Disney is the hub for almost all well-known, and well-done animated movies. They are the creators of the famous Mickey Mouse, the notorious Maleficent and generations of children’s favorite characters. They have had a constant influence on people’s lives through their well-known films going back decades, but many have questioned whether or not Disney has begun to lose its spark.

Disney films date back to 1937 with the release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. From then on, their films have only grown in popularity. Movies like Frozen, Finding Nemo, The Lion King and The Incredibles have become household names. Their films and characters have been favorites in my childhood as well as many others, whether we choose to worship Belle from Beauty and the Beast or Ralph from Wreck-it Ralph.

Usually when a new Disney movie is released, fans rush to the theaters to fall in love with new characters on the big screen. According to collider.com, box offices grossed about $1.45 billion during the release of Frozen II. However, the newest Disney animation, Wish, has had much lower results. In its opening weekend, the film grossed around $19.5 million, according to variety.com.

The movie has also received negative feedback across social media. The film received a 48 percent on rottentomatoes.com and a 5.9/10 on imdb.com. Audience reviews say they felt the film was “generic” and “simple” and the “pacing was too fast.” Users on TikTok have said that the movie felt rushed and thought Disney was prioritizing the quantity of movies over quality. Some people thought the movie was so lacking in quality that they falsely believed it was produced by AI.

Coming from a girl who used to get excited about every new Disney movie, I was disappointed by Wish. I felt as if the plot was missing the Disney magic we’re all used to seeing. The main character, Asha, has no growth throughout the movie and “wins” by being smart, not by fighting back against society.  In addition, the animation throughout was inconsistent. In fact, Asha looks completely different in some scenes compared to others.

Other recently released animations by Disney, such as Raya and the Last Dragon (2021), Strange World (2022) and Elemental (2023) have been considered flops. These films had disappointing box office sales during their opening weeks and when brought into conversation, many don’t even recognize their titles. It seems that Disney animation is declining in popularity.

While their new films are struggling, their sequels are not. Disney has announced they are developing a sequel to Zootopia, the 2016 film that grossed over $1 billion in box offices worldwide, according to screenrant.com. They are also working on a third film in their popular Frozen franchise.

In addition, their live action remakes do very well. According to deadline.com, their live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast grossed about $414.7 million in box office sales.

It appears that Disney is putting much more effort into remakes and sequels rather than creating new ideas. While it’s nice to see their famous characters in new storylines, I would love to see Disney put more effort into new animated movies. Disney movies were such an important part of my childhood and I’d like for others to experience the magic that Disney used to create. Losing their quality productions and engaging storylines would change the film industry, for the worse.