XAVIER BOATNER
campus editor
xavier.boatner@my.tccd.edu
Recently, Disney has announced sequels for “Toy Story,” “Frozen,” “Inside Out” and “Zootopia” and the response has been mixed.
On Feb. 8, Disney’s CEO Bob Iger told investors about various work-in-progress sequel projects during an earnings call according to The Hollywood Report. During the call, Iger stressed the reason for bringing these upcoming films into existence was to help futureproof the brands.
The moment this news broke, so too did the internet – as the internet is known to do. The announcement of these installments has been divisive. Many believe these sequels are unnecessary, and many have said Disney should start making new IPs instead of defiling Buzz Lightyear’s grave for the sixth time.
However, that’s precisely what they’ve been doing. Some of the company’s latest attempts at fully-original stories have largely been successful such as “Encanto,” “Luca” or “Soul.” It’s not like new ideas are out of style. Although, that isn’t to say that every new idea is a slam dunk.
For the not-so-successful original stories, look no further than Pixar’s last outing, “Strange World.” It’s a movie that released a while ago. There was a blue slimy character likely made solely for merchandising purposes. It’s one of the biggest box office bombs in Disney history. The ideas are there for the most part, but it doesn’t seem like people are showing up.
It’s not that the people are at fault for not watching movies that don’t particularly interest them of course, but to say there’s a lack of ideas in the movie industry or even DIsney’s catalog isn’t all that true. There’s nothing inherently wrong with sequels to movies, especially when people will inevitably go to the movies in droves anyway.
The reality of the situation is despite people being upset about the “lack of new ideas” from Disney, once “Frozen 3” rolls around, the chances are it’ll ice out whatever film that’s unfortunate enough to stare Else in her cold dead eyes. Again, that’s probably not what people would want to hear, but it’s likely to turn out this way.
People get an obscene amount of catharsis some get from making fun of these announcements is insanely understandable and one hundred and one percent relatable, but giving the original ideas their due diligence and props is important. Going and supporting new ideas instead of constantly showing up for the established franchises could help get more original ideas off the ground.
This doesn’t just go for Disney movies either. Showing support for movies at film festivals like Sundance, which is full of creations from various talented independent creators, and studios like A24, Motive Films and Ventureland could be a great way to scratch any itch for original movie ideas.
In short, there’s honestly so much more out there for people to indulge in, whether it’s old ideas or new, and there are plenty of great worlds and characters to explore. This can miraculously be done with a total of absolutely zero “Toy Story 5” or “Zootopia 2” viewings. So get out there and watch new things.
