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Credit: DisneyAt one time, Disney was at the top of the food chain in the animation industry, taking home Oscar gold year after year and inspiring generations of fans with their magical masterpieces. However, recent films from the house of mouse have left much to be desired, and a large portion of the studio’s enormous fanbase has abandoned ship.
It’s not that Disney has completely dropped the ball, but many would agree that they have been trying to appease the wrong audience. The phrase “go woke, go broke,” is one that’s tossed around quite frequently on the subject, but the studio might be preparing to take a more conservative approach with its newest project.
Wish: Disney’s Conservative Fantasy
2022 was NOT a great year for Disney, especially for Walt Disney Animation. With Strange World becoming the biggest Disney flop since The Black Cauldron, the future of Walt Disney Pictures has been a studio in the hands of an angry audience. Many fans are of the mindset that Disney’s attempt to appease a the “woke” portion of their consumers.
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Whether this was Disney’s intention or not is irrelevant, but the film concerning the sci-fi escapades of the Clade family was undeniably the wrong direction for the studio to take. However, Wish could be rectifying the sins of the past.
Back to Basics
Watch the trailer above and tell us if any of this looks or sounds familiar. We have a beautiful heroine with a talking animal sidekick discovering a strange magical power/entity and preparing to go up against an over-the-top and elaborately dressed villain. How many classic Disney films fit that description?
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For those out there already rolling their eyes at the idea, Disney isn’t using their old formula without reason. In the minds of many audience members, the studio has strayed away from what made them so beloved once-upon-a-time ago. By revisiting and refining these traditional elements, Disney might pull themselves from the jaws of perdition.
It’s logical to assume that this is a very conservative approach to a contemporary Disney Movie, especially since it seems like Disney is returning to the traditional narrative. However, this isn’t the first time in the studio’s century-long career that they’ve had to get back to the fairytale formula
A Familiar Fairytale
Walt Disney began his animation empire with movies like Snow White and Pinocchio, but he rode the success of those films to experiment with both animation and storytelling. That’s how we got movies like Fantasia, Melody Time, and Song of the South. While those films were part of the studio’s legacy, they weren’t as iconic or successful as the traditional Disney fantasy.
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Enter Cinderella with a back-to-basics fairytale approach, and a legacy and reputation was reestablished. After its success in February of 1950, the animated films that followed up until Walt’s death were almost entirely fairytales. Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, and Sleeping Beauty built the foundation on which films like Frozen, Encanto, and Wish stand.
The details pertaining to the film’s plot are unclear at this point in the game, but we can assume Disney is indeed repeating the process. Hopefully, it will serve as a reminder to what makes the brand, name, and animation studio so incredibly magical.
What are your expectations for Wish? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!