
One thing that brings generations together is Walt Disney films. Ever since Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was released in 1937, every generation has had a Disney film to build childhood memories. Kids growing up in the 1950s and 60s got Peter Pan (1953), Cinderella (1950), Lady and the Tramp (1955), and The Jungle Book (1967).
Sadly if you grew up in the 70s or early 80s, there was a bit of a lull in Walt Disney movies, but a massive comeback in the 90s with Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), and Lion King (1995).
For most people, the beauty of those old Disney movies was a clear delineation between good and evil. It was simple and easy to see. The Wicked Step Mother was evil; it was in her name. We all knew that Jafar was the bad guy. When those films were made, audiences wanted a straightforward, black-and-white story. But times change, and so do audiences’ tastes.
A recent Op-Ed in Newsweek now argues that you should “steer your kids away from Disney films.” The argument essentially boils down to this: Disney has moved away from the good vs. evil storyline and instead is telling stories that lack the moral clarity of previous generations. And that this is all a part of the Disney Studio’s activism.
The author, Aron Ravin, points explicitly to Disney’s three latest releases for his argument. Zootopia (2016), Encanto (2021), and Turning Red (2022) are the movies in question. While the three films are vastly different, Ravin’s argument is they were not popular because they lacked a clear villain, or at least a villain who was not evil from the start.
Ravin underestimates the audience. Kids are much more intelligent than we give them credit for. It’s hard to argue with Ravin’s point in Turning Red. The film was a flop, bringing in $20 million. But with Encanto and Zootopia, the argument falls flat. Both of those films were commercial and critical successes. Encanto brought in $256.8 million, while Zootopia made a staggering $1.024 billion. Disney CEO Bob Iger even announced a Zootopia sequel coming soon.
Neither one of them had a clear villain, but that’s okay. There doesn’t need to be a clear delineation between good and evil in every movie. Life is never that simple, so why should our films be?
Children also like to see a character on screen who has the same problems as they do. Maybe their parents fight, or they’re being bullied on social media. It’s also okay to highlight these issues in Walt Disney movies.
It also doesn’t have to be an either/or. Disney can still make successful films that blur the lines between good and evil but also make films that show a clear line between the two. That’s the beauty of good storytelling: you can accomplish several different things without telling the same story over and over again.
Ravin must have forgotten that, or at the very least, the movies he called into question were enormous hits with the public. And it’s okay to try different types of stories. Some will work, and some won’t. But telling the story is essential, and knowing that kids can handle them no matter how complicated they can get.