As of recently, Disney has been a bit at a loss for creative ideas. Their latest cash grab is remaking animated favorites that do not need to be redone. Although the idea of using new technology to make new movies is interesting, it does not recreate the feeling of seeing the animated original.
For example, the original Lion King released in 1994 was reworked into a live-action in 2019. The CGI in the movie was not up to the standards that Disney usually has. It seemed a little sloppy and it was almost too real, honestly making it a little unnerving especially compared to the original. Disney ran into similar issues with other movies such as Pinocchio, the Little Mermaid, and Dumbo with CGI and animation.
According to Screen Rant, the original Lion King has made $1.9 billion at the box office worldwide, not adjusted for inflation. That comes at a higher price than the live-action, which only made about $1.6 billion worldwide. The original Lion King is also considered a classic movie with a great soundtrack that the live-action couldn’t replicate. This seems to be another issue with live-action remakes: the story-telling. There isn’t much room to add new original ideas to the films since that would dishonor the original and would make the audience upset. However, many add extra scenes that aren’t necessarily needed to add extra time in or make it seem like there were original ideas.
Despite the mediocrity of these live actions, there have been quite a few good ones such as Beauty and the Beast which starred Emma Watson and included new songs and was a tribute to the original. Maleficent, Cinderella, and Aladdin were also pretty faithful to the originals while still adding their touch to the films.
So while not all of the live-action remakes of these classic Disney films are terrible, there really isn’t a reason to be remaking these movies other than a quick cash-grab on Disney’s part. The quality of the movies isn’t as great and nothing can ever beat the originals.
