So this is something I have been wanting to address for a while. Disney has no creative direction. I do not mean Marvel, Lucasarts, or Pixar have no creative direction, as these are separate entities when it comes to their stories. I mean the makers of classics like Mulan, Lion King, Beauty and the Beast and Hercules. Disney has devolved from the story makers of old and it started way back to just after the release of Tarzan. Disney then released some watchable at best, to appalling, to downright horrific straight to DVD films. While they did have some good ones in the 2000s, they were nowhere near the classics of old and were rather forgettable and more often than not they had Pixar to thank.
Now in 2020, Disney owns the film and television industry. However, of all the films they are releasing, their own stories are the weakest. For example, the appallingly bad Salazars Revenge, which took a beloved franchise in Pirates of the Caribbean and showed that the franchise had run its course. Yes, that includes the awful but forgivable fourth film.
Another example of no creativity coming from Disney is the constant remake of the classics and as much as yes, everyone went to watch them, these films are nowhere near the quality of the classics and people go and watch them for nostalgia more than anything else. These films are made as a cash grab and worse than that to push agendas or political views when the films did not need them. Another reason for these being bad is replacing the original cast. The best example of this is the Lion King. While yes they did the right thing by casting James Earl Jones to reprise his role as Mufasa, it is still weird to see Scar and not hear Jeremy Irons.
Now before I address 2020's Frozen 2, I will address the fact that I am not talking about Moana and Frozen 1. Moana, first off, while I really enjoyed it, is more of a household name for Dwayne Johnson singing than anything else. People have forgotten about it as the story was good but was forgettable and there was so much wasted potential. This is, unfortunately, one of those films that will fade into obscurity and it can already be seen today.
Now Frozen seemed like a fresh idea, but step back and look at it. It is taking the story points from a lot of Disney's previous films. For example, the Lion King shows a royal heir losing their parental figure/s, running away from their problems, and singing a song about letting go and having no worries. Not to mention the first song in both films fits nowhere else in the storylines.
Then came Frozen 2, which was a breath of fresh air. It was a fresh story, that had great characters and very little forced humor. The story is basically that there is a magical forest that has been locked away and the heroes have to save it after Elsa has angered the spirits of the forest who proceeds to curse the kingdom of Arendelle.
The character work is good. I will say that the film goes back and reverses all the character work done in the first film. Elsa is once again an anxious mess and looking for her place in the world. However, this character arc wraps up rather satisfyingly. Kristoff has probably the biggest character arc even though he disappears the moment we get into the forest. The weakest character work though has to be Anna, who just reminds you of that one person who tries to control too many things at once and doesn't think things through. While I know Disney tried to make this endearing, it was just annoying as hell.
Now, this film has its flaws. There are plot points left unaddressed, for example, Olaf's mentality starts off as doom and gloom and then is not addressed again in the film either than a small aside line. The songs range from great, to fun, to alright. However, this is still the best film Disney, has personally released, in a long, long time and I personally would be ok with seeing more like this.
The answer to my title question is - I honestly don't know as it is too soon to tell. If they make more films similar to Frozen 2, they can bring back the Disney of old. Once again I do not mean any Marvel, Lucasarts, or Pixar films as yes, they are owned by Disney but work as a separate entity altogether.
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