There is almost nothing that Democrats and Republicans agree on these days. Just mentioning the Walt Disney Company invokes strong reactions from both sides of the aisle. If you support Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, you believe that Disney has overstepped its bounds and went “woke.” If you side with Disney, you think the Florida Governor overstepped and censored a company for saying something he disagreed with. No matter what side of the argument you come down on, you firmly believe the other side is dead wrong.
Related: Famed Disney Lyricist Tim Rice Tackles ‘Snow White’ Controversy, Calls Remakes ‘A Mistake’
But now, Disney has found a way to unite both groups. No, it’s not who they will vote for in the election or over a policy issue. It’s actually over hatred of something that Disney is currently doing.
In a Redfield and Wilton Strategies poll for Newsweek, both Democrats and Republicans agreed that Walt Disney Studios should stop making remakes of classic movies and instead focus on new ideas.
According to the poll, 41 percent of people who voted for former president Donald Trump and 33 percent who voted for President Joe Biden want Disney to focus on making new stories rather than remakes of classic movies. Only 20 percent of Democrats said they would like more remakes.
Disney has faced conservative backlash over some of its choices in casting its last two live-action remakes. There was backlash over the casting of Halle Bailey as Ariel in The Little Mermaid (2023). And more recently, Latina Rachel Zegler has faced criticism over her casting as Snow White in Disney’s newest remake. Disney also faced backlash for replacing the seven dwarfs with seven “magical creatures.”
But despite the backlash from conservatives, Disney CEO Bob Iger has doubled down on the studio’s live-action remakes. Iger announced that Lilo and Stitch and Moana were in the works. And rumors have swirled about possible remakes of Tangled, The Princess and the Frog, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
So, at your Labor Day BBQ, instead of talking politics, you can talk about how much you both hate Peter Pan and Wendy. It’s something that both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party can agree on. If only we could get the Walt Disney Co. to hear this agreement on American culture.
But alas, Disney isn’t listening to the voters. But for this brief moment, we could put politics aside and share our collective disappointment.
