Art is becoming lazy: why disney is ruining movies

Artwork by Muskaan Rudhra

“We can watch How To Train Your Dragon? Or that new Lilo and Stitch movie? I heard it has a bad ending though.”

In the past month alone, I’ve gone to the theatre 6, maybe 7 times, and seen movies from the new Jurassic Park, to the F1 movie, and and most recently, the slasher reboot I Know What You Did Last Summer. But the more I watch, the more I feel like I’ve seen it all before… because, well, I have.

Yes, you guessed it… you knew it was coming. So, let’s talk about the era of remakes. Specifically, let’s talk about Disney.

The Remake Dilemma

Everyone who’s chronically online has seen the discourse. TikTok is filled with takes: some call remakes lazy cash-grabs that lack the soul of the original. Others argue they’re modernized for a new generation, more diverse, more inclusive, more nuanced.

Me? I’m somewhere in the middle.
Do I think many are creatively bankrupt? Yes.
Do I still appreciate the idea of refreshing classic tales for new audiences and adding diversity? Also yes, but only when it’s done right.

And no one’s more responsible for the remake revolution than Disney.

Why Cinderella Worked

When Disney first started popping out live action remakes, I was honestly loving it and I didn’t even think it was becoming a thing. If I am remembering correctly, one of the earliest remakes I watched, and genuinely loved, was Cinderella (2015).

Growing up, I never found Cinderella to be an appealing or interesting Disney princess… I was a more Belle, Mulan, Rapanzul, and Jasmine kinda girl. 

But, instead of just regurgitating the same old story that we grew up with and relying on nostalgia, this remake gave Cinderella nuance and a quiet strength I hadn’t seen before. It was her kindness; and it wasn’t depicted as some “princess virtue” but a form of defiance to the cruelty that she experienced. She was portrayed as a more active agent in moving her story forward, and while she was still “saved by some prince” in the end, it was clear that it wouldn’t have been possible without who she was and the way she treated others. Even her forgiveness of her stepmother felt powerful. The movie added depth to a character I had once written off. The story was the same, but it felt like they took what lacked or was unexplained in the animated film and added their own spin on the character without losing the integrity of the original. The message was admirable, the magic was still there, and for once, I was rooting for Cinderella and Prince Charming as an actual couple.

When It All Went Wrong

But as the remakes kept coming… the quality started dropping.

Take The Lion King (2019). My all-time favorite Disney movie. The remake had impressive CGI, but at what cost? The hyper-realistic lions lacked emotion. Their faces couldn’t convey the raw heartbreak of the animated original. Majority of the time, I couldn’t even distinguish between the lions to tell you the truth. The plot? Still amazing, but only because it was a shot-for-shot hyper-realistic copy. The magic of hand-drawn animation though? Gone.

Or let’s talk about Mulan (2020)… Actually, let’s not. I don’t have the emotional strength to relive that one.

Then there’s Aladdin (2019). Will Smith was… definitely there. And, you would assume that Disney would learn from the problematic animated version that it’s based on… but no. Even in the live action, I’m unsure what type of brown is being depicted or hated on with Arabian Nights playing to the backdrop of some rip-off Taj Mahal but being set in “Abrabah”, Jasmine being played by an Indian actress, and a random bollywood-esque dancebreak commencing in the middle of the movie. All brown is one now apparently, and we are interchangeable with each other despite having completely different cultures, religions, languages, and even food. It’s islamaphobia, orientalism, and stereotypical cultural insensitivity all wrapped up in a new live action version in case the animated one didn’t confuse brown children growing up enough. Jasmine is South Asian? Middle Eastern? Chinese? All of the above? 

Don’t be fooled, it’s still racist… just with a higher production value. 

Want even another example? How about the controversy of The Little Mermaid where the most horrendous thing that the multi-billion dollar company can do is cast a Black woman to play a mermaid instead of a red-haired white woman… because it’s not accurate to mermaid lore? Yeah, because that is what society should be outraged about. 

If anything, the casting choice and Halle Bailey was the only redeemable part of the movie… and the addition of Wild Uncharted Waters. Now, this remake isn’t the absolute worst, but it still lacks. The colour-grading is off, Flounder is lifeless, King Triton delivers a wooden performance, that French dude got cut out, the dinglehopper joke isn’t even done right, and Scuttle is played by Awkwafina and was rapping.

Animation Isn’t Just for Kids

When it comes to entertainment and joy, if you, as a creator, cannot understand what made the original so magical in the first place then don’t try to remake it. 

Part of what makes these classics work is because of the medium itself. Animation isn’t a lesser art form, it’s a unique, emotionally rich one. Look at Avatar: The Last Airbender, Spider-Verse, Invincible, or Attack on Titan. These stories need to be animated. The expressiveness, the stylization, the visual metaphors; none of that translates the same way in live-action.

Remakes rely on nostalgia to mask poor storytelling. But when plot, emotion, and meaning are sacrificed for realism or commercial viability, the end result feels hollow. Nostalgia alone doesn’t make something good. And when we keep accepting subpar versions of beloved stories, we lower our standards for media. 

So, I can’t help but wonder why exactly Disney is making these remakes? What are the implications for culture? For creativity? 

So… Why Are We Still Watching?

Accepting the subpar in the media, in the art, we consume is relevant. 

On a political level, it’s regressive. On a personal one, it’s boring and provides no intellectual stimulation. 

I know… “stop making my entertainment political.” 

But, it is political. It always has been. 

Disney isn’t just a film studio, it’s a cultural institution. 

As Auburn University notes:

“Serious media scholars recognize the important cultural work that Disney does, and, with Disney’s pervasive cross-generational influence, it is an inescapable force in understanding the politics which exist in the film industry”

These remakes aren’t just harmless stories. 

They enforce their existing dominant ideological systems and shape how identity is depicted. And when Disney waters down cultures, ignores context, or substitutes representation for depth, they reinforce existing power structures under the guise of progress. 

So, my hot take? 

If Disney insists on remaking every animated classic into a live-action film, then I want to see more than just surface-level tweaks. Give me a South Asian Rapunzel. Let Meg be played by a man and fall in love with Hercules. Show me a Peter Pan remake that doesn’t stereotype and degrade Indigenous people. Retell Brave from the perspective of the woman who cursed Merida’s mom. 

Do something bold. Do something different. Make art that isn’t lazy. 

As consumers, we need to ask ourselves why remakes are trending so heavily right now, and what the political implications are behind this obsession with nostalgia. Sure, profit is a major factor. But beyond that, we should be wary of how these remakes shape our standards for storytelling, culture, and representation.

Because if we keep accepting films that say nothing new and offer nothing real, then lazy storytelling doesn’t just survive, it becomes the norm.

And pretty soon, we’ll all be sitting in the theatre asking ourselves:

Which recycled, predictable, and slightly shinier version of a movie I already saw would I like to rewatch today?

xoxo, 

Khushi Kumari