The Real Problem with the Remakes: Why I just can’t care about Disney anymore

*boomer voice* they don’t make movies like they used to

I haven’t seen the new Snow White, and I’m probably not going to. Not because of all the drama and controversy. Not because I hate Rachel Zegler—actually, I love her.

For starters, I barely remember the original Snow White. So, I guess I’m not the target audience of this particular nostalgia re-package anyway.

But with Snow White finally hitting theaters after what felt like an eternity of promo and hubbub, I’ve been thinking about the cinematic climate of remakes and franchises as a whole.

I’ve lost track of all the Marvel movies and shows. Same with Star Wars. Fast and Furious is on its eleventh (I think) installment.

Meanwhile, Disney is hard at work sifting through its hordes of intellectual property for classics to remake.

Look, I try not to be a hater

With most things I don’t like, you won’t really hear me bring them up. That’s because, for the most part, they just don’t take up space in my brain.

I tend to think, if you don’t have anything nice to say, why say anything at all? I’d just be wasting time that I could’ve spent on things I actually do like.

Then, I heard they’re making a new Lilo & Stitch.

For a second, the nostalgia did stir. I love Lilo & Stitch—it’s probably in my top three favorite Disney movies.

But my frail attempt at hype quickly dimmed because, like…who cares? If I wanna watch Lilo & Stitch, I’ll just watch Lilo & Stitch.

Same with The Lion King. Same with How To Train Your Dragon. Same with Mulan.

The real issue with these remakes aren’t the castings (which, at this point, seem to be trying to cause controversy). It’s not the soulless CGI. It’s neither the deviations from the original stories or the dedication to matching them detail by detail.

We haven’t run out of original stories

So, why are you retelling the old ones?

My biggest beef with Disney these days is the mismatch between their resources and their output.

Snow White was one of Disney’s most expensive live-action remakes, with a production budget of at least 240 million dollars. The promotion budget was likely even higher.

All that to tell story you’ve already told before.

Disney is one of the largest entertainment companies in the world—if not the largest. They have huge financial power, a wealth of studios, and armies of creatives working for them.

And they choose to use it on stories they’ve already told before.

It’s obvious creativity and passion haven’t called the shots at Disney for quite a long time. When their latest endeavors are discussed, art is rarely a topic. It’s all about the money: how much they spent and how much they got back.

How was the opening weekend? How’s the merchandise going? Are Disney plus subscriptions going up or down?

It’s easy to forget where companies like Disney came from. Why anyone makes movies and TV shows in the first place.

Love and passion for storytelling—remember that?

How about an idea you’re excited to bring to life? An experience you’re compelled to share? What about expressing yourself creatively?

Disney looks at all that and says, “in this economy?”

Yes, Walt, even in this economy.

I’m frustrated with the remakes because there are original stories out there being told with a fraction of the budget. Snow White’s failure of a reception would’ve meant the world to a smaller movie.

I’m frustrated because there’s no reason at all why Disney can’t be making interesting, emotional, new movies.

Lilo & Stitch was special the first time because it was unique. Because it was a risk. The story was fresh and interesting, and the way they executed it was full of heart.

I refuse to believe that the creatives working for Disney have run out of ideas.

It’s not a shortage of new stories to tell, it’s an excess of greed and fear causing executives to sabotage the original stories while green lighting yet another remake.

When people asked why Disney was recycling another old movie, Disney pointed to the lukewarm reception of movies like Soul and Luca. They said, “you didn’t like those new movies, so we’re making more of what you do like”.

Except, the data Disney is going off is skewed. Soul, Turning Red, and Luca all went straight to Disney Plus due to pandemic restrictions. So, there were no real opening weekend numbers to report.

They also had significantly lower marketing budgets than Snow White. While the exact numbers aren’t public, one thing is obvious: everyone knew Snow White was coming out. Luca, Turning Red, and Soul simply weren’t promoted the same way.

Disney was taking a leaf out of the old Marvel studios playbook: shoot a risky movie in the foot, then use its failure as an excuse to take less risks.

Back in the somewhat early days of Marvel, the merchandising department gained a significant amount of control over creative decisions. They had some…interesting ideas on what would and wouldn’t sell.

For example, they advocated against having female or non-white main characters. At the time, they insisted that the superheroes had to be white men. For relatability’s sake, they said, because it’s white boys who are buying the action figures.

Or so they claimed. When they did take risks, such as having Black Widow in the ensemble, the first run of action figures excluded the character. When she did eventually get her own toys, there were notably less of them in production.

Marvel pointed to the low sales of Black Widow merchandise as “proof” that their audience was not interested in stories that featured women. Despite the fact that Black Widow products sold less simply because there were less of them.

Higher sales for live-action remakes is partially because of nostalgia. Half of the marketing work is already done: everybody already knows what Lilo & Stitch is about.

But significantly more marketing has gone into these live-actions anyway. People cannot buy tickets for films that they don’t know about. They can’t get excited about stories they haven’t heard of. And they aren’t going to find out about these things if the creators don’t tell them.

The endless parade of remakes is frustrating because it’s really a lose-lose situation.

I feel like I’m being a tied down and forced to watch as a company with resources I could only dream chooses to take the “safe” route over and over again. And then they don’t even make a profit!

It’s hard for me to empathize when a multi-million dollar corporation’s latest recycled story doesn’t make as many millions as they hoped.

There are countless writers, animators, actors, and videographers out there with genuine passion for their craft and a desire to bring interesting stories to life. As I type this, I’m sure a film student somewhere is making a movie with twenty bucks and a dream. My own music video probably has a more original storyline than whatever Disney’s cooking next.

Most people who work in these industries do it for the love of it. We all know pursuing a creative job means living a financially unstable life.

But we do it anyway.

Has anyone told Disney they don’t have to make movies if they hate it so much? If they’re so worried about making a profit, maybe they should heed the age-old advice given to artists in similar situations: get a “real” job.

You own all the intellectual property in the world, we get it. You don’t have to wave your franchises in our faces to remind us what you have. At this point, you’re basically self-cannibalizing, trying to turn old stories into new content to line the pockets of executives who likely couldn’t even come up with a creative slogan.

Maybe it’s time to step aside.

Maybe try leaving the storytelling to people who still have a passion for it and are willing to take risks. Or at least tell a story we haven’t heard before.

If you have nothing new to say, it’s okay to say nothing. You can just chill for a bit. That being said, I have a hard time believing that none of the creatives Disney employs have any original ideas. I have a feeling they’re just not being listened to.

I know I’m basically picking on Disney here, but my main point is: fear and greed will never be good guiding stars for making art. If that’s what you’re going off of, you’re in the wrong field.