Opinion on Disney's "live action" remake trend?

[-Blue-]

Live action is not bad. What is bad is taking existing works and trying to shoehorn your own version of it where it completely changes what the original was about. For example Mulan was good. It's about a girl who fills in for her elderly father who shouldn't be fighting a war at his age and with his injuries. She disguises herself as a male to fight a war and slowly bonds and learns how to be a good soldier. She, like many of the other recruits are hapless. But with enough training, they were each others equal and respected for it.

In the remake. She is some prodigy. They butchered a good lesson that anyone can be great with enough determination and effort and flipped it.


Live action of an animation or even redoing an existing movie is feasible to make it good. I feel like the problem is that some of these producers? don't want to take the time to actually write their own story and want to piggyback on someone's existing works of fiction that were received well. Ok fine, do a remaster of that and do it justice. But they don't. They also want to put their own story in it. And at that point, why not just make your own movie then? It's pretty obvious it's because they want to leech off of the namesake's title.

 

[Flicky]

I've seen 3 - The Jungle Book, The Lion King, and Aladdin. I enjoyed The Jungle Book, if I'm being honest, the songs were meh but I thought that the storyline improved over the original. The Lion King was very, very disappointing (what did they do to you, Be Prepared?!) and I felt that the characters felt lifeless and/or annoying. Aladdin was meh all around. The things they changed in these two movies didn't enhance the movie.

I'm not planning to watch anymore. Not even Mulan, which is one of my all-time favourite Disney movies. They look visually impressive, but are otherwise devoid of the charm of their animated counterparts.

 

[Belle T]

I had to dig through my Comixology library to find it--which is no longer fun or convenient to do; thanks Amazon for ruining everything--because I needed to find a comic book I had read some time ago, which was a much darker version of the tale of Aladdin that was very distinct from the Disney version.

I know this isn't everyone's cup of tea, and it certainly lacks any of the charm and character of a Disney property (because it's not a Disney property), but if they made a live action Aladdin that was more like this, rather than just a hackneyed revision of the animated film, I would be far more forgiving of its shortcomings, even if it turned out terrible. It's a distinct and personal take on the world and characters of the classic tale that feels like it was made out of love for the source material, rather than merely as a cynical cash grab. I've only read the first issue, so I don't know how the series plays out. But I do recommend giving it a quick read if you can find it.

 

[LuchaSloth]

Oh...just remembered that the live action Mulan was pretty good (probably the best of the ones that I've seen). The Jungle Book was also pretty enjoyable if memory serves me right. And I thought Cruella was interesting enough...just because it wasn't a direct remake, but its own thing.

Aladdin, I think I enjoyed...but I can't really remember. Lol.

I never bothered to see Beauty and the Beast, Dumbo, Lady and the Tramp, etc...and probably won't.

 

[Shellzilla_515]

First of all, what?!?! Secondly, I'm just not a fan of live-action movies. I really miss the traditional animations that Disney is well known for because they look really good and are pleasing to the eyes.

 

[Snek]

They're all garbage. I'm going to keep it simple so I don't touch the more controversial parts of this but...these "remakes" are just a sign of DisneyCorp's lack of creativity and a cash grab for DisneyCorp to renew their IPs. I only watched Beauty and the Beast willingly and I didn't like it. I saw Aladdin while riding a travel bus and I didn't like it. I haven't watched a remake since then but I recognise laziness in the writing when I see it. The original animated films are far superior and timeless.

 

[-Raven-]

I haven’t watched a single one of them. That they sell so well and never seem to get better is a testament to Disney’s growing laziness I suppose. I have never been fond of Disney, seeing them get away with things like this is kinda depressing.

I’m not even interested in most of Disney’s back-catalogue but to my understanding people liked the Jungle Book remake the most, so you could argue they’re getting worse in that case? Lol.

And Lion King getting a hyperrealistic remake prequel is vom. The only good thing that came from that remake was the YMS highlights and that gave him a real wrist injury. Not like that injury is the movie’s fault but it’s like damn, that movie is cursed.

At least the originals had real talent in the animation. The animation in these new films- I’m not blaming the animators themselves but holy hell, Disney wring them dry. The rendering is shiny but the redesigns are sterile, unexpressive, and there are tons of poor animations and VFX anyway. They don’t even need to try and hide it, people will defend or fanboy for them anyway and they make money anyway. None of these look as good as Davey Jones or Cameron’s Avatar did. Even if they did, it wouldn’t change the point.
Really, this SHOULD be more like The Emoji Movie (or Morbius not selling tickets when they tried to capitalise on the memes, god help me), and we should have a collective moment of saying NO and decrying the movies so they stop. People are either too curious or invested in their nostalgia I suppose and this is just accepted as another Hollywood cashgrab, to me it’s just especially gross because Disney are already so rich and this is like a step forward to even more cashgrabs. Enough is enough.

 

[Reginald Fairfield]

I think it's another way to extend the copyright. A lazy and insulting way. They used to bribe politicians to change copyright law. There is a legal term for that, I forgot it.

 

[CylieDanny]

I haven’t watched a single one of them. That they sell so well and never seem to get better is a testament to Disney’s growing laziness I suppose. I have never been fond of Disney, seeing them get away with things like this is kinda depressing.

I’m not even interested in most of Disney’s back-catalogue but to my understanding people liked the Jungle Book remake the most, so you could argue they’re getting worse in that case? Lol.

And Lion King getting a hyperrealistic remake prequel is vom. The only good thing that came from that remake was the YMS highlights and that gave him a real wrist injury. Not like that injury is the movie’s fault but it’s like damn, that movie is cursed.

At least the originals had real talent in the animation. The animation in these new films- I’m not blaming the animators themselves but holy hell, Disney wring them dry. The rendering is shiny but the redesigns are sterile, unexpressive, and there are tons of poor animations and VFX anyway. They don’t even need to try and hide it, people will defend or fanboy for them anyway and they make money anyway. None of these look as good as Davey Jones or Cameron’s Avatar did. Even if they did, it wouldn’t change the point.
Really, this SHOULD be more like The Emoji Movie (or Morbius not selling tickets when they tried to capitalise on the memes, god help me), and we should have a collective moment of saying NO and decrying the movies so they stop. People are either too curious or invested in their nostalgia I suppose and this is just accepted as another Hollywood cashgrab, to me it’s just especially gross because Disney are already so rich and this is like a step forward to even more cashgrabs. Enough is enough.

Wait, that Lion King is getting a prequel???

 

[CylieDanny]

I had to dig through my Comixology library to find it--which is no longer fun or convenient to do; thanks Amazon for ruining everything--because I needed to find a comic book I had read some time ago, which was a much darker version of the tale of Aladdin that was very distinct from the Disney version.

I know this isn't everyone's cup of tea, and it certainly lacks any of the charm and character of a Disney property (because it's not a Disney property), but if they made a live action Aladdin that was more like this, rather than just a hackneyed revision of the animated film, I would be far more forgiving of its shortcomings, even if it turned out terrible. It's a distinct and personal take on the world and characters of the classic tale that feels like it was made out of love for the source material, rather than merely as a cynical cash grab. I've only read the first issue, so I don't know how the series plays out. But I do recommend giving it a quick read if you can find it.

I'd definitely see Aladin in that style. But also would like to read that book, I'll keep an eye out for it..

 

[Croconaw]

I haven’t watched any of those live action remakes. They haven’t interested me and I typically don’t watch something that I’m sure won’t intrigue me. Otherwise, I don’t see a point.

 

[LadyDestani]

I have only watched a few of them. I liked Beauty and the Beast, Mulan, and Jungle Book. They weren't outstanding and we really didn't need them, but I still thought they were pretty good.

Most of the others I have no interest in watching because they look terrible. I might give Little Mermaid a shot just because I loved the animated one and I want to see what they do with it.

I've never thought Disney was all that creative, though. Basically, all of these movies that are being remade came from somewhere else: classic fairy tales, books, and legends. They just clean them up and give them a happy ending so they can be marketed to children. I say that as someone who likes many of the animated classics, but even they weren't original.

 

[Millysaurusrexjr]

I think the only live-action remake I've seen was Beauty and the Beast; not a very memorable movie. I think they could have found someone better than Emma Watson for the role of Belle.

I'm getting more and more interested in seeing the live-action Little Mermaid though; in that video clip I really love the way they made her tail. I just hope the colors get amped up more.

But overall, live-action remakes are not my thing.

 

[Violet Witch]

I don't mind them and some of them like Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella were pretty good but then you had the CGI version of The Lion King and that was complete garbage. I'm curious to see the live action version of The Little Mermaid, however because Ariel is my favourite Disney character I'll be so annoyed if they change her love story with Prince Eric too much just so it can reflect the world we live in today etc.

 

[justina]

At first I was all about them because I loved the Maleficent movies and the Cinderella remake. Then I wasn’t too crazy about Beauty and the Beast despite that being one of my favorite Disney movies ever. I am pretty excited about The Little Mermaid!

 

[Mars Adept]

I’ve never seen a single one, and don’t plan on changing that. They’re an insult to not just the originals but the beauty of animation as a medium. I have trouble seeing any heart or soul in any of them. I only blame the executives for this, though. Most of the crew on these movies are just doing their job.

Then again, Disney’s recent animation output has been hit-or-miss, so perhaps that’s why these live-action remakes became so big, nostalgia and all. The good news is that things might be looking up with Strange Worlds and Wish, coinciding with Disney’s 100th anniversary celebration.

 

[princess.looking.for.frog]

they are fine. don't love them but don't hate them. I do like the Cinderella remake, it is quite good. same with Aladdin. I'm no movie critic and am easily pleased with movies though so. but yeah I think they are fine but new stories would be more interesting for sure

 

[DaCoSim]

Have always been such a Disney fan my whole life. (Fav movie of ALL time- OG Mary Poppins, fav Disney song of all time- Baby Mine). I have yet to see a live action remake that I’ve liked (though I haven’t seen a few of them after the burn from the lion king). I miss the original animated movies by far. Usually not #2, 3, …12 but the originals (with the exception of the toy story’s 1-3 which I think are masterpieces, though I realize are Pixar).

 

[Tao]

The live action Disney movies in their current state just need to stop.

My biggest issue with them is that they don't need to exist, they do little to nothing different from the original to justify them existing alongside the original. There's nothing unique or interesting about them other than they're "live action". Generally, they're just a worse way to experience the original movie. There isn't a single one thus far that I've thought is even remotely alright, they're just horrible.

The Lion King 2019 for example.

For one, it isn't live action and we need to stop pretending it is. That thing relies more on CGI than Monsters Inc.

The Lion King remake is awful in near every single aspect. The music is worse, the cinematography is worse, the magnificent looking shots and characterisation from the original are non existent. Absolutely no art direction with the failed excuse of "BUT LIVE ACTION" (which again, it just isn't). You wouldn't even be able to tell a lot of what the characters are supposed to be doing if you hadn't seen the original for reference. They've made baffling changes to certain scenes that just destroy the tone and impact of those scenes. The voice cast is awful, especially kid Simba's voice actor that butchers the songs and gives such out of place voice overs that are tone death to what emotion he's telling us he's supposed to be having...Hell, even James Earl Jones is absolutely dreadful in the movie, half of the time it sounds like he's confused, weak and doesn't know where he is, the rest it's literally just lines ripped out of the original movie. It's mind blowing that James Earl Jones is both the best and the worst Mufasa.

The Lion King remake is nothing but a steaming hot pile of crap.

But, what if rather than just remaking the original movie but worse...It was a live action retelling of the original movie, none of the animals talked and we instead had David Attenborough narrating the whole thing in the style of a nature documentary.

Would it be good? Who knows, probably not, it sounds way more entertaining in my head than it actually would be. Would it be better than what we actually got? Absolutely. At the very worst it would have a reason to exist alongside the original movie, it wouldn't just be a poor low quality tone deaf rehash of the original. It's an extreme example, yes, but if that version existed you could watch that and the original back to back and have two completely different experiences...Meanwhile if you watch the original and remake versions back to back now, you get the same experience twice but one is noticeably far worse.

And that's the thing, none of these movies have that reason to exist outside of the original. They only exist for the sake of existing, so that fans of the original will come and see it either for the nostalgia hit or to see how badly the messed it up. They want to just make it relevant again so they can push some more merch and remind people the originals exist.

"Remake" every movie for all I care but at least make it more unique than "this but in live action and worse". Focus on a different character, explore a different point of view or event, take the story somewhere new and interesting, have events happen differently from the last version, have the message at the end be something different and still meaningful. The Disney originals mostly aren't even original stories, they're all based on some fairytale or something and they weren't even accurate to those source versions. The animated originals aren't that accurate to the source material, why do the remakes need to be so accurate to the animated versions!?

Maleficent is another semi example of this. Not exactly a remake, not exactly good (I didn't like it) but regardless of what people think about the movie, it does something far more unique than a straight up live action scene for scene retelling of Cinderella ever would. I don't like the movie but I'm far more likely to watch Maleficent again than I am to ever even contemplate watching Lion King 2019.

 

[Jhine7]

Definitely not my favorite but doesn’t bother me.