As I finished watching the new movie “Pinocchio” on Disney+, I found myself utterly and completely underwhelmed. The music, the acting and the CGI all pointed to a lack of caring. Only one phrase came to mind: nostalgia baiting.

There seems to be this unfortunate trend  of remaking popular things that were fondly remembered in the past. From the new adult happy meals at McDonalds to the new “Bel-Air” reimagining on Peacock, nostalgia seems to be everywhere. 

It would be easy to just blame “Stranger Things” for starting the trend of making nostalgia a main selling point and call it a day, but there seems to be something deeper at play. 

I get where it comes from; it’s easier to invoke nostalgia and have a guaranteed audience than to actually take a risk on a new project and have it succeed or fail on its own merit. But this kind of approach, while financially safe, only works short term. 

If you look back at the media that’s being remade today, back then those same pieces of media were bold, new takes that made a lasting impact on people. When we soullessly try to copy something that’s popular rather than encouraging the growth of new ideas we miss out on new ideas and projects that could be modern classics in their own right.

If we want entertaining products, we should look to the vast pool of talent and creativity that exists in our generation that we aren’t giving proper spotlight. Just recently, “The Little Mermaid” was announced and while the movie itself doesn’t look bad, it’s a shame that Halle Bailey’s immense talent is being wasted on a Disney cash grab.

Every idea is an opportunity for advancement and growth, and the fact we aren’t using opportunities properly is simply disappointing.