Hollywood is Milking Nostalgia. And We Fall For It Each Time. 

I went to see The Devil Wears Prada 2, with a trailer for the live-action remake of Moana shown beforehand. My roommate and I sat beside one another in the theatre and discussed the ridiculousness of a live-action film of an animation released 10 years ago in 2016, with Dwayne Johnson reprising his role as Maui.

Over the past two decades, there have been several remakes of classical Disney movies. The most notable one is Cinderella, released in 2015 starring Lily James in the titular role, and the original animated film released in 1950. This received much praise from viewers worldwide, with a critic rating of 84%, and an audience rating of 78% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Cinderella was thought to be a well-made movie, with more character complexities, changes to the traditional narrative, and was created at a time when the original animated film was and could be considered technologically ‘outdated’ and not as relatable to young audiences.

What seems to have been the original purpose of making live-action films was to recreate traditional storybook tales in a cinematic mode that can relate to and inspire a younger generation. This is why film remakes like Mulan and Lilo and Stitch received more criticism; it was due to pivotal changes made to their predecessors that the same effect of wonder and inspiration from the original was gone. Mulan had made its heroine into a privileged character, rather than someone who earned her peers' respect through hard work and bravery. Additionally, Lilo and Stitch removed the foundational core value of “Ohana means family” with Nani leaving Lilo to study at university, an entirely different ending from the animated film.

Despite all of these films being created, in addition to the recent How to Train Your Dragon and upcoming Moana, people still attend the screenings. There is praise in the remakes into live-action films and the technological advancement that is seen through these films. However, there is also another part of the reception that asks the question, “Why did we need this?”

And yet, people still choose to watch these films.

This is evident with my attendance at The Devil Wears Prada 2. A classic flick from the 2000s, getting a sequel with the stars it had in its original, with Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, Stanley Tucci, and Meryl Streep, as it milks the fame from the original with its stardom and iconography, while revisiting and developing dynamics and relationships between characters through both filmic temporal narratives.

We watch these movies in the interest of revisiting the original in a more modern light, with the expectation that the wonder can be recreated in our older, more adult lives. There's a natural human curiosity in viewing a dragon interact with real people, or the lengths CGI can go to create an Earth goddess, or seeing the growth of Andy Sachs after leaving Runway.

Or perhaps we're all just curious about what has changed since we've grown up, and childhood is no longer within reach.