Disney has been heavily criticized for its recent dependence on remakes and sequels of its older stories, but for better or worse, these will be key to the company’s legacy. The House of Mouse has announced another batch of movies for the coming year, most of which are sequels that will continue the stories of existing characters. This has been an ongoing trend for the past decade or so, with more remakes or add-ons to existing IP than brand-new stories and fresh ideas. However, considering Disney’s existing business model, this should come as no surprise.
2024 is another big year for Disney sequels, with Inside Out 2 releasing in the summer and now Moana 2 expected for the fall. There will be even more to come in 2026, with the release of Toy Story 5 and Frozen 3. In the world of live-action remakes, the Snow White and Moana remakes are expected for 2025, with several others, like Lilo & Stitch, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, a Tinker Bell adaptation, and more, said to be in the early stages of development. This has led to significant criticism for Disney, which may not be entirely fair.
Disney’s 7 Biggest Announcements For 2024
Disney recently announced big plans for 2024, including new additions to Disney+, new video games projects, and of course, new movies on the way.
Disney’s Existing Characters Are Its Most Important Asset
Disney’s legacy is the fictional world of existing characters that must be continued.
As of 2023, Disney has been making movies for 100 years, which means dozens of iconic characters that are loved by millions. Some, like Mickey Mouse, have been around since the very beginning, while others, like Frozen‘s Anna and Elsa, are still relatively new. Regardless, every year, children of all ages flock to the Disney amusement parks specifically to meet these characters. As new movies are released, new characters join this magical world populated by Disney’s fictional creations, but these parks are profitable because of all the characters, not just the new ones.
The combination of direct-to-consumer sales, box office sales, and streaming profits makes up about 20 percent of Disney’s total revenue (via Statista). The global amusement park profits, on the other hand, come in only slightly lower at about 16 percent. Both are pivotal in the company’s success, and the common denominator between both revenue streams is the characters. Mickey and co., Moana, Ariel, Aladdin, Winnie-the-Pooh, etc., are the House of Mouse’s true legacy, and the company’s continued success depends on its ability to keep them relevant.
Disney’s Best Characters Would Fall Into Obscurity If It Weren’t For Remakes & Sequels
When keeping in mind that Disney’s existing characters are its most important asset, it makes sense that remakes and sequels would be so prevalent 100 years into movie making. No one blinks an eye when a new Mickey Mouse series or movie is released since this is Disney’s mascot character. Allowing him and his pals to become outdated and irrelevant would significantly impact how Mickey’s character would be received at Disney World and Disney Land. Ultimately, the same is true for Disney’s other characters and properties.
The House of Mouse is far bigger than just individual films. Having living and breathing franchises means that the characters and worlds can evolve and change along with the audience. If it weren’t for live-action remakes of older Disney movies, today’s young children might not recognize or care about these characters. A child falling in love with the live-action The Little Mermaid movie might inspire them to watch the original 1989 animated version. Without this, Ariel might have fallen into obscurity after another couple of decades.
New Ideas Haven’t Been As Successful As Disney’s Remakes & Sequels
In addition to keeping Disney’s existing characters relevant, the House of Mouse continues to make remakes and sequels because they work. 2023 was an especially rough year for the company’s new stories. Wish only managed $63 million at the domestic box office (via Box Office Mojo) and was considered a critical bomb with a 48 percent critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. Even Pixar failed to make a mark in theaters, bringing in $154 million domestically with Elemental. By comparison, the The Little Mermaid remake did significantly better, making $289 million domestically.
It’s been years since a new Disney movie made over $1 billion at the global box office, while sequels like The Incredibles 2 and Frozen 2 and remakes like The Lion King have had a much easier time of it. There’s a clear benefit to audiences already being familiar with a world and characters when heading to theaters in a post-pandemic world. This is evident in the two top box office successes of 2023—Barbie and The Super Mario Bros Movie—which were based on IP people already knew and loved. In all, the trends make it clear that this is where the money is.
Disney Must Find A Balance Between Its Remakes, Sequels, and New Ideas
Of course, this isn’t to say that Disney should depend only on its existing characters and stories and forget about coming up with new ideas. Though it’s great to see today’s children fall in love with the characters their parents (or even their grandparents) enjoyed as children, they need their own generation of Disney characters to relate to. This means that the House of Mouse needs to find balance—remake or make sequels for the existing characters at Disney World, but add a new one every year or so as well.
In general, though Disney has struggled to make the same kind of impact with movies like Wish and Elemental as, say, Frozen and Zootopia, the studio has been successful in maintaining this balance. Eventually, a fresh idea will strike gold, and the House of Mouse will have a new character at its amusement parks that children are just as excited to see as Anna and Elsa. However, for that to happen, Disney has to remember that its true legacy is the characters that have been consistently added to the roster for a century and the remakes and sequels that keep them within children’s reach.
