Editorial: Disney Needs To Start Rereleasing Their Classic Animated Movies To Theaters Again

I watched The Jungle Book last night for the umpteenth time last night, but let me tell you, that movie never gets old. On the contrary, it gets better with each viewing. It's actually a much more mature tale of coming of age than many give it credit for, and its upbeat atmosphere is beyond infectious. One thing I did wonder (besides some peculiar choices in terms of color on the Platinum Edition DVD) is how great the film would look on the big screen.


Back in the day, Disney rereleased their animated features on a regular basis, thank to home video was non-existent at this point. Seeing them on the big screen every seven years or so was the only way someone could experience the Seven Dwarfs or Winnie The Pooh again. It also helped satisfy audiences during the large waits in between all-new animated movies. While today Disney, PIXAR and every other major animation studios produces a movie a year (and in the case of places like DreamWorks, three a year), as much as four years could separate new entries into the Disney Animated Classics Canon. Putting 101 Dalmatians back in theaters was the only way to keep audiences happy while animators toiled away at new projects like The Fox And The Hound.

Both factors soon changed of course. VHS became a prominent part of the American lifestyle, and suddenly there was a new way to revisit your favorite Disney adventures. Another thing that signaled the end of the rerelease trend was the fact that Disney could churn out a new animated adventure a year, with every year except for 1993 in the 90's receiving a new animated feature. Surprisingly, Disney actually hung onto the practice of putting their classic movies back in theaters for quite a while, with 1980's features Oliver & Company and The Little Mermaid receiving mildly notable reissues in 1996 and 1997 (there was a reissue planned for Beauty And The Beast in November 1998 in order to compete with DreamWorks first animated movie The Prince of Egypt, but it was cancelled)

Disney actually gave the whole reissue thing another shot in the early 2000's, but in another platform: IMAX. The massive screens housed a New Years Day reissue of Beauty And The Beast that made a pretty good $25 million, though the followup feature to be rerelased in IMAX didn't perform as well. Amazingly, The Lion King kind of disappointing financially in IMAX, something that didn't usually happen to the epic tale of Simba. But making only $15 million curbed Disneys future IMAX plans, which included a reissue of Aladdin.

Ironically, the one movie that ended the whole IMAX reissue plan started a new reissue craze for Disney; 3D rereleases. In September 2011, Disney put out a 3D version of The Lion King in only 2330 theaters with very little promotion. It wound up making a massive $94 million, earning more money than their big Thanksgiving feature that year The Muppets. Astounded by this success, Disney announced a slew of new features to be given this 3D treatment. This included Beauty And The Beast (originally planned to be given a February 2010 3D reissue, but that got cancelled), The Little Mermaid and bizarrely two PIXAR features.

One reason The Lion King worked as a reissue is that, thanks to the DVD of the film being off the market for many years, many kids hadn't seen it. They knew of it of course, but this release allowed them a chance to see it on the big screen. While Beauty And The Beast had been reissued to Blu-Ray prior to it's 3D reissue (strangely, a 3D Blu-Ray hit store shelves before it the theatrical 3D release), it was a good bet many kids had never seen it on the big screen. But PIXARS movies that were chosen to be reissued (Finding Nemo and Monsters Inc.) had not only been likely seen in a theatrical venue by many kids, they were widely available on home video. Those two reissues bombed badly, not surprising anyone. This led to The Little Mermaid 3D getting cancelled, a shame since that one not being available on DVD or Blu-Ray prior to its planned release date likely would have led the movie to massive success. But oh well.

I hope Disney goes back to this tactic of reissues, since it'd be fun to see the likes of other amazing Disney movies like The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Emperors New Groove on the big screen. One tip; avoid the 3D next time around. It doesn't add much to the experience, and it just makes it more costly to not only reissue these films, but to also allow families to see them on the big screen. Disneys best animated works are so good they work in any venue, but a cinematic environment is the bare necessities to enjoy them like they were meant to be enjoyed.