Credit: Inside The MagicA new poll recently released shows just how polarizing Democrats and Republicans stand on the current direction of Disney films.
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Disney Films – Where Do Republican and Democrat Voters Stand?
It’s no surprise that Disney has been declining in terms of their box office success over the last few years. Disney’s most recent film, Wish (2023), tanked severely about a month ago during a prominent Holiday weekend. Thanksgiving weekend is usually a guaranteed hit with folks wanting some Disney magic at the box office, but it seems that magic has run out.
Many of the complaints families had with the Wish film were the style of animation used. The animation in the trailers was promising with the return of the beloved art form of 2D, but folks mentioned how 2D was just a hybrid of 2D/3D with a filter. Another complaint was the villain and other notions. But the main reason Disney films have been bombing at the box office is due to “wokeness.”
Disney films have been suffering from families complaining about the usage of LGBTQ+ characters in children’s films, along with the messaging behind the movies being too heavily political. The Washington Examiner argued that Wish was not a woke disaster, stating the central character was black. But folks seem to care less about the ethnicity of Disney characters and more about the messages being broadcasted to families and children. Republicans, being conservative, appear to be more outspoken about these issues.
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In a new and recent poll from Newsweek, Republican and Democrat voters appear to stand on opposite sides of the spectrum regarding whether Disney films are heading in the right direction. The exclusive survey, pulled from Redfield and Wilton Strategies, reached 1,5000 eligible U.S. voters on the Disney Animation Studios, getting asked the following:
To what extent, if at all, do you think the quality of Disney films have gotten better or worse in recent years?
According to the poll, 46% of Republican voters said Disney films have gotten “worse” or “much worse” compared to Democrat voters who polled agreeing at only 16%. The poll then asked a question on the Disney company entirely, asking the voters their thoughts on Disney. 38% of Republicans told Newsweek they had an “unfavorable” or “very unfavorable” view of Disney. Democratic voters only felt 12% of the same notions as their Republican voters.
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Wish (2023) did underperform at the box office, along with other Disney film releases like Lightyear (2022), Strange World (2022), Haunted Mansion (2023), Elemental (2023), Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023), The Little Mermaid (2023) and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023).
Disney CEO Bob Iger recently mentioned how their films have been too focused on messaging. Disney plans to return from that approach in the coming years to the formula of releasing films focused on fun-filled, non-political methods.
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