Why Was Disney Obsessed With Musicals For So Long?
WHY WAS DISNEY OBSESSED WITH MUSICALS FOR SO LONG?
(And How They Abandoned Them, Only to Come Crawling Back Begging for Forgiveness.)
PART THREE: “LET IT GO” HAPPENS, AND DISNEY GOES FULL MUSICAL AGAIN
(Or: How One Song Made More Money Than Several Small Countries.)
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INTRODUCTION: JUST WHEN DISNEY THOUGHT IT WAS OUT, THE MUSICALS PULLED THEM BACK IN.
Alright, so by the late 2000s, Disney was having an identity crisis.
• They tried no musicals. It didn’t work.
• They tried singing cows. It REALLY didn’t work.
• They tried copying DreamWorks. It felt weird and wrong, like wearing someone else’s sweaty gym socks.
🔥 Disney was LOST. They had forgotten who they were. 🔥
But then, like a nostalgic fever dream, they took one last swing at the musical formula.
And they accidentally created the most inescapable musical phenomenon of all time.
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1. TANGLED – THE “SAFE TEST RUN” BEFORE THE BIG ONE
In 2010, Disney quietly dipped a toe back into musicals with Tangled.
✔ It was CG, because 2D animation had been locked in the Disney vault like a cursed artifact.
✔ It had Alan Menken music, because they needed that 90s magic back.
✔ It was a musical, but it was also a little more “modern” and sarcastic.
🔥 AND IT WORKED. 🔥
✔ “I See the Light” was a hit.
✔ Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi had legit chemistry.
✔ The horse Maximus deserved his own spinoff.
🔥 DISNEY HAD PROOF THAT MUSICALS STILL WORKED. 🔥
But they weren’t ready to fully commit. Not yet.
Then, 2013 happened.
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2. FROZEN – THE SONG THAT BROKE HUMANITY
Alright. We all knew this was coming.
🔥 FROZEN. 🔥
✔ A musical.
✔ A princess story.
✔ A big “I Want” song.
✔ A Broadway-style finale.
It followed every Disney musical rule. But there was one thing they didn’t see coming.
🔥 “LET IT GO.” 🔥
✔ A song so inescapable that it drove parents insane.
✔ A song that became the anthem of every child under 10.
✔ A song that made Disney so much money that they probably used dollar bills as napkins for a decade.
🔥 “LET IT GO” PRINTED MORE MONEY THAN ANYTHING DISNEY HAD EVER SEEN. 🔥
And suddenly, after a decade of running from musicals, Disney realized…
🔥 “OH CRAP. WE NEED TO DO MORE OF THESE.” 🔥
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3. DISNEY BECOMES A FULL-BLOWN MUSICAL FACTORY AGAIN
After Frozen, Disney went all-in on musicals again.
✔ Moana (2016) – Lin-Manuel Miranda rapping about coconuts.
✔ Frozen II (2019) – “Into the Unknown” tried to be “Let It Go 2.0.”
✔ Encanto (2021) – “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” hijacked every wedding playlist.
🔥 DISNEY WAS BACK TO SINGING LIKE THEIR LIFE DEPENDED ON IT. 🔥
And honestly? It worked.
✔ The songs went viral.
✔ The movies made billions.
✔ The formula was officially back.
But… something felt different this time.
Because while the Disney Renaissance musicals felt timeless…
🔥 The modern musicals felt like they were MADE for TikTok. 🔥
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4. DISNEY’S NEW MUSICAL PROBLEM: VIRAL HITS, BUT NO TIMELESS CLASSICS
Let’s be real:
✔ The Lion King soundtrack is still legendary.
✔ Beauty and the Beast is still a masterpiece.
✔ Aladdin’s songs will live forever.
But… is anyone really going to be singing “Into the Unknown” in 20 years?
🔥 MODERN DISNEY MUSICALS ARE MADE FOR THE INTERNET, NOT IMMORTALITY. 🔥
✔ They go viral.
✔ They get meme’d.
✔ They burn out.
Which begs the question…
🔥 HAS DISNEY MASTERED THE MODERN FORMULA, OR ARE THEY JUST CHASING TRENDS? 🔥
And most importantly…
🔥 WILL DISNEY EVER STOP SINGING AGAIN? 🔥
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FINAL THOUGHTS: DISNEY CAN NEVER ESCAPE THE MUSICAL CURSE
✔ They tried to abandon musicals. It didn’t work.
✔ They tried copying DreamWorks. It didn’t work.
✔ They tried going full CG with no songs. It didn’t work.
✔ Then, they returned to musicals and made billions.
🔥 DISNEY IS STUCK IN A LOOP. 🔥
They can never stop making musicals, because musicals are Disney’s DNA.
But the real question isn’t IF they’ll keep making musicals—it’s HOW.
🔥 Will they keep making disposable TikTok hits?
🔥 Or will they try to create another Lion King or Beauty and the Beast?
Either way…
🔥 THE NEXT DISNEY MUSICAL IS ALREADY BEING MADE. 🔥
And whether it’s good, bad, or another song that will haunt our dreams for a decade…
WE’RE ALL GOING TO HEAR IT.
AND WE’RE ALL GOING TO KNOW THE LYRICS.
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🔥 AND THAT, MY FRIENDS, IS HOW DISNEY FELL INTO, ABANDONED, AND CAME CRAWLING BACK TO THE MUSICAL FORMULA. 🔥
WHAT IF ANIMATION ANARCHY COVERED ANOTHER INSANE TOPIC NEXT?
🔥 WHICH ANIMATION INDUSTRY MYSTERY SHOULD WE EXPOSE NEXT? 🔥
