Credit: Inside the MagicDespite their best efforts, it truly feels like Disney has been missing the mark with audiences. With the recent scandal involving the problematic Primos series, the Splash Mountain scandal, and the anxieties surrounding the original Walt Disney shorts being remastered, the company is struggling with keeping audiences happy, an abnormality for the Disney name.
Disney has made several changes regarding some of their properties and projects, and some would argue that it is not for the better. While the company has plenty of new materials on the release schedule, they have definitely been playing it too safe lately, and it’s beginning to become cartoonishly noticeable.
Disney has pulled barely finished shows, removed or changed iconic theme park attractions, and altered existing IP, not because they’ve actually faced any repercussions, but because they are simply afraid of the risk of offending their audiences. As Shakespeare once wrote, “Ay, there’s the rub.”
Disney is Afraid of Its Audience
It’s no secret that audiences now have much more of a voice in what their favorite studios produce than they have in decades past. Thanks to the introduction of social media, platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and more have become a breeding ground for critics, and no amount of money or Disney magic can protect the company from that.
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The biggest problem facing Disney is the fact that they’re playing it too safe, and they want to avoid controversy so much that even the faintest whiff of it is enough to get them to flip the script on a dime. We’ve seen that exact scenario happen with Splash Mountain, “it’s a small world,” and even some of their most recent movies like Turning Red, Elemental, and members of the MCU have been under the knife.
At the end of the day, Disney has been forced to do this for likely two reasons. One, audiences and social media have become too bloodthirsty and the threat of being “Cancelled” is genuine. Two, they are trying to appease everyone and in doing so they’ve lost the Disney essence in the process.
Either way, both outcomes have created a significant problem for the company, resulting in recent flops and lukewarm receptions. This is made even more apparent when you consider the films, attractions, and projects that made Disney millions in the first place.
When Disney Dared to be Different
What do Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Fantasia, and Disneyland all have in common? They were all massive risks on the part of Walt Disney and his company. Snow White was the first full-length animated film and Walt practically gambled everything on its success, Fantasia was the company’s biggest experimental art piece and it redefined animation, and Disneyland helped shape the theme park industry as the world knows it.
The Walt Disney Company continued this tradition for decades up until the 2020s, resulting in monumental achievements like the first CGI-animated film (Toy Story), the first animated film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards (Beauty and the Beast), and dozens of innovations in theme park rides like the first inclosed steel rollercoaster (the Matterhorn), and many more. Looking back, it seems like Disney has forgotten Walt’s value of “keep moving forward.”
In fact, it can be said that Disney has faced a sort of regression. Look the recent influx of live-action remakes and reboots that have repeatedly come to theaters. While these aren’t awful films, they definitely aren’t the new and impressive stories Disney has previously been known for.
In recent years, Disney’s material has lacked that same sense of originality and experimentation. Without it, we might not have some of the most incredible stories ever brought to cinema, and that’s why Disney is hurting.
Does Disney Fear Cancel Culture?
Unfortunately, cancel culture is an all-too real factor in today’s social climate, just ask Johnny Depp. It’s gotten to such extremes that no one is immune to its grasp. A company as big and iconic as Disney might not be the easiest beast to bring down, but they are just as vulnerable as anyone else.
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While there’s probably no chance that the entirety of Disney could be wiped out of our culture, audiences have definitely changed since Walt’s day, and that’s drastically effected the company’s image. Disney has spent millions of dollars and decades of development to cultivate their magical image, and they can’t afford to lose it.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, but Disney has truly taken it too far. It’s not just that they’re being too cautious with some of their projects, but that they’re afraid of offending the vocal minority. Remember, it only took a small group of loud voices to get Splash Mountain shut down.
A change in popular culture is bound to change the way we view certain pieces of media. There’s a reason people don’t like talking about the crows from Dumbo, but it’s better to learn from mistakes than pretend they never happened. Splash Mountain was in operation for decades, and its cast was far more associated with folklore and the Disney Parks than they ever were with any controversial film.
It’s true that some of Disney’s media has not aged well. The shorts of Mickey in blackface definitely won’t be arriving on Disney+ anytime soon, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t a part of animation history. Art imitates life, and sometimes life isn’t as colorful and bouncy as Disney cartoons make it look.
Can Disney Be Saved?
The phrase above is what we in the business like to call a “loaded question.” On one hand, Disney has still been playing to a small audience with a loud voice, but they also might be making efforts to pull back and revisit what makes fans love the brand in the first place.
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This can be seen with some of Disney’s latest projects that try to appeal to a particular marginalized audience. Both Strange World and Elemental are considered huge losses for Disney and Pixar, and some believe that it’s because they try to appeal too much to a small portion of an enormously wider audience.
It’s not that Disney and Pixar aren’t able to tell these stories, but rather their delivery and direction are causing things to clash. Pixar’s Turning Red sought to tell a story with a strong female lead, a multi-cultural cast, and a heartwarming message, but it also did it through the unified universal theme of adolescent awkwardness (and a love for adorable animals).
The studio might have a new hope with their next big, animated project as 2023’s Wish is shaping up to be a return to the traditional Disney narrative, and a love letter to the company’s animated masterpieces. While it might be a dollar short and a day late, Disney is learning and applying the old adage of “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.” At least there’s something to look forward to in the future.
What This Means for Fans
From the reports we’ve recently seen, it’s a safe bet that those finding offense with some of Disney’s newer materials likely don’t speak for the majority. The problem facing Disney audiences today is that the offended parties are simply being amplified by a negative mob mentality.
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As a result, the company is terrified of cancel culture, the woke movement, and the risk of poor reception. That means that they are less-likely to try and adapt newer stories, ideas, voices, and concepts out of fear of backlash and unruly fans. While that’s understandable to a point, it does more harm than good in the long run.
We’ve seen more remakes of established characters and films than we have the creation of new IP, and we’ve also seen the kind of lukewarm reception that can have. Disney might be learning and adapting with films and projects like Elemental and Wish, but there’s still going to be an awkward and unavoidable transitional period.
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Some might say the audience has become too volatile, others might echo that same adage of “go woke, go broke,” but the actual situation is that Disney hasn’t been themselves in a long time. As Stan Lee said in his recent documentary, “You enjoy things you’re familiar with,” and fans still want that classic Disney Magic, but they need it without borders and without fear.
What Comes Next?
One thing that Disney fans can rest easy on is that work is being done to reel things back in. With more creative freedom in works like the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars, and even recent developments at Pixar, Disney’s healing process is slowly but surely happening. As the studio continues developing new projects, new theme park expansions, and new ideas, we are assured that the perils facing Disney won’t last forever.
Cultures and audiences change every day, but there will always be need for a magic touch. While their tastes might differ, audiences are always going to want that classic fairytale where animals talk, good conquers evil, and true love always triumphs.