Credit: Inside the MagicThe Walt Disney Company is facing some severe financial and critical backlash in the wake of its recent releases. While films like Elemental, Thor: Love and Thunder, and Lightyear weren’t awful, they didn’t perform well enough at the box office to meet Disney’s standards. Elemental in particular has garnered some serious interest, but not because of anything insanely controversial.
Pixar’s latest is suffering what some fans call the “Treasure Planet Effect,” it’s since sparked a dialogue regarding some of Disney’s other “flops.” The Treasure Planet Effect happens when a Disney passion project is released (purposefully or coincidentally) alongside bigger animated blockbusters, and they do poorly at the box office. Multiple Disney films suffered the same routine, but they’ve found new audiences due to their reputation, and Disney has been presented with a very lucrative opportunity.
Fans are Finally Ready for These Disney Classics
Treasure Planet might hold the namesake, but many of Disney’s best and brightest have been through the same saga. However, the studio has remedied its effects in the past thanks to Walt Disney re-releasing some of his classic films after their initial run in theaters.
Fantasia, Alice in Wonderland, and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh are some of the most famous movies Disney Animation has ever made, but they also did considerably better when they were re-released than their original premiere dates. Considering fan interest has grown tremendously since certain Disney films were first created, it might be time to bring them back to the forefront.
Atlantis: The Lost Empire
Atlantis was a steampunk adventure inspired by Jules Verne and Indiana Jones with an art style designed by Hellboy’s Mike Mignola. It was a recipe for an artistic masterpiece, but its marketing was a tremendous setback, and it didn’t get nearly the viewership it so desperately deserved. A re-release would reignite interest in the film and introduce a new generation of sci-fi fans to Disney’s forgotten masterpiece.
Treasure Planet
Treasure Planet was a passion project from Disney Legends, Musker and Clements, and it’s honestly a shock that Disney themselves haven’t done more to make it relevant again.
Considering that it blended both traditional and CGI animation, it featured a star-studded cast, and had an epic soundtrack to back it all up, this adaptation of Treasure Island would have made bank if it were released today. Why shouldn’t the studio bring it back?
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Based on the buzz surrounding the proposed live-action musical adaptation, Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame is the animated masterpiece fans need right here and now. Believe it or not, there was a time when Disney wasn’t afraid to dive into dark and complex topics like religion, lust, and corruption of power. A re-release of this animated masterpiece will have audiences flocking to the theaters if they don’t label it as “woke” first.
The Black Cauldron
The granddaddy of all Disney cult films, the movie they tried so hard to hide, the project that nearly killed Disney Animation as we know it, The Black Cauldron needs a rerelease thanks to its reputation alone.
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Now that projects like Stranger Things, The Witcher, and Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves have made dark fantasy relevant again, fans of the genre would absolutely eat a re-release up with a spoon.
Can They Save Disney?
These movies might not have been financial successes, but they were experiments in Disney’s artistry, storytelling, and animation that deserve to be experienced. Whether on a level of “art for art’s sake” or experiencing something completely different compared to Disney’s regular repertoire, re-releasing the films for a second chance in the theater would generate new interest in the studio and make them a hefty sum on the side.
Would you see these forgotten Disney flicks in theaters? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!