The phrase “Disney is woke” has been thrown around quite a lot in recent years, especially when it comes to the recent Disney live-action remakes. In the past year, Disney has often been accused of adding “woke” content to too much of their recent material. Many fans believe that Disney has sacrificed their wholesome image in the hopes of fitting into the political climate of today.
However, is Disney’s political standpoint really to blame in this situation? Or is it just the quality of the live-action remakes that is to blame for Disney’s downhill spiral?
Live-Action Remakes to Blame for Disney’s Failure
Let’s get real: the recent live-action remakes haven’t been succeeding in the way that they once did. At one point, it was a standard for remakes to surpass the $1 billion dollar mark. Now, even movies with massive budgets fail to surpass such an achievement.
Many fans think that Disney’s shift to “woke” entertainment is to blame for Disney’s failing audience revenue. But the truth is that there is likely more than just ideology to blame for Disney’s falling numbers.
Bad Movies: The Real Issue With Disney
It is an unfortunate reality that Disney really hasn’t been succeeding in their recent movies. With such a pattern comes a blatant reality: Disney’s recent live-action movies haven’t been great. Whether it be the casting, directing, or overall vision, Disney has not been resonating with fans the way that they should be.
If Disney is going to make a live-action remake of a beloved film, fans are expecting to see just that: A LIVE-ACTION REMAKE! That means the same story, the same themes, and the same characters. Time and time again, Disney has strayed from their values, and the resulting product has ended up feeling disconnected from the source material. Fans clearly want to see remakes that evoke the same feeling as the original story, not something completely different.
This conversation has been reignited with all of the drama surrounding the new Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs remake. The film is going to be very different from the original; it will feature the “seven magical creatures” instead of the seven Dwarfs, and it will not be centered around a classic love story. While some might call this “woke,” I have another word for this kind of shift: bad. Such a dramatic shift in theme and story feels almost insulting to the fans who grew up idolizing such a kind, sweet, and noble character.
Now that Disney has announced numerous other major live-action projects down the pipeline, fans are feeling less hopeful than ever that Disney is getting this memo. Here’s to hoping a shift is coming… and soon!
