Disney has been a cornerstone and a pillar of all our childhoods, with their timeless classics adapted from local folklore such as The Little Mermaid. Disney has introduced the concept of fairy tale stories to us through a different perspective, bringing princesses and princes into the essentials for a happy ending. However, in 2023, terror has struck traditional companies as the ‘woke’ wave is parading through social media, immediately striking down anyone they find offensive. This turbulent period struck fear into the hearts of Disney executives and with that also an opportunity to  profit off of the activism. This caused them to remake many of our favorite classic Disney movies in live 4k HD, but they aren’t the same stories….

The animated movie Snow White is a globally known story that has carved itself into the childhoods of many. Disney made the thoughtful decision to terminate the movie’s original title and plot, using the alias of Snow White to advertise to customers hoping to lure in some unsuspecting fans. They removed the prince, a key part of the plot, and also scrapped the idea of dwarves to make a diversified array of ‘magical creatures’ instead. Ironically, Disney’s original animated movies also completely changed the plot and erased the original culture of these fairy tales to make a family friendly and favorable brand; however, now they are removing the stories even further from their original cultural contexts with these remakes. 

The first movie to fall to this trend was a part of the classic series ‘Toy Story,’ in particular Lightyear (2022), which hit a whopping rating of 2.7 stars, at an all time low. However, Disney trudged forward despite criticism and poor reviews, hoping their activism and inclusion would trump the need for quality. Despite a string of failures, Disney executives were still trying to grasp the profit, and changed their modus operandi to ‘representing minorities,’ while completely erasing the original cultures of the stories. 

Disney has revealed it is just a profit based capitalist company with the sole goal of moolah in mind. Even though Disney might think that the movies they make would appeal to the fans, the reason it failed was not because the public was prejudiced, but the movies are all poorly made and solely blinded by the fact that they represent a minority in a ‘woke sense’. Take an example of a movie that achieved what disney was trying to: Barbie has broken world wide sales records and still represents feminism; The key to its success is not caused by its representation, but the eye-opening plot. Hopefully, Disney’s delusional management comes to an end before they become the next Blockbuster.

Sayam is a staff reporter.

Edited by Aryaman.

Photo credit: Image created using Bing Image Creator.