures and unforgettable moments’, proclaiming it as an ‘instant classic.’ However, other new movies haven’t had the same response. For example, Strange World (2022) was described by Variety as a ‘relatively unimaginative story’, the Playlist saying that it was ‘a visual feast’ that ‘leaves the other four senses wanting.’Similarly, The Good Dinosaur was ‘a critical and financial disappointment’, ‘mediocre in most ways’ and described as ‘Pixar’s worst movie ever’ (CBR). 

So, people aren’t happy with remakes, but Disney’s attempts at original content haven’t gone down well either!! Director Brad Bird has an interesting take on this. He told Entertainment Weekly that "Every studio should, like an allowance, allow themselves a certain number of franchise things, and then as an investment in the future, try these risky things that are unproven. At one time, Star Wars was a risky venture.” Acuna talks a bit about the fact that Disney’s new movies, which weren’t a success, have been sandwiched between blockbusters. For example, A Wrinkle in Time (2018), which was the only miss in the studio’s 2018 earnings reports, was released before Avengers: Infinity War and after Black Panther, both hugely successful films. Acuna suggests that a positive aspect of Disney remakes is that they allow Disney to release ‘more original and perhaps risky’ movies in between. In the instance of A Wrinkle in Time, she said, ‘If Disney wants to make "A Wrinkle in Time" and it doesn't perform as well as hoped, you can bet that it will be flanked by the likes of at least one big Disney win, so any loss is less visible.’ 

This leads me on to summarise this blog by talking a bit about what I think Disney should consider moving forward. Thinking about which movies have stuck with me, Inside Out and Encanto are the ones that come to mind, rather than any of the remakes. That isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy some of them, but that their storylines were not original or imaginative enough for them to stick with me. Therefore, it would be inspiring to see Disney continue to put care into their storytelling. After all, there is a reason that films like Cinderella, The Jungle Book, Lady and the Tramp, etc. are recognised as ‘classics.’ They are well-known and well-loved stories that people love to rewatch. This isn’t to say that remakes are off the cards. It is interesting to see them updated, and now that there have been so many, there will be a level of expectation to update them all. But sandwiching these with something new, I think, will appeal to people. 

I would love to know what you think. Do you agree with me? What remake is your favourite? What new Disney film is your favourite? Let me know in the comments!