What Specfic Steps Does Disney Need to Take To Usher in a New Golden Age?

[reee9948]

I know there has many solution suggested here, but I just wanted all of it to be listed under one post. I'm curious on how you guys would revive Disney back to its former glory. Is your solution more focused on the political side on which you suggest Disney to stop being 'woke' or you would have the executive to stop meddling with the creator's visions. Or is it both? Who do you think Disney should get rid of it or at least demote to a lower position?

[D23ExpoVisitor25]

Go back to long-form hand-drawn animated projects.

[The Disneynerd]

Go back to long-form hand-drawn animated projects.

Maybe in a short term, but after 2 years or so people will (rightfully) complain about the lack of storytelling. Who cares if we have beautiful 2d animation if the story turns out like Frozen 2 or Wish? It will still make the movie unwatchable after 3 years. But dont get me wrong, i also slightly prefer 2d over 3d.



Changes that are NO risks and would make WDAS more interesting:

- already rotten musical princess formula with a MALE lead (like Aladdin, Hunchback, Hercules)

- a bit more grounded to reality storytelling and core goals ( about friendship, family dynamics, dreamjobs etc in contrast to SAVING THE WORLD lol )

- HOT guys as love interests so Fans (and I) can crush on them and engage with a movie more ( like young Johnny Depp, the Guy who played Lyle Menendez on Netflix, or Jacob Elordi just to name a few). Im tired of the cute teenage girl to root for. I wanna root for a MAN lol bit dont make them too hot or hunky as they still have to feel soft and vulnerable hihi and not like snobs

- make the main character shift or grow throughout the movie and give them also a few unlikeable or unusual habits to make them more real and not like a perfect blank paper, a bit more selfish or too confident at the beginning but ending up great and selfless. We all probably love to see things and people change into something better, no matter how it was in the beginning, like those dirty Carpet cleaning Videos on Tiktok (or Facebook? Idk) and how the disgusting carpet turns out to be so beautiful and its soooo satisfying to watch the polish process (that but with the personality of main characters lol). Thats what I hate about Asha. She seems perfectly fine at the beginning and changes 0%. Its as if the biggest Event in that kingdom never happened (and she still keeps the same worldviews she had in the beginning )

- a villain who would have similar goals or interests like the hero at the beginning of the movie and achieved them through selfishness, and the hero later on chooses to grow out of that habit (like Jafar and Aladdin, both wanting status and Power only for Aladdin to realize that wont make things better while Jafar wants to go further any further blah bla) thats why i love such villains. They portrait how the heroes end up If they wouldnt learn


- new experimented 3d animation styles: love 2d animation, but you can also do so much more with 3d, like oil painting inspired animation like R.U that they mastered over 20 years ago and much more. Would look interesting with all the layering. I love Lisa Keenes work and seeing that style as a movie would blow my mind.

Changes that are risky but would make their catalogue more interesting :

- Thriller movies: like whos the killer? Or something like Hitchcook would be amazing (Rip Fraidy Cat). Disney Animation is getting more childish that general audiences (Teens and adults) dont care to watch anymore. I for example dont really care to watch Moana 2 anymore (although still gonna watch cause theres nothing else thats interesting in theatres). A Thriller with Disney Animation is such an interesting contrast



Things that harm the Studio rn:

- The stereotypical Princess formula: I will defend the Disney Princess movies for life but its getting tired now. Back then a Disney princess movie was a huge Deal and an Event that would happen every 3-9 years, now were getting princesses every single yearrrrr. 2019, 2021, 2021, 2023, 2024.... i liked the shedule in the 2010s, every 3 years a princess movie.
Also the girlbossification of newer disney princesses is getting tired, especially Asha

-ugly Sci Fi (Straaaaaaangeeee Worrrrrlllldddd) dont care about Star Wars so why should I care about this? If ur story is weak and ur only sellinc point is the Sci Fi aspect, then Good Luck Charlie

[Disney's Divinity]

I'm going to bleach my brain after reading the above first.

Anyway, my main advice would be for them to remember that WDAS films are a hodgepodge of many things at once--strong soundtracks, strong villains to go with their protagonists, cinematic moments that could only work in animation, drama, romance, action, and touches of horror. They at least tried on the villain front with Magnifico, but now try a romance again. They don't have to do it with every film, but it's been long enough that it would feel fresh again.

And they absolutely need a knockout soundtrack again on level with Menken, Schwartz, and the Lopezes. Miranda came up with some good songs, but they need someone a bit stronger than that. I'd say give the Lopezes a break from Frozen to do the next musical film they have if they can't come up with someone else. I wouldn't think it would be that hard considering Menken and the Sherman Bros did quite a lot of films for WDAS in a row in their day. In the meantime, release an animal-based film that's not pure comedy--something more in line with Jungle Book, Dalmatians, Bambi, TF&TH, etc.--to break up some of the monotony.

Another BIG thing that would help, imo, is to go back to adaptations of tales, legends, books, etc. The reason the storytelling is so repetitive and banal is because they're making "original" stories because, because...PIXAR does? It's clearly not working out that well and WDAS has always been a studio that adapts stories, go back to that. Looking at something to adapt might finally break them out of repeating the same basic story molds.

Also if they ever /do/ make another male-lead film, maybe not be so stereotypical with the color pallette, and treat it the same as any other film they would make. A male-lead film can have romance, music, be colorful, and so on as much as anything else. All the successful male-lead films had those qualities (TJB, TLK, Aladdin, Peter Pan, Tarzan, etc.). Maybe imitate *their* example rather than modeling flops like Treasure Planet and Atlantis.

[Kyle]

A lot of things have already been said for me, like returning to long form hand drawn movies, but one thing I would add, don't be afraid of delaying projects that need it. Wish should not have even started animation with the story in the state it was in. Push things back as many times as is needed to get it right, and make sure you have the right talent involved.

Also, there needs to be way less cooks in the kitchen. That's one of the biggest problems with modern Disney. And it effects their live action projects too. Get the suits out of making too many creative decisions. Get a few, sure, but we don't need whole committees/investors involved. Especially after they've gotten past a certain point in production, they need to be way more hands off.

[PatchofBlue]

I agree about letting their projects be more auteur-driven. The Story Trust serves a purpose, but it should be there to help the director, not rein them in.

I think one thing that will really help is allowing them to be more creative with their animation style. Everyone's crazy over the Spiderverse films (and rightfully so), and the ongoing success of The Wild Robot affirms that it's not just a one-off trick. Disney can get imaginative with the look of a Disney film. We see that they're already somewhat willing to do this with WISH. Can we not see what happens with a second go around, and with a story that doesn't have the structural integrity of a graham cracker?

And maybe they could bring Menken back for another go just to see if the world actually ends.

I'd be interested in seeing Disney do more adaptations, especially outside of traditional European fairy-tales, but I don't necessarily think that itself will make the difference.

[Disney's Divinity]

And maybe they could bring Menken back for another go just to see if the world actually ends.

Yay, more drama stirring.

I'd be interested in seeing Disney do more adaptations, especially outside of traditional European fairy-tales, but I don't necessarily think that itself will make the difference.

I'm assuming most people here are smart enough to know these are meant as helpful suggestions, not some kind of quick fix to their glory days...

[PatchofBlue]

I'm a little confused at where the antagonism is coming from.

Hyperbole is a perfectly natural element of discussion, online or offline, and I definitely don't think I use more of that than anyone else one this board. And I was just having polite disagreement. I wasn't even shutting you down. I know that these are all suggestions. I also know that this is an online forum, and people are free to express different perspectives, and I would have had to go much further than I did before my disagreement would have breached some online civil contract.

If you're assuming that I'm trying to target you somehow, you can relax. I enjoy reading your posts and find your ideas well thought-out, even when I don't share your conclusions. I like what you bring to the discussion, but I find the passive-aggression unnecessary.

I get that my tone can be somewhat blithe or glib at times, but I also try to observe a modicum of respect toward people online. If that ends up occasionally spraying in the wrong direction, I apologize, but I'd also rather you just come out and tell me so we can work it out.

[Disney's Divinity]

I like what you bring to the discussion, but I find the passive-aggression unnecessary.

Talk about projection.

[Kyle]

God. Can we discuss anything without people taking things too personally? You guys seem to do this in every topic. Enough already.

[Lele]

I thought the movie about the iranian princess had a chance to be successful. Too bad it got cancelled.

And honestly, the only way to make good stuff is to let people who genuinely respect and love these stories to adapt them, instead of the corporate agenda driven bullshit.

[Disney's Divinity]

God. Can we discuss anything without people taking things too personally? You guys seem to do this in every topic. Enough already.

Sorry about that. Unfortunately, being hacked and stalked by a group of people makes me not trust several of the new accounts.

I thought the movie about the iranian princess had a chance to be successful. Too bad it got cancelled.

I don't remember that one.

[Lele]

I thought the movie about the iranian princess had a chance to be successful. Too bad it got cancelled.

I don't remember that one.

I meant Suzi Yonessi's movie

Though I guess it wasn't confirmed the female lead was a princess but some tweets mentioned she was so idk