Some may argue that one of the most essential components of childhood, of what influences individuality and unique characteristics, is the media one entertained as a child. Video games, TV shows and movie characters are just the beginning of the influence that media has on children, as it encourages the youth to form their own interests while providing entertaining and memorable stories. Likewise, it is why so many of today’s adults and teenagers still follow PG movies so often—it creates nostalgia towards childhood bliss, a tactic that the film industry has caught onto in the past decade. 

Rebooting classic films and television series is not out of the ordinary for Hollywood since it continues to be one of the most effective strategies to capture the attention of audiences. “Cinderella,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Lion King” are prime examples that Disney has utilized in attempts to capitalize on the eyes of the youth, each raking in over seven million dollars and counting since 2010 (CNBC). Similarly, the company also receives feedback from those who lived through the peak of Disney films on social media as the argument about the quality of remade films draws headlines and trends. Take “Cruella” for example—featuring Emma Stone in a remake of “One Hundred and One Dalmatians,” the movie received heavy approval from social media users and movie-goers to a point where individuals would mimic character “Cruella” through altering their own physical appearances such as dying their hair. 

Correspondingly, Hollywood has relied on this strategy heavily after a two year pandemic and loss of revenue within the box office in order to play it safe. “The Little Mermaid” and “Barbie” are two films already met with anticipation and disapproval from a variety of fans worldwide, resulting in conflicted emotions with casting and storylines. Regardless, the films are getting attention unlike any other thanks to social media debaters and various news outlets. The movies feature names Margot Robbie to play the role of Barbie and Melissa McCarthy to play the role of Ursula, exciting fans of the and capturing attention from just the prominence of their names alone. Both movies are set to release this upcoming summer, and the trailers alone have enticed popularity thanks to footage that has been released, leaving fans of the original Barbie toys and “Little Mermaid” animation questioning how writers have connected the storylines.

It has been some time since the box office has seen a smashing success, with the most recent being “Avatar: The Way of Water” last year, another reboot following the highest-grossing film in past years. Already, the box office has seen a spike in revenue thanks to the recent release of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” this past April. According to an article by Polygon, the animation has been marked as the highest-grossing film of 2023 so far and has received over a billion dollars and counting.Following the original journey of the Mario Brothers in their iconic video game, the animation features stars such as Chris Pratt, Anya-Taylor Joy and Jack Black to attract various fans with a variety of interests. With expectations high and more films set to release, movie-goers can expect the trend of childhood reboots to stick within the film industry for quite some time.