I pop in my "new re-re-released" DVD of The Little Mermaid by Disney, and watching the preview I see one of Cinderella III, and The Little Mermaid III. Since when where there ever sequels to these classic Disney films? I realize that the populace hasn't been quite friendly with the Disney animation building, but still, couldn't they just leave these classics alone? Do they really need to revise, and reprive these films just for the sake of profit? As a fan of the films and of Disney I can't help feeling a bit let down by all of these corporate moves.These were our childhood was it not; and meddling with one's childhood feels a bit betrayed and abandon for something more, is it for better or for worse?
Don't take me wrong, I'm glad Disney decided to "open the vault for a limited time only" to re-release these films on DVD, seeing as VHS is going obsolete. A limited time meaning: until the next jump in technical evolution gives us another marketing ploy. I feel though, that the reason why Disney's making all these sequels, and sequels of sequels is because they've lost imagination. Disney, the company of imagination, how can this be? I'd like to blame it on the way we rocketed ourselves into the Age of Technology, where a five month old baby can sit and have a story read to it by a push of a button, where a one year old already knows what a mouse is (and i'm not talking about the little furry ones with big ears and a tail). Where have we lead the next generation?
I could be old fashion, but walking into a toy store, it took me a while to find those wooden building blocks and painted letter blocks, and when I did, they were in the back, on the bottom shelf. I see dolls that promote sex, make-up, boys, that are marketed to 7-8 year olds. What is wrong with you people? Stop selling out on your children! It's depriving them of what you once had, a childhood, an imagination, a sense of the fantastic. But the world has changed us, maybe it's just a rut we got ourselves into and maybe a renissance will occur and the power of creativity will emerge once again. Maybe.
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Oh, I'm with you, sister! I'm quite disgusted with Disney's lack of creativity and their tendency to beat every good idea they do come up with to death before they'll let it go and move on to something else. They take advantage of parents who will buy anything and everything their kids want... Gives me the chills...
Then again, I have a feeling that my children will hate me. They won't know what potato chips are until they start school. Soda will be a drink only adults can have. Any toys made in China will automatically be off limits because they're ruining the American economy. Of those that are left, if they promote unconscious ideas or values I don't think are appropriate they won't get those either. And if the clothes aren't age appropriate, no matter how trendy and "cute" they supposedly are, they can freaking forget it!
RaeSofSunshine
facere quod in se est
Put simply, Yes. imagination has gone down quite a bit within the last couple of decades. It is either our generation's inability to create new innovative ideas OR that our generation is to simply modify old ideas. Not all new ideas are necessarily new. "New" ideas maybe ideas of the ancient times that were not as developed as "new" ones. The same can be applied to entertainment. While I think that our generation does lack creativity, I also believe it is a little to early to judge that.
... so why not just keep going? Both movies you mentioned were originally fairy tales and after disney got through with them they hardly resemble the original anyway. That's my first strike against them. Our imagination and creativity have plummetted due to all of the big media corps taking reading right out of a childs life. Why read when you can plop in front of the tube and have the whole thing played out in technicolor with a full blown orchestra to tell you exactly what it should all look like, how it should make you feel, and what the soundtrack to life should be? Hey no thinking involved in that... much less imagination. Yes, I'm old...lol
It's not a lack of imagination. It's about money. Disney knows that kids will demand every #3 movie. They'll suck horribly, but the kids won't care, at least not for the first couple years. Imagination requires money. It's a sad fact, but true.
Because the originals did so well, they expect the sequels to well also. I also think they want to revive all the hype assiciated with the originals.
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/tricia0711