Credit: Disney2023 marked the 100th anniversary of the Walt Disney Company, but did the studio’s performance this year truly represent a century’s worth of magic? According to some sources, that might be debatable.
The Walt Disney Company has truly had a rough year after facing trials and tribulations in and out of the studio. Along with reportedly lackluster performances at the box office, the studio has battled scandals involving some of its actors, remakes, and fan reception. 100 Years of Wonder doesn’t exactly fit that description.
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In spite of all that, Disney has found some success this year with projects like Once Upon a Studio (2023) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023). As far as measuring up to expectations, however, many fans found the studio wanting.
A House Divided at the Walt Disney Company
Financial woes and scandals aside, Disney had a full year of content for 2023. Three Marvel movies, a new adaptation of The Haunted Mansion, and an animated love letter to all the studio’s best work are still major accomplishments for the House of Mouse. That said, fan reactions have been a mixed bag at best and underwhelming at worst.
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During the year-end roundtable discussion, The A.V. Club had much to say regarding Disney’s performance this year, both good and bad. While much criticism has indeed been lobbed at the mouse’s direction, there were many highlights this year simply overshadowed by negative press.
The discussion began with the following,
“Is Disney still the happiest place on Earth? Maybe not. Recent original animated films like Wish and Elemental (remember Elemental?) have flopped both critically and at the box office, while the studio’s endless slog of live-action remakes has been increasingly mired by mean-spirited controversy. This year, both The Little Mermaid’s Halle Bailey and Snow White’s Rachel Zegler have had to contend with nasty, racist backlash to their respective castings, all over a film that ended up being pretty mediocre in the first place. (At least in Bailey’s case, that is; Zegler’s Snow White has been pushed to 2025.)”
Everything stated in the discussion was certainly true, but much of the critical reception was overlooked in the bigger picture. Disney might be down this year, but the studio is certainly not out.
Not only did Marvel have one of the highest-grossing films for Disney this year with Guardians 3 taking a gross of $358,995,815 at the box office, but it was also put on the shortlist for an Oscar at this year’s Academy Awards. Additionally, Wish has a very receptive audience that might give it a second wind when it comes to Disney+ (if patterns are to be believed), and Elemental, contrary the quote above states was a hit with viewers this year.
Furthermore, if Avatar: The Way of Water (2023) is taken into consideration with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3 (2023), Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023), and The Little Mermaid (2023), four Disney-owned projects were featured in the top ten most successful releases of 2023. A modest success, but certainly a win.
The truth of the matter is that Disney has had a bad year, but not one it can’t recover from. As of writing, the groundwork is already being done so that the studio can rise again with a better creative direction. It wasn’t easy to last 100 years, but there’s no reason the story has to end there.
Do you think 2023 lived up to the Disney legacy? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!