In the past few years alone, the film industry has been cranking out live-action remake after remake. This phenomenon arguably started with the live-action Cinderella remake.

Soon to follow came movies such as The Jungle Book, Beauty and the Beast, Dumbo, Aladdin, and The Lion King. At first, I was thrilled with the idea of reliving a piece of my childhood through the fresh lens of exquisite CGI.

However, as these remakes became less of a novelty and more of a mundane occurrence, it began to frustrate fans of the originals. To many, these remakes became less of a nostalgic nod to the late 1900s and early 2000s, and more of a cop out answer to bring in revenue. Such large Disney franchises were a cherished childhood memory of people everywhere, and to poorly recreate a live-action version seems almost disrespectful to these animated feats.

However, this trend of relying on films that have already been made goes beyond just the scope of live-action. From the Hobbes and Shaw spin-off of the Fast and Furious franchise to It Chapter 2 to Frozen 2, it seems as of lately, an unreasonable number of movies are a sequel or spin off of classics from years prior.

In certain cases, I enjoy, even welcome, a sequel here or there. For example, Incredibles 2 was a long awaited sequel that I had absolutely no complaints about. However, when reliance on the success of past franchises becomes too apparent, it raises concerns about the film industry, even society as a whole.

When will the giants of the film industry learn to let a franchise exist in its current glory, instead of trying to pull even more profit from it? Have we as a people forgotten how to harness pure originality and creativity, and instead rely on the work of legends prior to fuel our creative processes?

I leave you with these questions simmering. Wrestle with them, struggle with them.
Complete and unadulterated originality has become such a rarity in today’s society, that it is important to cultivate what we can in current generations.

<Emily Chang West Ranch High School Grade 11>