Disney, the new owners of Fox, have decided to use The New Mutants as a lure to bring people out of their COVID-19 isolation and back into the theaters. It kinda makes sense, too. This has been the Boy Who Cried Wolf film for many X-Men fans, and it’s good to see the film finally see the light of day. It’s how Disney is going about giving it to us that has left a sour taste in our mouths here at Kabooooom.

For starters, they are only giving us one option in this time of pandemic to see it: in theaters. Not an online streaming option as well. Just In Theaters. Grab your mask, pay for your seat, and may the odds be ever in your favor that AMC really did clean those seats for you.

Even the professional critics like us were not given screener copies to watch ahead of time. We must risk our lives in the theater to go see this film to review it. That’s precious. Glad to see where the priority is for Disney again: the pocket book, not public safety. So, because of this, you will not see a review of The New Mutants from us here at Kabooooom.

Now, I know there are those of you reading this, shouting “WE NEED TO MOVE ON” or something in that manner at your computer screen. I understand. However, I, a critic on this site, have a compromised immune system. And, I live in Texas. Now, while the movie theaters can say everything they want about how they are taking steps to make sure things are safe (and I am hearing positive feedback from other people that they are, thank goodness), it is not safe out there yet. Not for me and those like me. Especially here in Texas, land of the anti-maskers.

As we speak, new cases of COVID-19 are popping up daily due to things reopening at a fast rate. As a man with a greater risk of contracting anything and everything, I am not going to send my happy ass to a movie theater where there is still a chance of catching this ugly disease. Shame on Disney for not offering a digital option to own as well, much like Bill and Ted Face The Music did this week, and other films like SCOOB! and Trolls World Tour did earlier this year.

Speaking of digital releases, we here at Kabooooom will also not be reviewing another Disney property being released: the live-action remake of Mulan. The reason for this decision is multifaceted, so allow us to break down our decision behind this one:

1) Disney has decided to release the film digitally for $30. Now, had this been the price set to own the film on any digital streaming platform, that would be one thing. For me, $30 is a steep price as someone who usually sees movies on his own, but I know that for a family of four, this option is cheaper. Still, let’s move on with the breakdown.

2) The $30 purchase-to-stream offer is for Disney+ Subscribers ONLY. Now, Disney+ does have a lot of subscribers and is a great service when it comes to content. That said, asking for an additional $30 on top of a streaming platform that you are already playing either a monthly or annual fee for comes off as greedy. Particularly since it was just revealed that some European countries, like France, are getting it at no additional cost.

3) Here is where we get a tad political, but hear us out: It is kinda weird to have an actress playing a character like Mulan be the polar opposite of what the character represents. The #BoycottMulan movement stems from said actress, Liu Yifei, and her support for the Chinese Communist Party and Hong Kong Police Force’s brutal and excessive use of violence towards the protests in Hong Kong demanding democracy. To make matters worse, Disney has chosen to ignore this controversy.

4) If that were not enough, there’s also an issue with the movie theaters themselves. While we feel it is too soon to reopen the movie theaters still, there was a verbal agreement contract between the theater chains and Disney that Mulan would be used as the film to herald the return of audiences to the movie theaters, in an attempt to salvage a horrible year financially and recoup losses for both sides. At the last minute, Disney went nope, leaving the movie theater chains high and dry.

You may disagree with our reasons for why we are not reviewing the films here, and that is fine. You don’t have to. We just feel there are more important things than seeing a movie in the theater and telling you what we think about it, despite how good they look. Thank you for reading.