In recent years, Disney has been mass producing live-action movies: The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Snow White, Tangled, and more. Disney was once a hub of imagination and storytelling now it has fallen into remakes and cheap animation to keep the company relevant. This decline in creativity has gone on to highlight how the company is striving to stay afloat and showing their dependence on live-action films and irrelevant animated films.

Disney’s popularity stemmed from taking creative risks to create animated films such as Mulan, Aladdin, and The Lion King. They were original movies that were bold and impactful. They allowed their writing to create new horizons in the entertainment industry. New use of technology and innovation in film making pushed boundaries and explored what animation and storytelling could be.

Now Disney has seemed to run dry. Nearly every successful Disney film from the 1980’s to the 2000’s has been rapidly created into a live-action film. Even though new adaptations are a cool concept, Disney seems to be missing the mark. Instead of emotional and nostalgic the newer films seem to be more economical. The movies seem to be prioritizing profit instead of storytelling and staying true to the plot. Animated films create what cannot be done in live-action, adding elements that push expectations in film making.

A main issue that Disney runs into while creating these live-action films is their budget. Live-action films attempt to capture the magic of an original animated film, however, they are not able to cover everything that was done in the original due to the filming style. For example the song “Under the Sea” in the Little Mermaid was always a fun, energetic, and nostalgic song sung by a choir of sea animals set underwater. When making the live-action version of this song, the producers weren’t able to capture this to its full potential, having to use uncanny CGI and work around the fact that a scene like that is nearly impossible to replicate.

Disney always has a sense of nostalgia. Almost every kid grew up watching the films and feeling a sense of comfort and resonance in them. In the new generation kids are growing up with recycled films instead of the ones millions of people have grown to love.