I've Been A Big Hater Of Disney's Live Action Remakes, But After Snow White, I Feel Like There's An Easy Way To Fix It

So Disney is taking a break from live-action remakes, and I have to say I’m not too surprised.

I’m the kind of girl who grew up watching Disney as if it were the air I needed to breathe. Switching on Disney Channel was like switching on my own personal oxygen tank. I’m pretty sure my parents, at some point, knew all the theme songs by heart of every single show, or all the Disney soundtracks as well, and not willingly.

But when these Disney live-action remakes started to happen, I had a feeling that they were either going to go terribly wrong or they would do really well. And…so far it’s been a pretty big mixed bag where I’d say about 60% of the time you get something that’s not too great. And I’ve regularly talked about this pretty consistently on this website.

However, I actually have something I need to say about this change Disney is making—one that I think a lot of people will agree with. If they were to continue, there’s an easy way to fix these Disney live-action movies, so let’s get into it.

I Haven’t Always Been A Supporter Of Disney Live-Action Remakes

So, before I give you my reasoning, my truth must speak first – I’ve been a hater of these live-action movies in the past. In fact, I literally just wrote an article about how I’m sick of them, and while I think Lilo and Stitch might be the outlier, most don’t entertain me anymore.

When the first movies began to release years ago, there was a lot to love, mainly because they were new and exciting. Oh, Disney is releasing its best animated movies, but they’re going to be live-action now with pretty stars and beautiful visuals and everything? That sounds exciting!

But at the end of the day, most ended up becoming half-baked remakes that tried to be something new when the blueprint is right there. I used to love them. Truly, I did. But over time, they just diminished in quality to the point where we ended up getting Snow White…and while I do believe Rachel Zegler is still the perfect Snow White because she has the voice of an angel, the rest of the movie was just…not that great.

However, I’ve been thinking a lot about this, and I know what to do with these live-action films if Disney were to keep making them. The solution is simple, really.

But If You Just Pay Attention To The Source Material, People Will Enjoy It

Literally.

It’s. That. Easy. Just go to the source material.

Do you want to know why so many of the original live-action films did so well? They didn’t try to reinvent the wheel. They stuck to the material that most everyone and their mother knew because it’s Disney. These are the stories that we have grown up with, the tales that our parents told us to fall asleep to, and then took us to the theatre to see. Why would we want to see them changed?

Honestly, I’m not even talking entirely about the Disney versions. I’m talking about the actual story that the movies are based on. I feel that with so many of these adaptations, they’ve been trying to work in different aspects of pop culture and modern-day political stances, and so much more, that it’s lost the magic that these tales once had.

Are there certain things that need to be changed? Of course. These are older stories, and some things haven’t aged well. But most are still fine. The source material is fantastic and well-loved for a reason. Why change it?

If You’re Going To Redo The Movie, Recreate What You Know Fans Love

This is the biggest thing, though—if you’re going to recreate the movie, recreate what you know the fans already love. Recreate the scenery, the dresses, and the themes that we all understand because the last thing we want is some new message shoved down our throats that wasn’t already there in the first place.

Sure, this begs the question of why these live-action films even need to be made, but honestly, I don’t find it terribly unethical to remake the movie. I actually think it’s pretty par for the course because animation is such a fantastic medium of film that it makes sense people would want to create a live-action version of certain films to test the powers of technology and all that.

And if Disney is going to move in that direction, then why not stick with the same story that we all know? If you want to change a few aspects, that’s fine, which is precisely what Cinderella did. The 2015 film from Disney isn’t an exact adaptation of the original film – it’s actually considered another adaptation of the original story. Still, it hits the same story beats as the animated film.

There are a few changes that really make the movie stand out, from how Cinderella and the prince first meet to what happens after the ball. These changes add depth and emotion to the story without taking away its key themes, which is how I feel many other Disney live-action remakes have done.

Personally, I think Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid are the only other two live-action remakes that have relatively kept the same theme and plot, and maybe that’s because they’re so beloved. But it feels like the other ones have tried to change too much – or, in The Lion King’s case, not that much at all, and instead feed us the most lifeless “live-action” CGI animals in history.

Yeah, that film should have just stayed animated.

Don’t Try Too Hard To Make Additions

I think my last major point would be that while it’s okay to make slight changes to the story in order to fit more into it, you don’t need to try so hard to make additions at all. They should really only be there if the story makes sense to have them there.

For example, I actually like “Evermore” from Beauty and the Beast. I think it adds a lot more depth to Beast’s character and adds more humanity to the story overall. But notice how the movie itself is the same kind of story as the film. They didn’t try to push new themes down your throat or anything else. It was just Beauty and the Beast with the addition of a new song.

That is how it’s supposed to be, and what other live-action Disney remakes need to take from this.

I don’t know, maybe I’m sticking up for Disney a little hard, but I feel like there is a secret pathway to success with these films. I think it really is just as easy as listening to the fans and creating movies that have the stories we all know and love.

Every person nowadays is trying to sell something to you, whether it’s physical, emotional, or whatever. Too many people have too much access to preaching their ideas over and over, and the last thing we want is to see that in a movie that we all know, something the original never had. If we’re going to be watching a film that we all know and love, make the movie that we know and love.

If you want to make changes, fine, make a few subtle changes. But if you’re going to change the entire storyline, don’t call it an adaptation of the movie, because that is where you will lose fans, time and time again.

Okay, rant over. I think I need to rewatch some old Disney movies to calm down. It's time for a marathon.