I’ve just been thinking about all the Disney live action remakes lately. I’ve actually watched a couple recently and it got me thinking about the others. Some of them ARE actually good enough to watch more than the one time in the theater when you were curious to see how it compared to the original. Then, some of them really are total trash. I started going through the list, comparing them and ultimately decided to write down my thoughts… here they are lol
I have them in order from my least favorite to favorite. (Dumbo is not included because I haven’t seen it. I also will not be including sequels like Alice Through the Looking Glass.)
Mulan (2020)
The more I think about this, the more upset I get. At first I was in denial because I was thinking “how could they have messed this up so bad?” But no… it really was that bad. Its only redeeming quality was that it was beautiful. Everything else was utter garbage.
Nothing made any sense. What was all that nonsense about embracing your chi? In the original, Mulan had a solid character growth as she worked hard and discovered who she was inside. But in this version she was just born a warrior and didn’t have to work for anything. Girl power… yay. Then they had this weird ending where she chose to go home instead of joining the palace guards, but then she accepted anyways. Like, what?? Defeats the purpose! I could go on and on about all the stuff that didn’t make sense.
The biggest insult was that it wasn’t fun or funny in the slightest. The original was such a light-hearted movie with fun characters and great jokes interspersed with serious subject matter and great action scenes. This remake was SO serious. I can think of one, maybe two jokes in the entire thing. And they weren't actually funny. Ridiculous!
Alice in Wonderland (2010)
I have never liked this movie. I know lots of people are huge fans, but I’ve always found it extremely irritating. It’s like a Tim Burton knock-off, but the sad thing is is that it’s actually Tim Burton. The most annoying thing is that they’re trying to make a complicated plot out of something that’s supposed to be nonsensical. There’s no need for more than a simple plot. Wonderland is all about being completely mad and never making sense. Now suddenly there’s a prophecy? Plus, this Alice is completely bland. I could never get behind her character.
Maleficent (2014)
I also never liked this movie. It’s like it’s trying really hard to be this huge fantasy epic, but I find it not very creative. It steals all its stuff from every other fantasy film out there, especially Lord of the Rings. I also didn’t love that they made Maleficent a good guy in the end. She was always one of my favorite Disney bad guys, so why make her the misunderstood good guy? I wouldn’t mind them making her more sympathetic since its her story, but she HAS to be evil in the end! Grrr!
I will say that the casting was spot on though.
Lion King (2019)
This movie was just kinda boring especially in comparison to the original which is an absolute masterpiece! The backgrounds are uninteresting and while the CGI on the animals is extremely impressive, their faces don’t emote much. Plus, it’s basically a shot-for-shot remake with out any color or fun. They didn’t add or take away a whole lot, just a few things here and there. At least you can enjoy it for the plot, but why watch it when you’ve got the original?
Beauty and the Beast (2017)
I’m quite divided on how I feel about this one. I’d say it’s one of the more beautiful of the remakes. The set design, the costumes, the choreography, everything is great (except for Belle’s ballgown… don’t even get me started on that).
I feel that its biggest problem is that it lacks energy. Everyone is just a little dull and isn’t putting their full effort into their performances. Everything feels forced most of the time. This is most obvious during the musical numbers. These should be the most fun and energized, but sadly, they’re the most dull part of the film. It all feels robotic. It’s not the singing (which I think everyone overreacts about. It’s not great, but it’s not THAT bad), it’s the energy.
The CGI is great most of the time, but the Beast is a little uncomfortable sometimes. I feel like they shouldn’t have gone with CGI-ing over Dan Steven’s face. It had too much of an uncanny valley effect. They should’ve straight-up CGI-ed a beast in that was more monster looking and had Dan voice over.
I do appreciate a lot of the changes made and it explains away a lot of the plot holes in the original. Plus it develops Belle and the Beast’s relationship further. I do like that.
Jungle Book (2016)
It’s been a while since I’ve actually seen this, but I remember liking this a lot. I remember the CGI being extremely impressive and the environment being beautiful. The acting and voice work was also very good. Sometimes you know there’s a celebrity voice in there just because they’re a celebrity, but even though there were a lot of celebrities in this one (Bill Murray, for example), I thought they all fit their roles.
All the changes to plot fit well and made it more interesting. Although, I wasn’t a HUGE fan of the ending because it sort of defeated the moral of the story. Oh well.
Aladdin (2019)
I think almost everything about this movie is great. It would be a pretty solid movie is just a couple things were tweaked. First off, Mena Messoud is not the strongest actor and he comes across as a little flat most of the time. If he were just a secondary character, this would be fine, but unfortunately, he’s the main guy. Yes, he DOES look the part and he can sing, dance, and all that jazz, but he just lacks a little in the acting department.
Second, I feel that Jafar was seriously miscast. I don’t care if they want to make him younger, more handsome, or whatever, but the guy just did not play him right. He did not come across as sinister, calculating, or pure evil like Jafar should be. He just seemed like a sniveling, desperate little guy who was grasping for power.
So obviously if there’s problems with both the hero and the villain, the overall quality of the film sort of sinks. However, I think everything else is pretty solid. Not perfect, but not too bad. Costumes are stellar, CGI is astounding, songs are fun! Will Smith for sure is the best part.
Cinderella (2015)
First off, I will mention the best part of the movie: her ballgown. I will never get over it. Probably the most beautiful dress I have ever seen! *chef’s kiss* Why couldn’t the Beauty and the Beast costume designer take notes from this costume designer?
Sweet and simple. I can’t think of anything I didn’t like about this film. It is perhaps a little low key which some people might consider boring. Also it’s a little… I don’t know exactly what you’d call it… overly fairytale-esque. It’s all “dreams can come true” and “have courage and be kind” and everyone’s so happy and smiley and all that CONSTANTLY. I could see how that could get old. I personally don’t mind.
Again, the costumes are fantastic! They’re very stylized, especially the wicked stepmother and stepsisters. I love how it shows how Cinderella was eventually fazed from family into servant. I also appreciate that it gave more depth to Cinderella and the Prince’s relationship.
It’s just a cute story with brilliant cinematography. Very well done.
Lady and the Tramp (2019)
This one seriously surprised me at how good it was. The way it develops the relationship between Lady and the Tramp is so sweet and believable, like a real love story. It delves in deeper than the original. It also gives more backstory to the Tramp and develops both characters more. A++
I loved all the little shoutouts to the original and the changes made were not bad ones. It made the story flow better and appeal better to modern audiences. The scenery, the costumes were on point as usual. Plus, the dogs are adorable. The CGI on the dogs talking is not even terrible.
It’s one fault is really what keeps it from being number one. It sometimes is what makes me turn it off because it is so cringe… the people acting. Gah! Clearly all the budget went into the voice work for the dogs and they hired a bunch of people off the streets to play the owners and stuff. You do NOT buy anything they do or say, especially not that they’re actually married or that really own this dog they’re acting with. Holy cow!
101 Dalmatians (1996)
With all the live action remakes coming out nowadays, everyone forgets about the remake that came out back in the 90s. Perhaps it’s the nostalgia talking, but it’s my personal favorite. There are a lot of changes from the original cartoon, but none of them are bad, I think. I appreciate both the original and this version for different reasons which I consider an accomplishment. I don’t see the remake as inferior to the original unlike the rest on this list.
I appreciate that they decided not to make the dogs talk in this. If they had, it would have seriously dated this film with horrible CGI and really taken away from the experience. I think this movie does an amazing job at conveying the dogs’s emotions through camera work, musical score, and dog training. It’s usually hard to train a dog to act because you can tell that it’s just obeying someone behind the camera, but I really believe that these dogs were acting of their own free will.
Then, of course, Glenn Close as Cruella is AMAZING!! She knocks it out of the park every time!
Honorable Mentions (because they’re not technically REMAKES, but they kind of fall into the category):
Christopher Robin
Cruella
