With the new Snow White live-action remake coming out on Mar. 21, the live-action Lilo and Stitch movie coming soon, and a remake of Moana set to release in 2026 only 10 years after the original, the conversation surrounding Disney’s so-called “live-action remake problem” persists.
Reception and Nostalgia
The main qualms about Disney’s live-action remakes are the lack of creativity and inability to capture the quality of its original beauty. The medium of animation allows for personality and soul in a piece of work. Artists are allowed to create beyond the realm of realism, producing fun and interesting visuals that can suspend the viewer’s disbelief. Lewis Pierce for Medium used The Lion King (2019) as an example of the live-action phenomenon saying, “Sure, the animals may look hyper-realistic and the CGI might be groundbreaking, but to bring something into live action and attempt to make it grounded… it loses the realism and is no longer justified, or it becomes so realistic that it becomes a slog.”
Though these movies are widely disliked, both the nostalgia and the concept of hate-watching give Disney the false impression that these live-action remakes are successful. However, while audiences are deriving enjoyment from mocking and criticizing the films, Disney is still making an income, so who really wins in the end? Curiosity is a normal part of human nature, but restraint needs to be practiced. Nostalgia drives the success of remakes, as seen with films like The Little Mermaid (2023) capturing initial attention after making its debut at the 95th Academy Awards on March 12, 2023. The official trailer reportedly amassed over 108 million views worldwide within its initial 24 hours, holding the record for the highest views for a Disney live-action film since the 2019 remake of The Lion King.
However, fans are increasingly voicing their exhaustion with this pattern, especially with several new live-action adaptations in the works. This cycle offers little enthusiasm, as the same stories and characters are continually presented to devoted Disney followers. Disney would rather release film after film without investing in talented storytellers, even when the content is stale, giving Disney a corporate, soulless feel.
Cash Grab?
As previously mentioned, live-action adaptations may receive poor reviews, but they can’t exactly be considered flops. A lot of these remakes are some of the highest-grossing movies of their year (Cinderella grossed a worldwide total of $542.4 million against a budget of $95 million, being the twelfth-highest-grossing film of 2015). It seems like nostalgia and extensive marketing efforts appear to be factors that contribute to strong sales and encourage Disney to keep pursuing these projects. The ultimate goal for all movie studios is to make money, so it’s evident why Disney takes the easy way out. Executives know that there is an audience willing to watch these movies and they save production and writing time on retellings and remakes for the sake of quality.
Rewriting History and Ruining Their Characters
Furthermore, it’s speculated these remakes are a way for Disney to rewrite its history and their questionable decisions in the past. They serve as a chance to be on the right side of history, considering Disney has had a controversial and complicated record.
The company was accused of racist and ethnic stereotypes during the Renaissance Era. For example, Aladdin (1992) faced backlash for utilizing Orientalist clichés that portray Arab cultures as exotic and foreign, as well as portraying Arab women in an over-sexualized way. However, in the 2019 version, the lyrics from certain songs were changed, and the roles of women, especially Jasmine, were rewritten to be more appropriate and innovative. Disney finds itself needing to combine nostalgic elements with a progressive, politically correct mindset suitable for the 21st century, and instead of creating new and improved work, it resorts back to the safer option: remakes.
Additionally, Disney has added feminist twists to correct some of the earlier criticisms that they have faced in the past. These attempts were to make the live-action films more inclusive to the newer generation of audiences. Nuha Hassan for Medium uses Beauty and the Beast (2019) as an example of inventing character traits and plot devices that lead nowhere. She states, “By writing Belle as an inventor, where does that plot device lead to at the end? She does not build anything when she tries to escape the castle twice. This is an example of remaking feminism by reinventing a character to add more feminist attributes.” This phenomenon is not only pointless, it makes a simple 90-minute story drag out past two hours. Two hours full of meaningless backstory that does nothing to give us more insight into the beloved characters.
The girlbossification of Disney princesses supplies superficial lessons in the name of feminism. The new heroine is a no-nonsense lead but lacks flaws, so she makes choices that aren’t seen as harmful, leading to a lack of personal growth. To quote Kat Rosenfield from Pirate Wires, “She doesn’t even have a normal hero’s arc, because nothing is ever her fault; her only problem is everybody else, the haters and losers, conspiring to keep her down.” The live-action remakes of Disney princesses are a clear illustration of what happens when you prioritize empowerment over meaningful growth and understanding. Rosenfield uses Ariel from The Little Mermaid (2023) as an example stating that she “suffers from amnesia after she trades her voice for legs and a shot at love. With no memory at all of what she’s done or why, there is no uncomfortable reckoning with the foolishness of her choice.” In return for rewriting its history, Disney has decided to strip their past characters of their personalities and, unfortunately, make them less believable.
Conclusion
With even more live-action remakes lined up to release, the future of Disney is a complete mystery and the magic is slowly fading away. The only thing that will kill this trend is diminishing returns, but until then, we will be bombarded with these movies. We can only hope Disney’s future remakes stand out, that they create something unique, not simply a carbon copy of the cherished animated original. Ultimately, if that’s your only intention, what’s the purpose?
Sources
Why the Disney live action remakes are (mostly) terrible
Why We’re Stuck In Endless Hell of Live Action Remakes
Disney’s Live-Action Remakes: Progressive Rebranding Or Remaking Feminism?
