Visi Mundi

If there’s one thing Disney knows how to do, it’s make money. Of course since they provide quality entertainment and great films in return, no one is really complaining. If you think about the Disney machine for a moment, you’ll realize what an amazing enterprise it is. For all its critics and detractors, you can’t deny they blend quality entertainment with a supreme moneymaking industry. They’ve recently tapped into the 3-D market while generating an incredible profit at the same time. Disney has done it in a smart way that allows them to rerelease old films with a 3-D punch up. Last year they rereleased the “Lion King” with 3-D enhancements, and even Disney was surprised at how much money they made off of this venture. They have even more plans for 2012 with some of the most popular films in their collection.

Recently Disney rereleased “Beauty and the Beast” to incredible numbers as well. While it didn’t make as much money as the Lion King, no one is complaining about the overall sales figures. It’s rather impressive for a film that’s over 20 years old to debut back at number two on the charts. When you add in the fact that this is a true Disney classic, it’s no wonder why audiences were eager to see it again. This is even after the fact that Disney had a version on Blu-ray video that was already 3-D.

When you talk to audiences who see these movies again, you get mixed reactions about the 3-D effects. Some people enjoy seeing anything in this format because it makes the experience more lifelike. There are others for less than dazzled by the overall effects, but they appreciate being able to see some of these classic movies on a big screen format. In general, it really does enhance the overall experience especially for young children who’ve never seen these movies before. They might have experience at home on a television screen, but seeing these films in a theater is obviously more exciting. For some kids who are tapped into modern technology, their only exposure to these films is through a small device hooked up to a pair of wireless TV headphones.

At the end of the day, whether you see this as a cash-grab or not, it’s all about the kids isn’t it? You probably have wonderful memories growing up with these films and it’s a great thing to be able to share them with your own children. They don’t care about whether Disney is money hungry or not, they just love to see these types of films. And you also get a chance to relive them while transporting yourself back to a less cynical time. In a day and age when there is so much new technology grabbing children’s attention like video games, karaoke machines, and the Internet, it’s nice to be able to return to a classic form of entertainment done by the people who know what the best.