Disney has recently unveiled the official teaser for its most recent live-action remake of The Little Mermaid. Set to premiere in May 2023, this beloved classic follows the lucrative list of Disney remakes, which have been proven to be a reliable cash cow alongside the popular Marvel Cinematic Universe. Meanwhile, their original animated films seem to have stagnated in the last few years. While the Frozen franchise was a massive success before the pandemic era, Disney is yet to find its footing on its original stories. Raya and the Last Dragon, released in March last year, had a lackluster box-office performance of 130.4 million USD. Encanto, released a few months after, similarly did not meet standards from Disney’s previous hits, only raking in 256.8 million USD.

Obviously, we could cut Disney some slack since they’re in a recovery phase from the pandemic, but more than this economic condition is the fact that Disney is also exploring a steady transition into their official digital platform, Disney+. Raya and the Last Dragon was released simultaneously in theaters and in Disney+ (with a premium fee), which could explain why less people flocked to the cinemas. Not to mention, it was only released in a select few cinemas in certain countries, and most of these countries happen to also not have access to Disney+. On the other hand, their earlier hits like Frozen were widely screened across multiple countries, therefore having a larger reach.

Another reason could also be that originals tend to be financially riskier. Filmmakers are charting murkier waters with new storylines, whereas ideas inspired from already successful and loved films are likely to perform better. Moreover, remakes reach out to people of all ages and genders — it taps into the nostalgic memories of adults who had first seen the films in their childhood days, and it piques the imagination of the younger viewers who are building off their formative animation films. With a significant viewer base that is already invested into the storyline, such films are guaranteed a cushion in ratings and gross earnings. 

In fact, this strong investment could translate into more interest for the film through word of mouth. You can see this clearly in the interest (or more accurately, controversy) surrounding the main casting of The Little Mermaid. People who perhaps carry sentimental value on the original classic are concerned (or disappointed) that the casted actress for Ariel does not resemble the animated character’s skin color. It’s quite a complicated debate, but regardless, that attracts more attention. Add to that, the growing interest in how Disney will pull off the realism of the mermaid’s world through underwater CGI, as well as how they would give justice to the storyline, is sufficient hype to ensure many viewers.

Yet, Disney was reluctant in pursuing live action remakes until the early 2010s. Or maybe, they never really had solid content to begin with. Their old remakes in the 1990s such as The Jungle Book and 101 Dalmatians weren’t exactly box-office hits, and even their reviews were overall negative. However, Disney’s attempts finally kicked off with its remake of Alice in Wonderland in 2010. The main seller of that remake was the strategic casting of Johnny Depp, who was coming off of the phenomenal Pirates of the Caribbean franchise (not surprisingly, an original film idea). The reviews were lukewarm, but the resounding presence of Depp pushed the movie’s revenue to over 1 billion USD. A few years later, Disney began releasing remakes more frequently, starting with Maleficent in 2014. The storyline was particularly unique in that it does not simply retell the classic story, but rather does a creative narration of the story from the antagonist’s perspective. Along with a stellar performance from Angelina Jolie, Maleficent ended up being another success in Disney’s belt of remakes.

From this point on, their next remakes went on to become blockbuster hits, including another attempt at The Jungle Book in 2016. These successes gave Disney the confidence that eventually led to remakes of their best classics, such as The Lion King, Mulan, and Beauty and the Beast. Unfortunately, the growing focus on live action remakes seems to be taking a toll on Disney’s creativity to come up with fresh ideas for original content. However, as Disney finds itself a new cash cow on old classics to counteract some losses, they are given more room to explore riskier ideas. Hopefully, they can maximize the opportunity to venture on what could be the next iconic stories.