Disney, in one way or another, has made an impact on the lives of millions, both children and adults. There are plenty of those who walk among the school’s halls who still enjoy watching Disney movies. A characteristic Disney has is diversity. Several different stories hit several different audiences. There are different types of art: live-action, 3D animation, or 2D animation. Disney brought in the power of creating recognizable characters that are able to relate to the audience. Now, Disney owns several different companies, so you may be shocked to know what you’re watching is a Disney movie. However, in the past couple of years, Disney has had a quick decline in money and popularity with their films.

Disney was quickly one of the most highly-grossing companies, a dream started by a man named Walt Disney. Many students and adults grew with the company, seeing Disney evolve. Disney over the years bought multiple companies consisting of companies and franchises such as “Pixar,” “Star Wars,” and Marvel. The charm was shown through the years with beautifully animated films, such as “Beauty and the Beast,” which was nominated for an Oscar. Many fans grew through the years with Disney songs stuck on repeat in their heads. Soon enough, viewers fell in love with the beautifully crafted 3D animation through films such as “Cars” and “Monsters Inc.” becoming top films in most viewers’ lives. However, as the company got older, it seemed the interest in Disney was lost.

Starting with the COVID-19 epidemic, the theatres were failing. Theatres were closed due to social distancing and the risk of the virus. Not just Disney, but the movie industry was collapsing. In late 2022, movies finally began to stabilize in theatres. Movies like “The Batman” brought in over $770 million and “Everything Everywhere All At Once” brought over $500 million worldwide. These were two movies that did very well at the beginning of the year, showing the return of those coming back to theatres. On Disney’s side, movies such as “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” brought over $840 million, and “Avatar: The Way Of The Water” brought an amazing total of over $2 billion. Both of these movies were produced by Disney. However, on the animated side, not counting CGI-heavy movies, Disney has done very poorly in comparison. 

Due to a lack of those paying to watch some Disney movies, many films failed at the box office.. Some of the biggest failures lately were “Strange World” and “Lightyear”. Both of these movies lost more money than they gained. “Lightyear” lost an estimated $200 million, and “Strange World” lost nearly $100 million. These two movies specifically failed, due to perhaps audiences not being interested in going to watch them in theatres.

If other movies returned to success, why didn’t Disney’s animated pictures? For example, “Toy Story 4” was released on June 21, 2019. This film was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film and won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. This brought over $1 billion at the box office. This is nowhere near the current totals for animated films for Disney. Not long after this film was released, on November 12, 2019, Disney+ was released.

Disney+ has quickly grown its streaming service to the top. Disney+ continually pushes out originals and movies that were in theatres several months earlier. Knowing this, many individuals and families skip the theatre. Why go if there’s no rush for you to see it? If you’re paying for a service already, why go to the theatres and not just wait a month? I myself am guilty of this. The only movies I found myself going to in theatres this year were films like “Elvis,” “The Batman,” and “Everything Everywhere All At Once.” For most films made by Disney, I waited to watch most in the comfort of my own home. No high-priced food or snacks, simple seating, and safe.

One idea over the loss of revenue and overall interest in the films is music. Recently, the movie “Encanto” was one of Disney’s biggest hits in the past couple of years. While this film did not do the greatest in theatres, its success came on Disney+. In theatres, “Encanto” gained only about $256 million. Later popularity hit through its catchy songs such as “We Don’t Talk About Bruno.” Last year, the song hit over 100 million streams on Spotify in February. The film was out for less than three months then. Many consider Disney for its music. 

“I believe Disney is iconic for their music,” junior Gretchen Prifogle said. “Like how you can recognize “The Little Mermaid’ just from the music.”

Music is quite easily spread, specifically through apps like TikTok. In its own way, almost promotes the movie.

Many students that have grown up with Disney feel the joy has been lost. The joy that Disney was trying to create feels gone.

“I feel in the past you could see that what they were creating was special,” junior Finley Gay said. “There was a love put into each film that I feel they don’t attempt to do anymore. They aren’t going for the joy of others or the art of the product.” 

Unfortunately, Disney now is not seemingly going for inspiring stories. With it now being prominent in making live-action remakes, it also feels like the new Disney is not going for new chances of art. Slowly, this line of films brought Disney down, to what I believe is, the decline of Disney.