Disney recently released a new trailer for its remake of “The Lion King.” Most fans were excited for the film, but there was another group of people who were unimpressed. Most of the negative comments against the trailer argued the film is a shot-for-shot remake of the original, only with glossier visuals. But those glossy visuals which make characters look like real animals are far less expressive and emotive, creating a hollow experience.

These are examples of opinions the newly purchased 21st Century Fox will have to face now that it’s under the Disney cannon. The massive merger is bad for the film industry as it will put more emphasis on making films based on nostalgia and references rather than telling original and diverse stories.

Disney’s current shift away from original live-action properties is, sadly, understandable, as most of their new live-action films have failed. Last year’s release of “A Wrinkle in Time,” while becoming the first film directed by an African-American woman, Ava DuVernay, to gross $100 million dollars in the United States, only made $132.7 million dollars on a $100 million-dollar budget. “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms,” which fared slightly better, still only made $173.9 million on its $120 million-dollar budget.

Disney is getting by due to the net gross of those sequels and remakes. From Disney’s lineup from last year, five films made more than $500 million dollars worldwide — three of those films being live-action — and three of the top five highest grossing films. And how are all of the films connected? The films — “Avengers: Infinity War,” “Black Panther,” “Incredibles 2,” “Ant-Man and the Wasp” and “Ralph Breaks the Internet” — are all either sequels or, in the case of “Black Panther,” a part of the Marvel cinematic universe.

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This year, Disney is following a similar arc, with only one out of 11 scheduled films being outside of an already existing franchise — the adaptation of “Artemis Fowl” (two if you include Disneynature’s “Penguins”). Three of those films are remakes of older classics: Tim Burton’s “Dumbo,” “Aladdin” and the aforementioned “The Lion King.”

While each of these sequels and remakes won’t necessarily be mediocre, at the same time, it’s harmful to the industry that consumers keep paying for more of the same, instead of pushing for new ideas or voices. Disney is at its best when it takes risks, and most of the films on its schedule will make a profit but fail to leave a lasting impression on its viewers.

Even Marvel Studios, which makes mostly competent films, has built its brand on telling stories with very similar tones and story arcs. While I don’t personally hate all of Disney’s recent releases, I would much rather see something new, different than a boring, uncreative remake like “Beauty and the Beast,” or a forgettable sequel like “Ant-Man and the Wasp.”

With all of the new properties coming from Fox, there are more possibilities for the studio to just keep recycling old stories rather than making new films.

Look at the reaction to the new teaser for “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.” The aspect creating the largest response is the return of Emperor Palpatine, from the original film’s trilogy. Whether or not it makes sense for him to be in the movie, Palpatine returning brings Star Wars back to normalcy, after its last entry in the main Saga was a new look for the franchise.

But one of the scariest aspects of this deal is the decreasing number of films being released and, thus, fewer jobs for minority filmmakers. Fox 2000 — responsible for the production of films such as “Love, Simon,” “Hidden Figures” and “The Fault in Our Stars” — has already been terminated.

This was a label that gave minority filmmakers a chance to tell smaller-scale stories. Now it’s gone, and more than 3,000 people are expected to be fired over the coming months. Smaller filmmakers in need of work are going to have much more difficulty getting their visions made as larger studios take over.

Disney is a company which has created dreams for generations. But these dreams are starting to get very familiar — and for cinema fans, these dreams are starting to turn into nightmares.

Published on April 15, 2019 at 11:08 pm

Contact Patrick: pagunn@syr.edu