It’s the start of the new year which means that there will be a lot of new things to expect from Disney and Pixar. During 2022, they released a lot of films that were all okay and could’ve had better plots, with the only exception being Strange World. 

Although some of the films that came out had better animation than others, the main thing that could have made 2022 the year for Disney and Pixar was if those films had a better plot. Unlike Strange World, films such as Lightyear and Disenchanted had plots that were too simple and could have been taken to their full potential or were just plots that lacked the excitement they needed, letting people’s hopes down. I hope that within this year Disney and Pixar will redeem themselves.

As far as we know, there have been a couple of films that have been announced that many are excited about, including Elemental, The Little Mermaid, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Peter Pan and Wendy, and The Haunted Mansion. Besides Elemental, all of these films will be live-action, which is a little concerning because Disney doesn’t have the best track-record for these types of films, but I’m willing to put a little bit of faith in them. 

Out of the films that have been released, I’m most excited for Elemental because of the potential plot of two opposites attracting each other, considering that they are both opposite elements with Ember being a fire element and Wade being a water element. This film will be a cute story and reminds me of a modern twist of a Romeo and Juliet type of situation. 

On the other hand, Peter Pan and Wendy seems like it will have a lot of potential to be a really good Disney film, but most modern live-action Disney films that have come out lately usually lacked the interest within the plot and the quality of the CGI. There have been so many remakes of the original Peter Pan story and I’m afraid that this film might not stand out from the others, even if the trailer sets Peter Pan and Wendy up for greatness. I hope to be proved wrong. 

When it comes to The Little Mermaid, fans are split between whether or not the casting for Ariel was a good choice since it doesn’t stick with the 1989 animated film. Focusing on the casting should only matter depending on how well an actor or actress plays the character, and I’m sure Halle Bailey is set to become a great Ariel for future generations. 

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny will be the fifth film in the Indiana Jones series. Based on the trailer, the film seems to be set in 1969, which is 12 years after the last film. Lately, Disney hasn’t been doing the best job of pulling off continuation films. While this may be true, there are times when they have been able to pull it off like they did with Hocus Pocus 2, and I’m sure that the Dial of Destiny will be one of those films since it is such a unique storyline. 

Although Haunted Mansion is a reboot of the 2003 film The Haunted Mansion, I have very low expectations for this film since The Haunted Mansion wasn’t even memorable. The film setting these low standards isn’t the best thing to say, especially since the cast that has been announced is incredible, with Jared Leto, Owen Wilson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Danny DeVito, Winona Ryder, and so many more talented actors and actresses. Although there hasn’t been much announced about this film, I do hope that I am proved wrong for setting these low expectations.

After the disappointment of 2022, I hope Disney really strives to do better this year. They are in desperate need of films that are truly good instead of “just ok”. I think if they take their time with these films and really focus on the writing, 2023 has a chance to bring back that Disney magic that fans have been waiting for.