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Credit: Disney, Edited by Inside the MagicWhat do Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), The Lion King (1994), and Frozen all have in common? They were staples of Disney animation that earned billions at the box office.
Right now, Disney has entered what some call its “Flop Era,” and Walt Disney Animation Studio is having a severe identity crisis. As Wish (2023) pushes things into more of a slow-burn territory, the studio’s creative team needs to tread carefully in their next animated feature.
Although it was revealed that Frozen III is next on Disney’s docket, it’s anyone’s guess as to what the studio’s next original creation might be. One thing that can be said for sure is that venturing too far from its foundations has resulted in multiple box office bombs. So, maybe it’s time to get back to what genuinely and financially worked.
Disney Animation Needs a New Fairytale
Looking back at the previously mentioned films, the multi-million and billion-dollar hits shared one thing in common. They weren’t just Disneyfied fairytales; they were re-imaginings.
Disney has adapted traditional fairytales before, as Cinderella (1950), Peter Pan (1953), and Sleeping Beauty (1959) were more-or-less straight-forward animated versions of familiar fables. However, Disney found its stride when it gave classic stories a bit of a twist.
Aladdin was far from the elaborate tapestry of 1001 Nights, The Lion King was hardly as gruesome as Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and Frozen was far from what Hans Christian Andersen imagined in his original book. Yet, they were all enormous successes that left a mark on popular culture—all the more reason for Disney to revisit this formula.
Although Wish (2023) attempted something like this, it didn’t go far enough with the Disney fairytale elements. As a result, it was a good movie with lukewarm reviews and mixed reception and a current $126,849,277 take at the worldwide box office, lunch money compared to Frozen II’s $1,451,653,316. As the saying goes, go big or go home.
The literary world is home to a wealth of fairytales Disney could/should expand upon. Moreover, The Lion King was inspired by one of Shakespeare’s greatest plays, and it held the crown as the most successful animated movie of all time for years. Disney doesn’t need to invent something to attract an audience; the studio just needs to work with the formula it has created.
To further solidify the point, the original Disney adaptation of Beauty and the Beast wasn’t just a financial success (at $424,967,620) and the first full-length animated feature nominated for Best Picture. Given the proper thought and direction, there’s no reason on earth that the studio wouldn’t be able to do it again.
If ifs and buts were candy and nuts, we’d all have a merry Christmas. Speculation aside, Disney should pursue the fairytale genre again with heavy intent. Money talks and box office billions don’t lie. Provided that the upcoming Frozen sequel is the success some are hoping for, this could very well be Disney’s plan of action.
What fairytale would you like to see Disney do? Tell Inside the Magic what you think in the comments below!