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Credit: Disney Within the next two years alone, Disney has a wealth of upcoming movies and projects debuting both in theaters and on Disney+. While we are all certainly counting down the days to see movies like Pixar’s Elemental and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, some of the recently announced Disney remakes are starting to become tiresome.
Of course, we’re talking about the list of more live-action remakes that continue to spew forth from the studio. While the trailers for The Little Mermaid and Peter Pan and Wendy definitely show promise, the idea of more-relevant films like Lilo & Stitch and Moana getting live-action adaptations is enough to make some people more than weary.
Why We’re Tired Disney Remakes
It’s common knowledge that Disney’ live-action remakes have a generally negative stigma surrounding them. With the exception of films like Jon Favreau’s Jungle Book and Cruella, the remakes seem to be this yearly ritual fans have simply grown to tolerate at best and despise at worst.
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It’s not that many of these movies are particularly offensive, although Pete’s Dragon completely missed the plot, it feels like we’re basically getting the same story in a live-action package. A great example would be 2019’s Lion King remake, which mainly gave the same storyline, dialogue, and soundtrack an updated, live-action re-skin. The question is, did it really need it.
Disney’s Dangerous Game
If you’ve been keeping up with some of the trends in the recent movies released through Walt Disney Pictures, namely the Marvel franchise, you’ll undoubtedly have heard about “superhero fatigue.” AV Club describes the phenomenon as
It’s a real phenomenon, at least according to a recent study from the fan platform Fandom (via Variety), which reported that 36% of Marvel fans are feeling burnt out by the number of releases from the studio.
That exact same scenario can immediately be compared to Disney and their slew of remakes verses the number of original material coming from the studio. If they continue down this path, they risk treading the same waters as Marvel.
Granted, The Little Mermaid and Peter Pan and Wendy are left with some wiggle room, given that they’re public-domain stories and Disney isn’t the first to adapt them. However, Moana isn’t even a decade old and their already fitting the Rock for his live-action debut as Maui. We can’t be the only ones thinking this is a heavily-forced project.
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Like Marvel, Walt Disney Pictures really needs to slow down before it runs into the exact same problem. Disney might still be an entertainment powerhouse, but it definitely needs to be more selective of the projects that get greenlit.
Are you suffering from “Disney Fatigue?” Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!