Compared to competitors and past performance, 2023 has been a disappointing year for Disney. In the category of original films, the company did not generate lots of noise this year. I am 19 now, but I remember back when I was younger (I sound so old) Disney was releasing banger after banger. Frozen, Inside Out, Zootopia, Moana, the list goes on. It is important to acknowledge that Disney has set a very high bar for itself. In 2019 the company had seven movies break the billion-dollar box office threshold. While in 2023, none have. This is the first year for the company since 2014, disregarding the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, to not have a billion-dollar movie.
Overall, animated movies got a lot of buzz this year. From The Super Mario Bros. Movie to Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse to Trolls Band Together (Velvet and Veneer, I love you guys). Looking at virality, Disney’s 2023 original animated releases, the first ones coming to mind being Elementals and Wish, compared poorly to competitors. The three movies I have listed either boomed at the box office or with online trends/videos.
Many feel Disney is falling into its own formulaic trap. Disney’s stories are starting to feel repetitive and predictable and the character’s personalities are starting to feel like prototypes. All in all, the company’s new projects are beginning to feel very formulaic.
Not just character personalities, but character designs too are getting noticeably repetitive. Having a distinctive look is cool and all but when all the characters, dragons included, begin to morph into one then maybe it is time to switch it up!
An example of Disney’s repetitive story building is the cute little star sidekick in Disney’s Wish. In the original storyboards, the cute little star accompanying the main character Asha was actually a star boy. And he and Asha were going to fall in love. I, along with much of the internet, am mourning what could have been if Disney had decided to use their original vision rather than the main character with a cute non-human sidekick character dynamic we have seen time and time again.
Not only did Disney scrap that incredible idea for Wish, but they also scrapped having a powerful evil couple lead in the movie. It is clear Disney missed the mark that evil duos are cool as heck, but at least Trolls Band Together understood perfectly.
Disney has acknowledged recent poor performance. In the company’s 2023 third-quarter financial results call, Bob Iger, the Disney CEO stated, “The studio has had a tremendous run over the past decade, perhaps the greatest run that any studio has ever had, with multiple billion dollar hits… that said, the performance of some of our recent films has definitely been disappointing and we don’t take that lightly.” I think it is admirable for him to admit the company has been in its flop era, and the first step towards change is awareness.
It seems Disney is afraid to step out of the box and give something new. The company keeps relying on making live-action adaptations of past successes (like what do you mean we are now having a live-action Moana?) and commissioning sequels for past hits (a Frozen 4 is already in the works). I feel like an old and bitter hag saying stuff like “back in my day” but I honestly feel that back in my day Disney really was flourishing creatively. I was walking out of those theaters reinvented every time. I appreciate Disney’s new works but they feel lacking. Encanto was fun and looked amazing, but was missing an emotional punch. Elemental could have been cool if the world-building did not feel exactly like Zootopia but with… elements. Sorry, I was bored.
Disney used to bring totally fresh concepts to life, exploring all kinds of worlds and stories. Now, a new, fun, and fresh original Disney story feels like a rarity. By my definition, the last hit I can remember was Luca and that was 2021. Not that long ago, but compared to years like 2019, the hits were consistent and coming. I hope the company takes more risks for future films and gives us something absolutely electric and never seen before, because Disney is more than capable. Star boy from Wish, I mourn you, I really do.