Image by Younho-choo from Unsplash
Through the eyes of fans and critics, is the new wave of Disney remakes capturing the original magic or do they just miss the mark?
Is it true that some things are better left untouched? From The Lion King to The Little Mermaid, Disney is on a relentless mission to reimagine its beloved animated classics. With new impressive casts, improved visual and CGI effects and modern storytelling we are experiencing a new wave of Disney. They continue to draw massive audiences and earn billions at the box office yet not everyone is on board with the attempt to capitalise on nostalgia.
With Lilo & Stitch and Moana next in line for remakes, it’s clear that demand for these reimaginings hasn’t faded. Fans are excited to see their favourite films reimagined and It’s given old school Disney lovers a chance to share the classics with the next generation.
Financially it’s also been a huge success with The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin all bringing in billions at the box office. The Lion King (2019) is the highest grossing animated feature film and the highest-grossing musical film of all time. It also set the record for biggest opening of an animated feature film until Frozen 2 surpassed it the same year.
So why are people still so disappointed? What makes these films such a controversy among film fanatics?
Film critic Dan Murrell, known for his YouTube reviews, shared his thoughts: “You can’t argue that most of them have been very financially successful. Personally, I haven’t been a huge fan because I don’t think that most of them really add anything to what was already there. The Lion King, for example, very successful movie, but when I watched it, all I saw was just an imitation of the original movie, but not as good. The ones that I’ve enjoyed have been ones like Cinderella and The Jungle Book. I think those are my two favorites because they took the core of the original movie, but then they added to it.”
Self proclaimed ‘Disney Adult’ and Fan Lauren Snell had similar views about Disney remakes, “Honestly they’re hit or miss. Some are amazing because they bring a new perspective to the story, while others just feel like cash grabs. When they’re done right, they can be magical, but a lot of them just feel like a more boring version of the original.”
“I was a fan of Cinderella, this is the film I think of when I think of Disney remakes. Although we’ve seen many live action adaptations of the Cinderella story from other studios, Disney really reclaimed it as their own. It expanded on the magic from the original Cinderella. Especially with the dress transformation scene, it stayed a true fairytale.”
Cinderella and The Jungle Book both scored the highest on trusted film review website Rotten Tomatoes, it seems that in order to be well esteemed a fresh perspective and new additions to the storytelling are essential.
Most of the controversy surrounding the remakes comes from disappointment surrounding casting choices. Disney has made some steps in the right direction when it comes to diversity in their casting, but are they always the right choices or does it feel performative?
Dan said: “I think that Disney has done some really good things when it comes to diversifying their casts.
For example, Halle Bailey as the Little Mermaid. I thought she was fantastic and I’m not one of those people that had an issue with her being cast in that role because honestly I don’t really care what race a mermaid is because they don’t exist. I feel the same about Rachel Zegler as Snow White, musically she’s a very talented person and I had no issue with her casting. If it feels natural and if it feels organic to the story then you cast somebody who’s really talented and can do the role, then I don’t really care.”
Despite their best efforts, Disney does tend to create their own problems.
“I think where Disney gets into a little bit of trouble is when they do something for a good reason or they just cast the right person with the right talent and then they like to take, what I call, a victory lap and put a flashing sign over it and kind of say, “Look at what we did.” And I think all that does is just attract even more of the people who would have had a problem with it already and were going to have an issue with it because Disney themselves are putting a spotlight on it. I think there have been examples of movies, not just Disney movies where they make some changes that I think are a little more cynical in that it doesn’t really feel like they’re doing it authentically.”
Lauren added: “It’s a mix. Some changes feel genuine and actually improve the story, while others just seem like Disney checking ‘boxes to avoid backlash. For example, casting Halle Bailey as Ariel worked because she was performing for the role. Her presence and performance made her feel like Ariel. However, in the Snow the decision to replace the dwarves with CGI instead of casting little people took away an opportunity for real representation. It feels slightly more performative than meaningful.”
With fans only growing more tired, what does the future look like for Disney? How will they keep audiences engaged amongst the constant stream of backlash?
Dan has faith that Disney is aware of the problems they are facing and will start to make more strategic decisions about which films to remake.
“What we’re starting to see now in the movies that are coming out and specifically the ones that are being greenlit, is that Disney and a bunch of other studios are paying much closer attention to what they’re green lighting and what they’re giving a whole bunch of money. Lilo and Stitch is coming out this summer. I think it’s going to do very well because it’s a remake of a movie that came out in the early 2000s and so the young adults who are now the parents of younger kids have such nostalgia for that movie.”
“They’re doing one for Moana, which is crazy to me because that movie isn’t even 10 years old. So I don’t think that Disney is going to stop remaking their old movies because right now in the new marketplace that’s one of the only things that has consistently been able to draw a crowd.”
Despite all the negative reaction, Snow White still hit 43 million at the domestic box office in its opening weekend. Not enough to justify the budget of the film but enough to show there is still engagement from the fans.
“I don’t think it’s necessarily Disney changing their strategy as far as going back to the classics. I think what they’re going to do is start being more strategic about which movies they’re remaking, probably fewer of the older ones.”
Lauren feels the same, as a big fan of Disney she thinks they need to look back at what has been successful about live actions in the past and create magic within their story telling again.
“They’re way too focused on realism, which takes away from the charm. I understand that they want to make things look ‘real’ but Disney movies aren’t supposed to be realistic, they’re supposed to feel magical. The lion king is a perfect example. The animals were so lifelike that the main two characters lost their defined looks which made the movie feel flat. If I wanted pure realism, I wouldn’t be watching a movie about singing animals.”
“There is a feeling that comes with the original animation style that just can’t be replicated.”
“They seem to be breaking the current trend of straight-up copying the original material, and shifting towards reimagining the stories instead, which is what they started with and what worked, so I’m excited to see more of that.”
Although Dan hasn’t been a massive fan of many remakes, especially recently he would be interested in a live action adaptation of The Sword and The Stone.
“They could do something different. The legend has been re-told so many times but not in the way Disney did it. I specifically love the interplay between Arthur and Merlin and I think that if you got a great young actor and a great older actor to play those two roles, there’s a lot of comedic possibilities there. The animated movie is so odd and so strange, I think that you could actually make a pretty solid kind of offbeat comedy. If Disney embraced the humour of the original.”
“There have been so many King Arthur movies, period pieces and medieval fantasy type stuff that haven’t done well at the box office. I feel like it’s kind of a long shot that they’ll actually do it.”
Lauren was more excited by the possibility of Hercules, “It’s one of my all time favourites and with the success of the stage adaptation i do really think it could be something exciting.”
With more remakes on the horizon, Disney’s challenge isn’t just keeping audiences engaged, it’s proving that these films can offer more than just nostalgia. If they truly want to sustain this trend, they’ll need to recapture the magic that made their originals so beloved in the first place and deliver more than just upgraded visuals.
For more on Disney live-action remakes, tune into our podcast What’s Trending: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0qMS3W9n1OFA7nNDkqmN9x?si=b7986366b8f04d49
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