Back in the olden days, Disney and Pixar were a good duo, with Disney releasing some classics, as well as original works and Pixar just releasing movies about objects having feelings, like Cars. But ever since Disney started producing live action remakes and Girlbosses, people haven’t been happy with them. Personally, I don’t think Disney is all that bad, but I get why people are mad. The movie plots tend to be confusing and the character redesigns do not not make sense most of the time. Disney insists they are being more diverse, but it feels more forced than anything. Pixar is also kinda falling in there. Yes, of course they are coming up with new movie ideas and exploring more diverse themes, reaching some demographics. But that’s not the issue. The issue is that they keep making sequels. The recent announcement of Pixar’s upcoming movies includes Toy Story 5 and The Incredibles 3. Sometimes, it’s good to make a follow-up movie, but if the last movie already had a clear ending, a sequel isn’t necessary and sometimes the audience doesn’t want one. Another reason why Disney (and Pixar, again) are failing now is because they are not not making us feel good inside. Let me explain. How do you feel when you watch Tangled or other older Disney/Pixar films? Don’t you get the urge to watch those movies again? Don’t you end up feeling joy, wonder, and nostalgia? Or even deep sadness or grief? That’s because they knew how to hit you in the right places. Disney – and I guess, some Pixar movies – kinda lost sight of what’s important and how to reach most of their audiences. Of course, not all the newer Disney movies are bad and empty. The 2021 Encanto and the 2016 Moana were beautiful, heartwarming tearjerkers. But today, such movies are rare. We will have to wait and see if Disney will go back to their old ways or continue on that path of emptiness.
On the other hand, Sony is hitting us in all of the right places. In 2017, they released The Emoji movie, which, in my personal and honest opinion, was a good movie. They were trying something new with younger generations because emojis were new at the time. We didn’t hear from them again until Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse. I liked the movie and I think the world liked it too, and that sparked something in Sony. They did something with that new art style and they recently made another, KPop Demon Hunters. I didn’t watch the movie, but I understand why people loved it so much. The directors, Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, reached out to a wider audience by making a story about Kpop and Korean culture. But I don’t think that’s the only reason. The three main characters in the movie aren’t the stereotypical girlbosses. They actually act like girls (what I mean is, they are relatable to girls now) and at the same time get the job done. Meanwhile, Disney continues using the same formula: princesses, quirky and clumsy, or girl bosses, which was fine at first. The problem is that they continue going with the same formula.
Sony, in KDH (KPOP Demon Hunters), added a new aspect. They added romantic interests. KDH and Spider-man (in and across the spider-verse) explored this idea. The main character of KDH had a love interest, but it didn’t work out, proving that girl bosses can have love interests, even without the guarantee that it will work out. Disney abandoned this aspect after Frozen. I mean, Anna and Kristoff are a couple, but it’s not the same; nor is it the main focus of the film. When a love interest was introduced in older films, such as Tangled, it gave us a warm feeling inside. But now, Disney hardly does that! Like, we get that girls are strong and they don’t need a man/love interest in their lives, which is fine; however, audiences are still enthralled by romance and love.
So , which one is actually better ? Who’s winning, Sony or Disney (or Pixar)?
Honestly, I think it’s a split decision. True, each movie company has their own spin, but what’s actually important is how a movie makes you feel. So, the real question is: How does each movie make ME feel? When you find that answer, then you can decide. It could be Disney, Sony, Pixar or maybe even all of them.
