Going to the movies has always been a fun activity perfect for a girls’ night, a date night, or just something to do on a lazy rainy day. So you drive to the movies, but probably forget to check what’s currently playing. But does it really matter? I’m sure there will be something in theatres that’s new and worth seeing. You’re standing in line and pull out your money, when all of a sudden that important time to choose which movie you are going to see sneaks up on you. When you look up, however, at the digital screen of all of the movies and the times, you become perplexed at what you see. It’s funny because some of those movies seem to be familiar to you. It’s probably because you have already seen them. So what gives?
It seems to be the new “trend” at the movies recently: rereleasing old movies (and by old I mean movies that have already worked their way from the big screen into my DVD cabinet and not old movies such as Gone with the Wind) in 3D. 3D is fantastic. You get fun classes that you’re supposed to give back (but I usually forget), and the movie is constantly coming alive right in front of you. But it’s honestly not necessary to rerelease movies that weren’t made in 3D the first time. Sure many people could argue that it will make the movie so much better, adding things that weren’t there the first time. But is it really adding something to a movie that really needs it, or is it just ruining what many of us would call classics.
It all started with The Lion King: 3D. I saw it when I was younger, and now I own both the VHS and the DVD of this great Disney classic. Even to this day, I need a tissue box when Mufasa dies, but would I go to theatres just to see it again. Considering the fact that 3D movies range an average of four or more dollars more than an average movie, I can’t say that I would spend anywhere from $14 up to $18 dollars to see a movie that I already own and spent that much on to buy the first time. If you look at what you’re really paying for, you might agree with me. Sure it might be nice to see the story all over again if you don’t own it or haven’t seen it before or in a long time. But for those of us true Disney fans that’s never the case, because we do own it and have seen it many times. I’m not going to pay the money to see the same story (as good as it may be) just so I can see birds flying at me in scenes like “The Circle of Life” or “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King.” I lived without the birds flying out of the screen the first time; I think I’ll survive now.
I question the reasons and motives to remake these movies in 3D. Will it increase the amount of movie goers? It might. It looks to me that maybe there are less and less ideas for new movies coming up that we need to go back into the vault of old ideas and try to make them new again. I wouldn’t say quite as much if The Lion King had been the only movie to be rereleased. But rest assured, because there are quite a few more movies in the works coming to theatres, and not all of them are from Disney. Finding Nemo is set to come to theatres (again) sometimes in 2012. Other Disney movies suggested for 3D include favorites such as Monsters Inc., Beauty and the Beast, and even The Little Mermaid. But this insanity does not stop with Disney. We all know that Titanic is coming out again on April 6, 2012. But more recently we have Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace coming to theatres this Friday.
If the film companies and the directors feel the need to bring these movies back (even though I’m sure most of us have seen and probably own all of them already), then they can go right ahead. I’m interested in knowing if Titanic will make as much money as it did last time, being currently the number two grossing movie. However, I doubt that it will make nearly as much. Nevertheless, thousands will still go to the movies to spend that extra four dollars on 3D effects that may or may not have been worth it in the end. I can guarantee that a lot of you will exit the theatres after having watched Titanic again and claim that it is still the best movie. You might even attribute that that might be due to the new 3D effects. Don’t let movie tricks fool you; it was a great movie before the fancy effects and it will still be a good movie when I watch it on my DVD player instead. The only positive thing that I could agree upon with all of this nonsense, especially for the Disney movies, is that young children who were born too late in life now have a chance to experience the theatre magic can do so.
