Older shows and movies’ plots, characters better than today
Growing up, my favorite thing in the world was Disney. I watched it religiously, staying up until 3 a.m. on weeknights just to see reruns of The Replacements and Kim Possible. I was the girl who bashed Nickelodeon, claiming that shows like Spongebob Squarepants and Danny Phantom were low quality compared to their rival channel. Growing up, I was a Disney nerd, but I’m not anymore.
I loved watching films like Zenon: 21st Century Girl and The Color of Friendship; these movies dealt with real life issues, such as dealing with separation anxiety, lying and facing racism head on. Even the cartoon films like Lilo and Stitch showed the true love of familial bonds and friendship.
But this isn’t the same Disney as today.
The newer Disney Channel Original Movies (DCOMS) don’t really have a point or focus like their older counterparts.
The 2014 release How to Build a Better Boy faced the idea of true love, a recurring Disney theme, but made the characters flat and unappealing through their constant petty arguments and stupid social media posts. Zapped, released later in 2014, was no better; the storyline centered around a girl who controlled boys through her phone, and while she did learn a valuable lesson about accepting people for who they are, the characters in the film were, again, not dynamic, playing off of boring archetypes like jocks and skaters.
While the cartoon films that Disney has recently released have been becoming more progressive, especially in the female roles, they have also become blander. Movies like Moana tried to reach the same levels of unknown adventure that was shown in Treasure Planet and Atlantis, but the focus on the music shifted Moana away from its major theme and made the plot less important.
Other children’s television networks like Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network have also started to become trite and basic with their plotlines. Disney, however, might be the worst offender in this, just because it is considered the biggest company for kids.
Maybe the music has shifted attention away from movies and shows. Maybe writers are running out of plot lines or maybe I’m just growing up and moving past my childhood love. Either way, Disney has disappointed me lately, and I just want a throwback channel.
By Natalie Forster, Staff Writer
forstena17@bonaventure.edu
