What’s Wrong With Disney? - Opinion
From Shane Conto
I think South Park beat me to the punch… but what is wrong with Disney? Spoiler alert! It is not Kathleen Kennedy’s fault that Disney’s film division is losing money the way it is right now. She might have a decent amount of blame for the lack of production for Star Wars films, but this is a much bigger and more complex issue. There are specific issues in each area of Disney that are causing issues, along with a looming cloud over the whole company that needs to be dealt with.
What about that cloud? Culture Wars. Disney has unfortunately found itself in the center of a battle with the political right in this country because that gall (giant eye roll intended) to be supportive of the LGBTIA+ community. This might push some buttons but let’s be frank… they made the center of the American Neo-Fascism movement an enemy. Now Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and the rest of the far right are trying to do everything they can to take down Disney and destroy their image. Disney isn’t even the best ally out there as they only half-heartedly throw out representation in projects and queer bait most of the time. But they made the “mistake” of showing the bare minimum support. Disney will probably never do this, but they need to seriously go on the offensive against this anti-capitalist horde who wants to punish a company because they shared ideas that they found offensive. These American Neo-Fascists restrict art and expression in our country which is incredibly un-American and Disney has found themselves as one of their biggest targets. This population wants the country to believe that Disney is destroying our culture when in reality their stories have done more for the growth of our children into responsible, empathetic, and functioning adults. The same cannot be said about them.
But with that big elephant out of the room, what is the area getting the most flack right now? Marvel. It is quite popular to be MCU-critical at the moment and unfortunately Disney has done plenty to bring that upon themselves. They are dealing with a market who are getting more tired of these superhero stories. They need to make sure they are offering fresh stories with consistent high quality. That is not happening at the moment. The biggest issue is that they are trying to make too much and with little thought into what audiences want to see. This saturation with more films and all of these Disney+ series is diluting their product. The rush to get it all done is also causing issues with visual effects, writing, and general quality. How do you get people interested again? Give them great movies and make them wait. You are Marvel… your films should feel like events.
What other big property piece has been in doubt lately? Star Wars. Outside of the Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni camp, nothing much is going on. Andor was great but underwatched. It feels like forever since we actually had a film. We are spoiled and it was only four years ago but so much has been announced to get fans excited. What is the issue? Almost all of those films are dead in the water. There is a lack of trust now because these films garner excitement and then months later are announced to be dead. Whether it is actually the management in charge pushing the talent away (like Kathleen Kennedy) or not, the result is the same. When will we get another film? Three to four more years? That is not the consistent financial gains that Disney hoped for when they paid the big bucks for Lucasfilm. Maybe new leadership and direction are the best way to go.
What might be everyone’s biggest issue with Disney right now? Their live-action remakes. Most of them feel like expensive but soulless cash grabs. Some of them really excelled and improved on potential (i.e. The Jungle Book and Pete’s Dragon). Then they started on big, famous and high quality projects like Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Aladdin, and The Little Mermaid. The financial gains are waning and that is a bad sign. They are banking on nostalgia to hit $1 billion every time but that trend is starting to slow. There is an issue with the overall quality of these films and feel so needless in purpose. You remake films that have room for improvement, not a bunch of beloved classics. They should shift gears and invest in new ideas. You are Disney. You have set the stage for imagination for 100 years. Find your creativity again.
What happened to Disney Animation and Pixar? This is a tale of two different studios. Disney Animation was killing for a good ten years but their last few efforts have felt uninspired from a writing standpoint and have focused a lot of their marketing on centering their half-hearted representation. Wish should have been this giant hit to celebrate their 100 years but it couldn’t even crack the top two at the box office. But even worse is Pixar. Disney destroyed the studios theatrical viability because they dumped all their efforts for the last few years on Disney+. It was great to watch them without a paywall but it set a tone for how they prioritized Pixar’s efforts. There have been some great films from Pixar in the last few years and they were buried on a streaming service. They need to build that back up.
But how does Disney get past these big financial losses? They have put a giant focus on Disney+ (even though all of their non-Marvel and Star Wars efforts have been half-hearted and uninspired). They are not making the money they hoped from it but they are hurting their theatrical efforts in the process by watering down their offerings. Disney releases need to feel special again. Release less. Focus on quality. That is the simple recipe. There are a lot of issues and moving pieces but those two things are a great place to start.
