Over 11 years ago, Disney released the live-action remake of its 1950 animated classic "Cinderella." At that point, live-action remakes were a fresh, new concept, and seeing Cinderella as a live-action adaptation was novel and fun. They'd released remakes of "101 Dalmations" and reimaginings like "Maleficent," which had decent responses. 

But this "Cinderella" wasn't better than the original animated film. While it was fun to look at, it didn't have the same character the OG had. Something about the way it was made then had a spark of magic to it that couldn't be replicated in modern times, at least, not in the way they likely wanted with this remake. Still, it was a neat thing to see all the elements from the original make it to the big screen. 

That film made well over $500 million in theaters. 

Then, Disney made a mistake in thinking that no matter what they put out, we'd come to see it.

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The collapse began during the 2020s when people would excitedly go out to see a remade "Aladdin" or "Beauty and the Beast," and leave with bitter tastes in their mouths. They made over a billion dollars with these pre-COVID films, but they were too busy watching their bank account numbers go up to hear what the people were saying. 

These movies weren't very good. In fact, some of them were borderline insulting. Suddenly, we had a black Ariel, homosexuality in "Beauty and the Beast," and the live-action remake of "The Lion King" wasn't even live-action. It was CGI animals that lacked every bit of character of their cartoon counterparts. 

By the time "Snow White" rolled around, people had had enough of the abuse. The Rachel Zegler-infected, CGI dwarf remake only brought in over $200 million, and I honestly think a lot of that cash could be chalked up to hate watchers. When "Lilo & Stitch" came out, it surpassed a billion dollars, but, once again, Disney came to the wrong conclusion. 

A one-off success does not mean people are ready for more, especially as Disney continues to use and abuse its properties. 

Which brings us to today. Disney's live-action version of "Moana" is getting reviewed, and even the critics are hating it. According to That Park Place, Rotten Tomatoes has some bad news for the House of Mouse: 

The live-action remake of Moana debuted on Rotten Tomatoes with a dismal 32% critic score before rising to 36%, putting the film firmly in “rotten” territory and raising new questions about Disney’s ongoing strategy of remaking its animated classics.

Perhaps even more surprising is where the criticism is coming from.

While audiences have spent years debating whether Disney’s live-action remakes are necessary, many professional critics now appear to be making the same argument. A recurring complaint across early reviews is that the new Moana fails to justify its own existence beyond recreating a movie audiences already loved.

Catch the issue? It's not hate or anger. The problem for Disney is that audiences won't care. 

Hate signifies respect for something being abused or misused. There's still a chance to do it right and earn forgiveness. Apathy, however, is far harder to overcome. There's no attention on it, and no matter how much you advertise, beg, plead, and reassure, no one is going to show up. 

It's like throwing a party where the food is always bland and cold, you serve nothing but water and badly made lemonade, and you insist the only music that should be played in the background is sound effects from a "Mad Max" movie. When people stopped showing up, they did so because they hated your parties, and you never changed, no matter how much they complained. Now they just don't even care when they get the invite. It goes straight into the trash. 

And why not? The thing about these remakes is that they're just knock-offs of the original, glammed up with CGI and state-of-the-art cameras to make it look flashier, but if no amount of makeup, bra stuffing, and wigs can make a man look like an actual woman, then no amount of modern tech can make a rip-off look like the original. 

It'd be better for Disney to stop going to the already dry well and leave their classics alone. In fact, it'd be better if every studio did that, but as I've said before, the point of modern remakes isn't to snaz up the old stuff, it's to redefine these stories for a newer generation.