“Mufasa,” a live action adaptation of a prequel to “The Lion King,” released on Dec. 9, 2024, has become that last straw for a lot of Disney fans. Not only has live action become old, it’s become grossly overused. The recent releases and the upcoming lineup have really pushed fans away from the franchise.
“Mufasa” is often criticized by its rushed storyline, poor computer-generated imagery and its unnecessary play on nostalgia. Not only does it stray from what makes “The Lion King” great, but it also fails at most of what makes a good movie. An example is the songs, composed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, are often criticized for being choppy and not musically aligned with the visuals. They tried to create another Circle of Life, which did not stick with fans.
“Snow White,” the upcoming live action recreation was supposed to be released on March 22, 2024; however, after receiving much backlash from fans about casting, the subsequent Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists strike and the need for reshoots, the release was pushed back to March 21, 2025, a full year later.
Even now, the trailer posted on YouTube has a massive amount of dislikes, with a ratio of 1.5 million to only 101 thousand likes. Most of the comments are either criticizing the trailer for the poor computer-generated imagery of the animals and dwarves, pointing out that live action movies are supposed to be more realistic, or they’re criticizing casting choices. A lot of people found that the main lead, Rachel Zegler, was not the right fit for the role and did not represent “Snow White,” with her backlash coming mostly from what she has said about the movie in interviews.
Now, these movies are mostly quick cash grabs on Disney’s part, playing on people’s love for the originals without adding virtually anything to them. They are also trading better ideas for more marketable toys. For example, in “Wish,” the storyboard ideas had a star boy instead of the small star that is actually present. The reason for this change is that the small star can be turned into a plush, and then sold to fans.
Disney is also under a lot of controversy because of how they deal with their movie screenings. In Dec. of 2024, “Sonic 3” and “Mufasa” released at about the same time. When “Sonic 3” started to beat out “Mufasa” in earnings, Disney stepped in and pressed their movie into more cinemas and more screens. Though this did result in “Mufasa” earning more by the end of the month, people are seeing this action as the lengths that Disney is going through to stay on top. With so many changes in how Disney is run, fans are moving away all together. The future for Disney is now up in the air, and it is only a matter of time before they either recover or fail.
