5 Underrated Disney Flops That Are Worth Watching
by Ryan Scott · /FilmDisney is one of the most storied movie studios in Hollywood. Its legacy extends more than 100 years, ranging from groundbreaking animated classics like "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" to some of the biggest movies of all time like "Avengers: Endgame." Throughout the studio's long history, they've had many, many successes and, for a time, they were the unquestioned king of the box office.
But they can't all be winners, and Disney has had its fair share of flops over the years, many of which came during the 2010s. Just because a movie underperforms at the box office, it doesn't automatically mean it's bad. Plenty of stone cold classics from "Blade Runner" to "The Shawshank Redemption" floundered in theaters only to find love later. Many of Disney's flops are also worthy of a second look, despite their initial commercial reception. So, here are five Disney flops that are worth watching.
A note: there is a bit of recency bias present in this list, but a lot of movies have flopped in recent years. With that said, let's dive in.
Meet the Robinsons (2007)
People of a certain age probably don't even think of "Meet the Robinsons" as a flop at all. They merely think about it in terms of that animated Disney movie they love that we don't talk about nearly enough. Because director Stephen J. Anderson's "Meet the Robinsons" is the definition of an underrated gem. It's the sort of movie people have come to adore. Time has been kind to this delightfully wacky time travel comedy.
It centers on Lewis, a brilliant inventor who meets a mysterious stranger named Wilbur Robinson. Naturally, they set off together on an adventure in a time machine to track down Bowler Hat Guy. Wonderful animated chaos ensues.
For whatever reason, this movie just didn't catch on at the time of its release. Maybe it was difficult to market to children and adults alike. Whatever the case, it deserved better than it got. Much like the best that Pixar has to offer, it's a movie that kids can enjoy but, above all else, it's just an absolutely wonderful movie. Sure, the animation is a touch dated but that's a small price to pay for the delights contained within. Tiny the T-rex alone makes this one worth the price of admission. It's funny, heartwarming, and surprising.
The New Mutants (2020)
Pour one out for Josh Boone and the cursed time he had making Marvel's "The New Mutants." Coming off of the hit "The Fault in Our Stars," the director was supposed to help expand the scope of the "X-Men" universe at Fox, with this movie meant to jumpstart a whole new trilogy centered around a new crop of younger mutants. That never came to pass and the movie got caught up in the Disney/Fox merger. Yet, the resulting movie does, in my humble opinion, deserve much better than its reputation suggests.
"The New Mutants" centers on five young mutants who are forced to undergo treatment at a secret institution to supposedly cure them of the dangers of their powers. However, it's quickly revealed that their containment is part of something far more sinister.
At a time when superhero movies were the dominant force and when the "X-Men" franchise was spinning its wheels a bit, Boone tried to do something different. "The New Mutants" is more of a haunted house YA horror movie of sorts with young super-powered people in it. For all of the conversation around superhero movies and how rote they can be, this movie truly did try to break that mold, with more success than initial reviews ever gave it credit for. Five years removed, it feels even more refreshing than it did in 2020.
As for why it bombed? After the merger, Disney dumped "The New Mutants" in theaters in late 2020 when most theaters were still closed, essentially ensuring it would fail. It deserved better than, it deserves better now.
Eternals (2021)
Speaking of Marvel movies that got the raw end of the deal, let's discuss 2021's "Eternals." Directed by Chloe Zhao, who was coming off of the Best Picture winner "Nomadland," this was supposed to be one of the bold new franchises within the Marvel Cinematic Universe to help start the post-"Avengers: Endgame" era off strong. Instead, Zhao's ambitious, jam-packed, centuries-spanning superhero epic was met with a mixed response and fell victim to the changing consumer landscape brought on by the pandemic.
The movie centers on a group of ancient, powerful aliens who have been living on Earth in secret for thousands of years. After disbanding, an unexpected tragedy forces them to reunite for the first time in years as they must try and stop one of mankind's ancient enemies, the Deviants.
Hoai-Tran Bui called "Eternals" an wildly ambitious but totally uneven cosmic epic in her review for /Film in 2021. In some ways, that's true. But this movie truly takes a big, wild swing and, especially within the confines of the MCU, that's not something we see all too often. Whatever faults it may have are greatly outweighed by its sheer scope and ambition. Zhao manages to cram a whole lot into a two-hour affair. I'll take ambitious-but-messy over boring and clean most days.
The box office was on life support in 2021 and "Eternals" made just over $400 million at the box office, which doesn't sound too bad but is a catastrophe by Marvel standards. With the benefit of hindsight and in light of Marvel's recent, bigger flops, it's clear this wasn't the gargantuan misfire it may have seemed like at the time. I'd argue it's absolutely worth a second look, especially now that some time has passed.
Lightyear (2022)
Here we have another Disney movie that, in some ways, fell victim to the ever-changing landscape that we're still reckoning with as a result of the advent of streaming coupled with the pandemic. "Lightyear" was a spin-off from the multi-billion-dollar "Toy Story" franchise and, on paper, seemed like a slam dunk for Pixar. Sadly, it wasn't an easy sell to audiences, as the meta narrative of this being the movie that Andy saw that birthed the Buzz Lightyear toy, along with a lack of Tim Allen's voice, among other factors, doomed it to fail.
The movie centers on Space Ranger Buzz Lightyear (Chris Evans) who embarks on an intergalactic adventure alongside a group of ambitious recruits and his robot companion Sox. It's got crazy time travel. It's got big ideas. It's got a lot of classic Pixar charm. It has an awful lot going for it, serving as great gateway sci-fi for younger viewers, while also offering a lot for older viewers to chew on as well, which is what Pixar has always excelled at.
Whether this movie would have benefited more from leaning into "Toy Story" more or leaning into being something more original is something that can be debated. What remains true though is "Lightyear" is much better than its reputation as a massive box office bomb would lead you to believe.
Director Angus MacLane took the ball and ran with it, crafting a surprisingly rich, legitimate science fiction picture. So much ink spilled on this movie's behalf had less to do with the movie itself and muddied the waters at the time of its release. For anyone who was put off at the time, allow me to suggest circling back to this should-be Pixar genre gem.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)
The biggest problem with "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" was its gigantic, $300 million-plus budget. That pretty much doomed the movie to be a flop from the outset. All the same, Harrison Ford returned as the whip-slinging hero one last time with director James Mangold ("Logan") taking over for Steven Spielberg. The result was a far more fitting end for Ford's version of Indy, one that takes some admirably big swings, while having something to say.
The movie sees Indy approaching retirement, wrestling with fitting into the modern world. But when a familiar evil returns in the form of an old rival, Indy must don his hat and pick up his whip once more to make sure an ancient and powerful artifact doesn't fall into the wrong hands.
The previous entry in the franchise, 2008's much-maligned "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," put a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths. So it's understandable that a lot of folks might have looked at another one of these movies, one featuring Ford pushing 80, as wildly unnecessary. On the contrary, while it certainly can't make up for the sins of "Crystal Skull," it does leave viewers with some of that classic "Indiana Jones" feeling, all while providing a very satisfying end to this character's on screen journey.
Granted, the movie's totally bonkers ending may not work for everyone, but the cast is firing on all cylinders and it's just a damn fine adventure film with Ford doing what he does best. It's a movie that was too big for its own good, but it's very good all the same.