For nearly a century, since its founder and namesake released his first Mickey Mouse cartoon, The Walt Disney Company has been the king of animation.
Unfortunately for Disney, a new movie from another major movie company is suggesting that those days may be over.
According to Deadline, Universal/Illumination’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” a new release, is on track for a $368 million global five-day opening, making it the biggest animated opening of all time.
The record beats Disney’s “Frozen 2,” the 2019 film that currently holds the top spot at $358 million.
The audience scores speak for themselves. Although it only received a 56% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, audience reviews were overwhelmingly positive, with the film receiving an audience score of 96%.
In addition, Yahoo News says that Illumination could turn Mario Bros. Gru and the minions of “Despicable Me” fame into big movie stars, with audiences loving the characters.
With these two huge, beloved intellectual properties under their belts, Illumination could topple Disney as the king of animation.
Naturally, Disney seeks answers as to why the company is being outdone by competitors in a field it dominates. Unfortunately for Disney, the company is unable to rely on the tried and true method of blaming racism. That’s why the majority of the audience for “Super Mario Bros.” is Latino, according to Deadline.
But this should come as no surprise to anyone who has been following cultural developments in the last few years, as Disney has followed almost every other mega-corporation in embracing and promoting woke ideology.
The company is currently embroiled in a feud with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis over his opposition to the Parents’ Rights in Education Act, which bans sexual orientation and gender identity instruction in kindergarten through third grade in the state.
In addition, Disney has been relentlessly pushing left-wing talking points into its content over the past few years, much to the dismay of parents who don’t want their children exposed to this content.
So, it’s no surprise that parents want a family-friendly alternative to Disney.
Instead of trying to preach a conscious theory, Illumination has chosen to take an intellectual property loved by millions globally and make a story that stays true to the world Nintendo created.
Additionally, Mario in the film is voiced by Christian actor Chris Pratt, who has spoken openly about the importance of faith and prayer in his life.
This is a film that tries to tell a good story and entertain the audience of all ages rather than Ram waking up in people’s throats.
Disney, on the other hand, never seems to learn from its mistakes. Despite all the bad press and audience decline, the company continues down the same disastrous path.
Disney needed to change course quickly; Otherwise, its days as a hero are numbered.
This article was originally published in The Western Journal.