#disney live actions remakes

[airasora]

OO if you have a min I'd love to know your opinions regarding the other live action remakes? Personally I actually quite liked beasts live action design and the cinderella dress! (tho i do wish it wasn't blue)

Ok, so since there's a lot of remakes, I'll go through them super quickly or else this will be a VERY long post, so hold on to your hats!

Cinderella (2015)

While the Cinderella remake was a visually pleasing film (seriously, the costumers and overall aesthetic and look of everything was such a joy to look at) it did not fix my main issue, which is with the main character whom has no personality outside of her actual story line. An interesting story does not make for an interesting character. And for the people saying they DID "fix" Cinderella in the remake, I will ask you to watch this video, or specifically from 17:24 to 22:11 where NC points out every single issue I have with the remake Cinderella in comparison to OG Cinderella.

The Jungle Book (2016)

I overall enjoyed the movie for what it was, I find it very awe-inspiring with its just one actual actor - who is honestly really good considering he's acting off of NOTHING basically - and not amazing effects, but good enough. However, it has three big changes that I heavily dislike which is the beginning, the third act breakup and the ending.

Why oh why would you NOT use the story's original beginning? It does everything a beginning should: it introduces you to its characters, their relationships and the way the world works while also making you connect with them almost immediately. Why the ever loving HELL did they switch that out with an overused trope with a basic ass fakeout that, instead of showing you, it TELLS YOU how it all happened. There is absolutely no reason for it and it's lazy.

Third-act breakups are also extremely lazy, and more often than not make no sense or makes the character look like idiots. Having Baloo lie to Mowgli about not actually seeing him as a friend to make him want to go to the village to get away from Shere Khan is the dumbest fucking thing cause he could just, you know, TELL HIM THE TRUTH. Mowgli in the remake, at this point, has already MET Shere Khan, he KNOWS how dangeorus he is. There is NO REASON for Baloo to lie to Mowgli. None whatsoever.

And the ending... what the actual living hell is the message of the story when Mowgli STAYS in the jungle??? Original message is that sometimes you can't stay where you want to be in order to grow as a person, and you have to make sacrifices for the greater good and go where you can evolve. By having Mowgli stay in the jungle, its audience learns nothing and Mowgli doesn't develop as a character. He literally just stays where he already was, only difference is he now has a bear friend.

Sidenote: WTF did they do to Kaa...

Beauty and the Beast (2017)

It's gonna be easier to just bullet point this one:

Love most of the new songs

Emma Watson can't sing, why the fuck can't she sing, hire someone who can sing if they're gonna sing, I can't believe that has to be said

Their attempt at explaining plot holes in the OG just creates new plot holes

Despite the movie being longer, Belle and the Beast has LESS chemistry and what are important scenes for them are shortened and replaced by new scenes that DO NOT give them as much chemistry as the OG

The Beast is hot, I don't care what anyone says

This is an unpopular opinion, but I liked Belle's dress solely because it looks more like a dress a girl like Belle would choose for herself. Is it boring as sin though in comparison to the OG one, though? Yes

I do like that Gaston is a bit more fleshed-out, he almost convinced me he liked Belle's personality as well just a bit, and not just her looks

HOW do you have Belle's dad talk about her mother, just after Belle says the other townsfolk think she's odd, and NOT have him tell her that her mom was odd as well??? That scene could have melted my cold, cynical heart and instead they go with "fearless" - fuck off

I have more, but it'll get too long.

Aladdin (2019)

Aladdin can't act or sing worth shit, how the HELL is it a theme that some of the Disney remake actors can't act or sing sometimes? Not gonna lie, I didn't realize how poor his singing was until A Whole New World and he had to sing with Naomi Scott and my jaw legit dropped because I realized how horrible he sounded by comparison. He also shows ZERO remorse that he has to go back on his promise to Genie about using his final wish to set him free, hell he even looks smug about it. What the ever loving hell is that about?

Also... jam. Never thought I'd hate jam.

The Lion King (2019)

This remake is the only one I've hated so much that I actually sat down and made a video about it on my Ayla Sky YouTube channel. Imma have to refer you to that cause I can't possibly condense all of my hatred in a short tumblr post.

Lady and the Tramp (2019)

I actually think this one was fine. Nothing really pissed me off and it's an overall nice movie. It was very inoffensive. It's nothing spectacular, but it's probably the least blood-boiling remake ever.

Mulan (2020)

... *sigh*

Mulan doesn't work hard to become a good soldier, she's just born cool cause she got chi

Team claims they wanted to make it more adult and therefore removed Mushu and the songs and made it more realistic and yet they add a SHAPE-SHIFTING WITCH

Mulan has no feelings or thoughts at any point whatsoever

THE TRAILER TRICKED ME

The way the villain dies is still one of my favorite, corny, over the top deaths I've ever seen. I legit got a stomach ache from laughing so hard

That's the last one of the bigger remakes I've seen. I've watched the Maleficent movies, Cruella, Alice in Wonderland movies and also the old 101 and 102 Dalmatian remakes from the late 90s and early 2000s, but they're not quite in the same group as these ones in the same way. But if you want to hear my thoughts on these two, let me know and I'll share!

I haven't watched Dumbo, Pinocchio, Peter Pan & Wendy nor The Little Mermaid yet so I have no opinions on those right now except I am cautiously optimistic about TLM :)

[actual-haise]

[dareduffie]

when will people learn that live-action remakes will never be good as their original animated counterparts because the glory of animation is the colour, movement, and fantasy that's just untranslateable to live-action

[handsomelyerin]

they're so tarzan and jane core

[madame-helen]

[snowyfrostshadows]

So.

We went from this for Starclan Cats:

To.

This:

Biggest downgrade of my life.

[artist-issues]

Let’s talk about this Mufasa movie.

No. Let’s not. Let’s just talk about Mufasa. This is going to be long because he’s a really good character and The Lion King is a really good movie.

Mufasa’s whole point, as a character, is to foil Simba. He’ s not just the stereotypical “great dad role model” character, or the “wise mentor who is ripped away” character.

He, as a character, is in the story because he is “Who Simba Really Is.”

Simba is our young protagonist. The whole point of Simba in the story is to start out “not yet grown into who he really is,” so that the story can teach him how to “grow into who he really is.”

So the audience needs to know “who is Simba and who is Simba supposed to be?” right at the beginning. Which is great, because all kids are trying to figure out the same question about themselves. So it’s relatable. But anyway, the storytellers make Mufasa the answer.

On a simple level, you can answer the question, “who is this Simba guy?” right off the bat in the movie with “the son of the King.” There’s the setting. There’s the set-up. There’s the title of the movie. That’s why the very first lion you’re introduced to in the movie is Mufasa, and it’s not a shot of a baby lion cub. It could have been. Lots of movies open with a shot of their main character. Encanto, for one.

Not The Lion King. The Lion King starts with, “you can’t know who Simba is without Mufasa, so Mufasa gets shown first.”

So okay, Mufasa is a King. Good to know. That’s obvious from the big rock he’s standing on and the way all the animals are coming toward him. But from there, they quickly establish a few more things about Mufasa. He smiles at this little bird that bows to him. He hugs the shaman-monkey. He goes from “big solemn lion” to “good and benevolent” immediately.

And then as it goes on, you learn more about Mufasa. He’s not an idiot; he knows Scar is up to no good, and he is very direct about it. He is not a naive dupe, trusting a schemer blindly. It’s more complicated than that. He is a better leader and a better guy than that. Mufasa knows Scar is his brother, and in a snappy little interaction with Zazu, storytellers make it clear that he worries about Scar; he knows he has good reason to worry, but hasn’t decided to give up on his brother.

Additionally, he is merciful to other dark creatures too. He beats the tar out of hyenas but doesn’t kill them. He rescues Zazu from Scar’s mouth. He scolds Simba but he does that, and more, to teach him. So what Mufasa is teaching us, according to what I just showed you the story says, is that A Good King, A Good Man (Lion, whatever) Is:

Authoritative - Makes decrees and makes decisions and yes, tells others what to do. Creates the structure his people live in.

Kind/Humble - Shows the same level of casual friendship to a revered shaman-recluse as he does a little self-important majordomo. (Humble because he’s not afraid to admit when he’s afraid if it’ll help his son.)

Teaches - Takes time out of the day to pass on what he’s learned to someone who is going to take his place—he’s not hoarding his own position or gatekeeping his life-experience-expertise. He’s not finding his identity in how he has this wealth of information that causes people to need him; he gives it away freely, purposefully.

Protects - Is willing to endanger himself and go to the trouble of defending creatures that are weaker than himself.

Shows Mercy - See Scar and the hyenas, who deserve death, but he doesn’t give it to them.

Prioritizes Family - The time he’s taking out of the day is for his son. And he follows up with his recluse of a brother instead of going, “that’s Scar, I know he don’t care about nobody but himself, his loss, not my problem.” And he extends trust to that brother, which is really just an example of gift-giving to a family member who’s done nothing to keep that trust.

Has Faith - Mufasa makes a point of not answering Simba’s question about “Will you always be there for me,” with just himself. He could’ve. Many parents do. Many parents are tempted to, to show their love. “Yes. You’ll always have me. I’ll always be there to answer your questions; I’ll always protect you, I’ll always be what you can count on, you’ll always find a need fulfilled in me.” But Mufasa doesn’t take that bait. He gives Simba an answer that is not “himself-based.” Not selfish. “Look at the stars.” I don’t care what ya’ll say. Mufasa has faith in something outside of himself. He says “and so will I,” but that’s after contextualizing himself within “something bigger than us.” (And oh my gosh, he doesn’t even answer with, “let me give you a lesson you’ll need for your whole life.” He doesn’t even take credit for this faith, for himself. He gives his own father the credit.)

And really, all of those traits can be summarized with the phrase: Lives His Life Sacrificially For Others.

That’s what a leader, a good father, a king, a good man, does. And pay attention: That is what Simba is supposed to be. Simba is supposed to be Mufasa. That’s who Simba really is, that’s where he’s supposed to go. There is a “real you.” But you have to agree with it and accept it, even though your natural bent is to give in to the illusion that you “don’t have to be that, you can choose who you are.”

Yeah, sure, in a sense you can reject Who You Really Are. You can spend your whole life playing pretend, like you’re not That. But you’ll be doing just that: playing pretend. Unfulfilled. Dissatisfied. Running from the misery that is the natural response to your silly game of pretend. Insisting that “there is no misery, this is what I want.”

Okay. Sure it is.

I’ll save Simba for another post.

The point is, Mufasa is a template for who Simba Really Is. Look at those traits. When it’s Simba’s turn to exemplify those traits, does he?

Act I: Is he authoritative? He tells characters what to. And he makes his own decisions—sometimes for good, sometimes bad. For example, he won’t let Zazu deter him from going to the elephant graveyard, so that’s a bad decision, but he does choose to go back and help Nala instead of running to save himself. Authoritative and protective. But it’s all misplaced because he doesn’t “Live His Life Sacrificially For Others.”

Act 2: He’s not. Timon and Pumbaa tell him to do something and he goes along with it. Timon and Pumbaa claim an ancient tradition and his father’s lesson is stupid and Simba goes along with that. He’s no longer making decisions of his own accord, for anything but his own comfort.

The idea is, in Act 1, you see Simba has the same traits as Mufasa, budding inside of him. But they’re all misdirected, and they’re all twisted, because they’re missing one key ingredient: he’s supposed to use those traits in the context of “Live His Life Sacrificially For Others.” Simba doesn’t want to do that. Simba wants to do whatever he wants.

Sure, there’s a part of him that combines that motive with “I want to be like my dad.” But that part dies on the vine and turns sour when his father dies saving him.

So then in Act 2, not only is Simba clinging to “I’m going to live life all my way,” but he’s changed what that means by pushing the nugget of “I want to be like my dad/I WANT TO BE WHO I REALLY AM” completely away. Because it’s too hard, and he’s got shame tangled up in it.

And worse—he starts doing basically the opposite of all of Mufasa’s traits, all of the traits that make him Who He Really Is. He’s not prioritizing family—he’s abandoning them. He’s not protecting others—he runs from the idea of going back to help Nala. (tiny glimmer of it still being inside him because he does try to protect Pumbaa from her.) Kind and humble? No. It’s unkind to tell your best friend you won’t help her because you’re afraid. Humble, no, because humility is thinking of yourself less, not thinking less of yourself.

Ask the question. When Simba’s living in the jungle with Timon and Pumbaa, is he exemplifying any of the traits of Who He Really Is? Or is he doing his best to bury that?

But then after Mufasa reminds him of who he Really Is, and Rafiki shows him how to get his past out of the way so he can accept it, Simba goes back. Into Act 3 we go

Now. Does Simba exemplify Mufasa’s traits? Does Simba start becoming Who He Really Is? There’s not a lot of time left in the movie. Look at the traits, see if he does.

Authoritative? Yep, comes up with the plan to break in and get to Scar, doesn’t back down from the confrontation.

Kind and Humble? Yeah, he willingly admits the truth (he thought it was true) that makes him look bad to give his mom closure. He’s kind to Nala and to Timon and Pumbaa, admits his mistakes, when they come to help him. Hugs the old shaman who cracked him in the skull with a stick—just like Mufasa hugged Rafiki to show us kindness and humility at the beginning of the movie.

Teaches? We don’t really see an opportunity for him to do that yet at this point in the story and his life, give me a break.

But protects? You bet. That’s why he’s there for the confrontation in the first place. Shows mercy?

Yep.

Because he’s not like Scar. He knows who he is. THE POINT.

And when he runs in for the big confrontation, he doesn’t immediately leap on Scar and rip him to pieces. Even though the storytellers make sure to show us he clearly wants to.

Instead, he runs up to his mother to see if she’s all right and show her that he is. And again, he tells her the truth because that’s what she needs even if it’s not what she wants, and he’s learned not to run from what he’s “done.” And faith in something bigger than himself?

Yeah. His father’s voice comes through the clouds just before he decides to roar and claim his title. Through the clouds. Because that whole “we’re a part of something bigger, something more important than ourselves,” was always what he was missing. He was just thinking about himself.

And all of this is because Mufasa is the example of Who Simba Really Is: Lives His Life Sacrificially For Others. That’s Mufasa.

That’s Mufasa, in the story of The Lion King. That’s his purpose as a character, that’s who he is.

So now if you make a movie that’s just about him, what you should be doing is showing how he got there. How he accepted who he Really Is instead of choosing who he wants to be, on his own. And you should make his father, and learning humility, an enormous part of that. Because self-sacrifice is such a pillar of his character. It’s the whole thing.

What you should certainly not be doing is telling a story that ends with finding self-worth or a kid who makes a name for himself. I repeat: if the Mufasa live action movie ends with Mufasa doing anything that revolves around self, they got him wrong and they set him up nonsensically for the next movie.

He should have to decide whether or not he wants to believe his own father, because of that one line, “let me tell you something my father told me.” That shows that he accepted his father’s lesson. And what was his father’s lesson about? Faith. In something BIGGER THAN YOURSELF. So then Mufasa grows up to be a character who lives his life sacrificially for others, and you can trace the roots back to that: “I learned a lesson about something bigger than myself from someone who was not myself, and I humbly believed and accepted that lesson.”

I mean jeez, the line is: “LOOK AT THE STARS.” Whenever you feel alone. Whenever you’re wrapped up in who you are and who you’re not and failure and the idea of what you want to be, knock it off. Quit looking at yourself and look at something bigger than you. And then you’ll get “Understanding of Who You Really Are”—no matter what mistakes you’ve made, no matter how you’ve failed, no matter what your circumstances are—thrown in.

…Of course, the Lion King remake ruined him anyway by having the point be “I’m not worthless.” And that was never the point. But whatever. I’m rambling now. You get the idea.

Mufasa is exactly what he needs to be for the original The Lion King. He’s exactly what he needs to be for Simba’s story. Mufasa is awesome.

[dommnics]

2021 - 2024

Some more Snow White's (with birbs) I've done over the years!

--

Check out more of my work on other platforms!

My Instagram -- My Twitter

[youruinedmylifebynotbeingreal]

Inspired by (x)

[weirdly-specific-but-ok]

just realised there's a very, very real possibility that there will one day be a Cars live action remake.

so.

that... that sure is a thought.

[yen-sids-tournament]

Mulan: Animated (1998) v Live Action (2020)

You do not have to see both to vote, but it might have been helpful.

Feel free to share opinions or explanations with comments/tags/rbs

[toaverse]

Upcoming Disney movies to expect:

Inside Out 2

Toy Story 5

Zootopia 2

Frozen 3

Frozen 4

Cars 4

Moana 2

Live action Lilo and Stitch

Live action Moana

Live action Snow White

Live action Mufasa prequel

Live action Bambi

Live action Hercules

What the fuck is this??!!

[nikibogwater]

If Disney is so dead-set on pumping out these live-action remakes and sequels to remakes, then where's my live-action remake of Cinderella III: A Twist in Time? I want Cate Blanchet bending the laws of the universe while dramatically snarling "Bibbity bobbity boo!" I want undercover Lily James on a stealth mission in the palace with her mice. I want Richard Madden yeeting himself out of a second story window to chase down his true love. If you're gonna commit to this whole live-action remake thing, then you'd better freaking commit.

[petr1kov]

netflix's avatar really encapsulates everything about the live-action remake trend that has been going on for years. it has nothing new to say, nothing to add in relation to the original work, so it tries to mask that emptiness with an attempt to correct perceived 'mistakes' made by the original work in order to validate its own existence -- except these 'mistakes' are often just character flaws that were intentionally put on the show in order to be explored and generate conflict (the most obvious example of this being the removal of sokka starting the series with sexist beliefs he's forced to confront, and that being replaced with a whole bunch of nothing).

but since correcting mistakes is the only real guide they have when adapting the story, it results in something even worse, which is a fear of making the good guys appear morally questionable in any way. so even other traits that cannot really be described as straight up character flaws (the way sokka's misogyny is) but that may make the character appear unsympathetic to the audience get sanded down. aang is in a serious quest that may cost the lives of thousands of people depending on how it goes, so the audience might find it inappropriate if he seems too goofy and carefree, right? it might seem like he doesn't care, so let's tone that down. katara might come across as bossy and annoying to some people if she expresses worry and jealousy over how fast aang learns waterbending, so let's just remove that plot point entirely since we want the audience to like her. etc etc, so on and so forth, until we have two cardboard cutouts where the original characters should be.

[cherrybombfangirl]

Ok say what you will about Maleficent (2014) as a remake or whether it’s a good villain ‘origin story’ or not or how it’s a flawed retelling or whatever-

But, this movie is always going to have a special place in my heart as and AroAce person. Like, not only does the ‘main romance’ get maybe five minutes of screen time total and becomes a little red herring and mostly irrelevant, BUT the movie also has a huge focus on the platonic love and relationship between Maleficent and Aurora, AND on top of that, it’s that platonic love that saves Aurora from the sleeping curse at the end, not the romantic relationship.

Right now that might not seem very revolutionary, but back in 2014, fantasy and fairytale movies, and ones coming from Disney no less- having a story like this was a huge deal, especially to me as an Aromatic and Asexual person.

I remember when the movie first came out I was 11 or 12 (hadn’t discovered the queer community or the terms aro or ace yet) and starting to realize my peers were having crushes and such and felt confused and alone that I didn’t- and then this movie came out and so many of the people around me were baffled by the idea of a non-romantic love taking center stage and saving the day in a fairytale movie from Disney. I swear I watched this movie so many times during that age because it helped me feel that maybe, just maybe I wasn’t broken for not being interested in romance.

~

(context: I’m rewatching the movie and when I dove into the tag for this movie on tumblr, I was severely disappointed that no one was talking about this specifically and mostly had negative things to say about the movie overall)

[marzipanandminutiae]

live-action remakes or animated movies don't suck because live action is Inherently Less Magical And Awe-Inspiring or whatever other nonsense people like to spew. Guillermo del Toro doesn't turn out an absolutely breathtaking live-action sci-fi/fantasy/horror/thriller movie with incredible practical effects every few years for this anti-live-action ingratitude

no, they suck because the ones that currently exist are 99% soulless Disney cash-grabs with very little love or heart to them, where the geuninely talented artists working on them were hamstrung by the company's corner-cutting