Ouch. That’s all I have to say for the debut of the live-action Moana, as it nabbed the top spot this past weekend, but with a relatively meager $95 million worldwide.
Now, to put things into perspective, the movie reportedly had a production budget of up to $250 million, which means that it has a steep uphill climb, especially with The Odyssey coming this weekend (Different audiences, but still), and Spider-Man: Brand New Day just around the corner. So, does this spell the end for future live-action Disney adaptations?
Well, no, because we still have Tangled coming, as well as Hercules. However, if Moana’s failure proves anything, it’s that popular animated movies don’t necessarily make for successful live-action ones. So, here’s what I think Disney can do to right this ship.
Perhaps They Should Go Back To More Obscure Classics Like Pete's Dragon
Quite recently, I wrote about how Disney should make a live-action adaptation of Big Hero 6, and I am now ten toes down on that opinion after seeing Moana flop at the box office. That’s because everybody and their mother has already SEEN the original Moana, so why would they rush out of their houses to watch a live-action version of it? If anything, I think most people would just be of the mindset to wait for it to come to Disney+ since they literally already have Moana at home.
No, what Disney should do if they want people to get excited for these live-action adaptations again is to go back to the more obscure Disney movies, like Pete’s Dragon. Because while the 2016 live-action movie wasn’t a behemoth at the box office (it made a little over $143 million worldwide), it only had a production budget of $65 million, so it still made a profit.
This is what making more obscure adaptations can do - it can give Disney the freedom to have a stricter budget, since the audience might not have seen the original, so they don’t have anything to compare it to.
Just off the top of my head, here are some other “obscure” Disney cartoons that could make for some interesting live-action adaptations: Treasure Planet, The Emperor’s New Groove, Oliver & Company, The Sword in the Stone, and Bolt, just to name a few. Personally, I would definitely leave the house to see any one of those. Wouldn’t you? No, well, here’s another suggestion then…
Maybe Disney Can Try Not To Make Remakes So Close To The Originals
Anybody with eyes could have told you what Disney was going for with the recent Moana, as it was pretty much just a shot-for-shot, live-action recreation of the original, and who wants that? Yes, I know some people think movies like The Little Mermaid or Snow White went too far off the beaten path with their adaptations. Maybe something more like Aladdin, which took a creative risk with Will Smith as the Genie, is where these live-action movies should be heading.
So, maybe something different, but not TOO different is what I’m saying. For example, casting Dwayne Johnson as a live-action version of a character he voiced in the animated version just isn’t going to cut it, as why would anybody feel the need to see a whole movie of that when you already get the gist of what that would be like from the trailer?
Honestly, I’d rather we didn’t get more live-action versions of already popular animated movies, but if Disney’s going that route, then they might as well try something different to get us into the theaters. That’s all I’m saying.
What do you think? Do you feel Disney can turn things around with these live-action movies without adding Stitch to the mix? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
