Last weekend, I was sitting in a dark theater showing “The Eras Tour.” Waiting for the movie to start, I passed the time critiquing preview after preview with my friend.
An action movie with loud explosions, another movie about talking animals. Then a Disney preview ran. I turned to look at my friend, and we gave each other matching unimpressed looks. A humorous animated animal with out-of-pocket comments, a strong independent woman who’s different, songs with emotionally poignant bridges about belonging; haven’t we seen this all before?
The lackluster preview was of the movie “Wish,” which a quick Google search explains is about some kind of mystical star spirit that appears to grant our princess a wish (see where they got the title from?). So, the ‘spirit guide’ trope, or when a mystical thing provides advice and guidance to a clueless main character. Which, coincidentally, also appears in “Moana” and “Brave” (Remember those blue wisps and the ocean? Yeah, me too.)
So, what’s the solution? Well, it’s definitely not live-action remakes or unoriginal princess movies.
— Sabrina Roach
I am aware that as time goes on, it gets harder and harder to find ‘original’ content, and many would argue that ‘original’ content isn’t even possible anymore. With a huge conglomerate like Disney, I suppose it’s easier for executives to not reinvent the wheel and continue to pump out cookie-cutter movies. Because, let’s be honest, Wish is still going to make millions of dollars.
But it’s disheartening, at least from a consumer standpoint, to see the movie industry turn to mass-production rather than creativity. It cuts a bit deeper when it’s Disney, the studio that practically raised three generations on dreams and ear-worm-worthy princess ballads.
So, what’s the solution? Well, it’s definitely not live-action remakes or unoriginal princess movies. But there are already tons of ideas out there, all created by independent authors. One great example of this is “Cinder,” a science-fiction retelling of the classic Cinderella tale. Disney sponsoring books like this would be an amazing opportunity for them to reinvent previous tales, which seems to be their current goal, while also displaying something truly different on the big screen.
At the end of the day, people can watch “Wish” if they want to. And, to be frank, the movie isn’t even out yet. In a couple of months, I could be eating my words and buying a star-shaped plushie. But I have a growing suspicion that won’t be the case.
