Flying carpets, unknown lands and a protagonist confronted by evil are reasons to love Disney’s classic films. The creativity and depth of these timeless stories keep us holding on.
And The Walt Disney Company knows it.
There have been over 10 remakes of the Disney classics — not including retellings such as “Maleficent,” “Cinderella” and “Cruella” etc.
There’s a whole slew of reasons why people would do remakes, Erica Elliott, Taylor University, assistant professor of marketing, said.
“A lot of it’s from a nostalgia standpoint because we think about the timing of a lot of the remakes, it's in sequence with when a certain generation might initially been exposed to that particular movie — Disney movie,” Elliott said, “Where now maybe they have children who are in that age range of when they first saw it.”
Parents might have fond memories of a movie. Fast forward, and they share that connection with their child. Eliott said it’s a bonding opportunity for parents to share experiences with their children today.
When it comes to nostalgia, people don’t mind repackaged products.
Laura McClelland, TU associate professor of psychology, said when she discusses learning and study strategies with students, people tend to stick with what they know — because it’s familiar. It’s comfortable. Even when the study habits aren’t effective.
“I would imagine something like that also applies to other things, especially if we're talking about Disney movies,” McClelland said. “We like this particular movie; we're familiar with it; we've probably seen the theme repeated several times even though we might not be aware of it, and so that familiarity — especially if we like it — just feels better than something new because people don't like change.”
McClelland said that some things really do come down to the individual. Sometimes people want something new. They get bored with what they know.
Disney has a fine line to walk when reproducing a classic. They must follow the storyline to honor the title while taking the opportunity to introduce new and fresh ideas.
Any sort of director or storyteller has to be careful when taking something from the shared collective memory, Tracy Manning, assistant professor of theatre arts, managing and artistic director of theatre, said.
“I don't think that we want to put a straight jacket on the creative impulses that drive us towards better storytelling, if that's indeed what it is,” Manning said.
If a movie or play doesn’t offer honest depictions of life and people, then altering the story should be considered, she said. Is there a way to honor the story and the lives of those people?
If so, then absolutely take the creative license, Manning said. Storytellers need to be thoughtful in how to tell those stories to correct and repurpose something philosophical, ideological or theological.
“If it's just for the sake of being different, then I think I got to ask: Why would we do that?” Manning said.
That’s the point: Why remake a film if it’s not going to be different? And what kind of “difference” is being aimed for?
In 2019, “Aladdin” made $1,054,304,000 worldwide, with a budget of $183,000,000, according to the Box Office Mojo. Director Guy Ritchie’s 2019 “Aladdin” doesn’t sit in the shadow of its predecessor. His 2019 “Aladdin” offered character depth, frustration and empathy that only Ritchie could have produced.
Disney’s repackaged movies have been wonderful. They’ve done great. Yet, as their remakes inch closer to being an exact copy of the classics, we need to call them out: It’s lazy storytelling.
If you’re going to “remake” a film, go places the original didn’t. Do not sacrifice the creative possibilities.
