KRT Entertainment | MCT

Following the wildly successful re-release of “The Lion King” in 3D, Disney will be re-releasing several more of its other animated films in 3D. “Beauty and the Beast,” above, will be out in 3D in January 2012.

Point

It’s official—we’re getting old.

As college students, we’re old enough to be legitimately nostalgic for the way movies used to be. Maybe we can’t relate to the subjects of silent films or the advent of Technicolor, but we do miss the days when Disney made fully animated musicals every year or two, and the sequels were just straight-to-video monstrosities we all ignored.

That’s what “The Lion King 3D” is capitalizing on: nostalgia. “The Princess and the Frog” was great and all, but for the most part, Disney—and Hollywood in general—is putting out kind of lame movies. Given the choice between seeing “The Lion King” or, say, “Dolphin Tale,” I’ll choose “The Lion King” every time.

So, I’m in favor of any excuse to see my favorite movies again on the big screen. 3D technology provides that excuse.

I’m not necessarily saying that “The Lion King 3D” is a significantly different viewing experience from the original. It doesn’t need to be, but it is different enough to keep the movie fresh. You can come out of the theater with a new visual appreciation for one of your childhood favorites. And even better, a whole new generation of kids is exposed to the film.

One of Disney World’s best attractions is Mickey’s PhilharMagic, a 3D adventure through five iconic Disney songs. If you’ve seen it, you can understand the pleasure of not only seeing “I Just Can’t Wait To Be King” on the big screen with the special glasses, but also how awesome it is when the food and dishes pop out at you in “Be Our Guest.” Why not expand to the rest of the film?

So, I’m firmly of the opinion that the trend of re-releasing older, well-loved movies in 3D should—and inevitably will—continue. Filmmakers will always lack originality, and they’ll always try to make a quick buck by capitalizing on what people already like. So what are the alternatives? Sequels? Remakes? It’s a much better option to just re-release the original. And there are plenty of movies I can think of that could be really interesting to see with a 3D element. Imagine “Fantasia 3D,” “Dark Knight 3D,” “Pan’s Labyrinth 3D.”

If I’m going to pay the $15 to see a 3D movie, I need to know it will be amazing. “The Lion King” meets that standard, and so do most of the other movies that are going to be re-released. I can’t necessarily say the same for whatever Hollywood happened to release this week.

Counterpoint

Why mess with a classic? Personally, I am against the recent trend in the film industry to re-release classic movies in 3D. Does 3D make that much of a difference in quality, or is Hollywood merely using these films as a ploy to increase profits? While “The Lion King 3D” had great success at the box office, I don’t see the appeal. Why spend the $12+ when I can simply watch the original version on DVD? The price of a DVD these days is actually less than the cost of going to a 3D movie, and with a DVD, I can watch the movie as many times as I want.

I understand the “reliving the magic” mentality that brings many to the theaters, and I’m not necessarily opposed to that. What I am opposed to is the use of 3D. The nostalgic fondness I associate with a movie such as “Beauty and the Beast” does not mean I want to see an “improved” version in 3D. I’m just fine with it in its original format, and putting it in 3D isn’t guaranteed to make me like it more. In fact, 3D might ruin the movie for me by changing its original essence. If people are so excited about the chance to relive a part of their childhood or getting to share the magic they experienced from the movie by taking their kids, why does that automatically imply 3D? Why not just re-release the 2D versions in theaters?

Disney in particular plays off the nostalgia of young adults, leading me to argue that the box office success of “The Lion King 3D” is not so much due to its being in 3D as much as its being in theaters. Its release offered audiences a chance to see this classic on the big screen once again—3D just happened to be part of that experience.

I get it: 3D is the hot trend in the industry now. But I’d rather see Hollywood innovate and create new characters and storylines to love, instead of just refurbishing old ones. Hollywood should be reinterpreting these classics to fit today’s world. In an industry built on innovation, 3D re-releases are the antithesis, emphasizing the industry’s profit-seeking nature over creativity.

Hollywood seems intent on continuing the 3D trend sparked by “Avatar.” My one word of caution to the industry is: Don’t alter the original movie. Go ahead and add your 3D technology, but please, don’t edit the essence of the films themselves. The re-release in 3D should not precipitate a change in content, only a change in technology affecting how audiences engage with the film.

The Aristocats, the all-Disney campus a capella group, and friends performed a spontaneous rendition of “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” to celebrate the upcoming release of Toy Story 3 on June 18, 2010.

- Ryan Merriman is the ideal man: The golden boy of the DCOM era, Merriman was cute, charming and smart. So smart, he outsmarted the Smart House, for P.A.T.’s sake! Plus, he even pulled off the pointy-eared, red-haired leprechaun look in “The Luck of the Irish.” That takes a true stud.

·Never make assumptions: Yes, Piper, your African exchange student is white. Now, don’t you feel ridiculous in your African garb? And yes, Mahree, you are a racist for living in South Africa and supporting apartheid and assuming any American host family would be white.

·Sometimes, it pays to be ignorant: If Duncan (Will Friedle, aka Eric from “Boy Meets World”), a resident of Washington D.C., had been a fully-functioning human being and actually known that 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is the address of the White House, he might never have shown up to take the girl he met at the mall on a date, and would subsequently not have scored his dad a sweet promotion and himself an awesome relationship with the President’s Daughter. Take that, common knowledge!

·In high school, freedom reigns: Wow, I can’t wait to be in high school! I can be like Hayley from “Wish Upon a Star” and wear a literal dominatrix outfit: chains, leather, fishnets and all, and do a striptease dance on a cafeteria table! What an education! (Seriously, find the clip on YouTube if you don’t believe me). And yet, Hayley gets her retribution in the end by coupling with the unfortunate-looking, gnome-like mute, Simon. Mixed messages…..

·DCOMs are the beginning of a great acting career; Academy Award winner Diane Keaton starred in the very first DCOM, “Northern Lights” in 1997, setting a high standard for the caliber of actors in these films, and look where they are now: Ryan Merriman was in “The Deep End of the Ocean” in 1999. Xenon (Kirsten Storms) is totally on “General Hospital” now. Camilla Belle’s first role was in “Rip Girls” in 2000, and she’s world-famous now for dating Joe Jonas. And who can forget the legacy of the Lawrence brothers? Wait, everyone. One DCOM star has, unfortunately, actually succeeded in becoming a full-fledged star: Katherine Heigl. My hatred for her aside, her work in “Wish Upon a Star” is arguably her best, especially the sequence at the very end with Alexia (Heigl) and Hayley (Danielle Harris) staring admiringly at each other as they dance with their significant others—for a full 90 seconds. Another YouTube must!

Original intellectual property laws in America were grandfathered in from English common law, conceived to encourage the spread of innovation and to prevent people from claiming the original author’s work as their own. In this respect, IP laws make perfect sense; artists deserve protection from other people taking credit for their work. However the landscape of IP has drastically changed to the point of punishing a club that simply plays Disney movies and properly credits them to Disney as well. It makes no more sense to prohibit the viewing of a movie by multiple people than it does to prohibit the viewing of a portrait by multiple people. The people watching these films are not evil, conniving scammers out to claim Disney’s films as their own. They are simply fans of Disney movies who want to take a break from studying and relax with a few friends.

The problem stems uniquely from the way these laws are interpreted—once given an inch, the artists (or, in this case, the people managing and publishing the artists’ work) take a foot, but truthfully, it’s more like a mile. I wouldn’t be surprised if Disney actually threatened to press charges against the University—after all, Apple has threatened to sue a programmer for making an innocuous program that changes the Windows taskbar to look somewhat like a Mac OSX taskbar. And let’s not forget the RIAA’s infamous attempt to sue a 10-year-old, who used Napster to download some music, for nearly a million dollars.

Of course, someone could easily find an argument to support IP and prove this article wrong—and such an exchange could go back and forth for quite some time. Fair enough, considering that such a topic probably deserves the attention of a full-fledged book. However, my intent is to get readers who never think of intellectual property rights as wrong to step back and possibly realize the destructive ways that they can be used. My examples are not isolated incidents, nor are they the worst cases of IP nonsense. They are, however, good instances that reflect the various ways that intellectual property can be abused—and Wikipedia, for all of its problems and its inadequacy as an academic source, is an amazing resource considering the it’s practically non-copyrighted in its entirety. Ultimately, however, I am not on a crusade against all forms of copyright. I just want to watch my movies in peace.

10. Any of the bands the Gargoyle has booked.
The Gargoyle, Wash. U.’s on-campus venue, boasts a number of great shows throughout the year. Their supernatural taste in bands—just check the lineup for Lollapalooza: Five of the bands played Gargoyle shows last year alone—guarantees you some major bonus points.

9. Songs with related dances.
The “Single Ladies” dance, Soulja Boy, Stanky Leg, *hell*, even the “Macarena.” Getting everyone up and moving is a great way to get to know people.

8. Blink 182 reunion
There’s something about Blink 182 that takes us back to sixth grade sans Ritalin. Their reunion tour has been cause for great excitement, which is always an easy way into the musical hierarchy. Make sure to check them out in St. Louis on Sept. 3.

7. Queen/Journey (great sing-along songs).
You know how it is—there are certain songs that just bring people together. “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Don’t Stop Believing” are the epitome of bonding songs.

Staam, Washington University's Jewish a capella group, sings in Ursa's Fireside for their winter concert. (Matt Mitgang | Student Life)

6. A cappella songs
You are entering a rare stage of your life where everyone seems to like it. Don’t let these four to seven years go to waste.

5. Songs from summer festivals
Summer is a great time for music festivals—Bonaroo, Coachella, Summerfest, Pitchfork, and Lollapalooza, to name a few. If you had the chance to get to any one of these, it’s an awesome conversation starter. Everyone loves a good concert story. Even if you couldn’t make it to one of the festivals, you can still read the reviews and fake it!

4. Vinyl
In the pantheon of music, vinyl is king. The dedication it takes to actually maintain a record player at school, as well as to amass the vinyl collection, speaks to a profound love of music. Set that needle down and watch the accolades roll in. (Shameless plug: StudLife runs a weekly blog called “Rare Finds at Vintage Vinyl.” If that’s your speed, check it out online.)

3. Disney songs
College students love Disney songs. It’s pretty much an irrefutable fact. Also, there’s nothing quite like singing, “I’ll Make a Man Out of You,” in a group of people you barely know. Instant friendship, I guarantee it.

2. Girl Talk
Greg Gillis’ infectious mashups are almost universally loved and are sure to garner a high place in the musical hierarchy. Bonus points for spreading the Girl Talk Tasering story that occurred on campus long before your time here. Just ask an upperclassman about it.

1. In the immortal words of T.I., whatever you like.
College is a place to assert yourself. Want to listen to the Jonas Brothers nonstop? Go right ahead. Chances are you’ll find people with similar interests no matter what your tastes are.