As Universal Studios expands in the United Kingdom, Disney confronts a threat to its popularity, sparking concerns about its global dominance. While Disney is short on creative innovations, their current approach to addressing this issue is by encouraging more diversity and introducing greater representation in future live-action remakes. Yet, after producing several inclusive live remakes with significant decline in the box office, will Disney persist in adhering to this old approach?
Disney executives proposed incorporating characters of different races into their original characters so that Disney fans could see themselves represented by their favourite characters through remakes. By doing so, certain executives believe that this will fit the modern ideology of equality, thus capturing the public’s attention and respect. However, in the previous live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, which featured a black female lead, its box office failed miserably because of media backlash with fans complaining that Disney refused and failed to continue to use the original white mermaid that they grew up and connected with.
While certain Disney executives supported this diversity approach, the co-chair of Disney, Dana Walden, expressed concern. She suggests that rather than emphasizing political ideologies of racial equality, Disney should prioritize tapping into their target audience’s nostalgia through beloved intellectual properties as this strategy has proven successful in the past.
Disney dominance over the entertainment industry is by creating magical moments for audiences of all ages. From creating films that highlight the beauty of 2D art to the modern approach of following societal norms and standards, Disney seems to have lost its original spark to create magical moments as it used to. Nevertheless, whether Disney decides to continue to implement its approach to diversity or go back to its classics, the future of Disney remains uncertain, with fans eagerly awaiting its next move.