Disney live-action remakes are those types of films that people love or hate depending on many different things such as the changes made in the plot, cast, songs present, etc. I try to keep an open mind but as more of them are released, I haven’t been as interested in them lately.
Although I made a long ranty post about how irritated I was about people’s harsh racist criticism toward the casting in The Little Mermaid remake, I ended up skipping that movie, not because of the casting, but because of different reasons such as changing the song lyrics.
Anyway, not all Disney remakes are bad, some of them are a hit, and some of them end up being even better than their original but it really all depends, so here are my favourite Disney live-action remakes so far.
Cinderella (2015)
I’m not going to lie, I’ve seen many different adaptations of Cinderella, and if I really had to choose, I’d say this one is actually better than the original. Why do I say that? Well for starters, I really like how it provides more backstory to Ella’s [Cinderella] life before Lady Tremaine and her daughters make their entrance.
The prince also has more character development as well rather than just being a blank slate of a character with only a few lines and there is more growth in his relationship with Ella when they meet before the ball. One of the things that the original has is way more footage of the mice eluding the cat Lucifer, likely for comedy purposes and to entertain children, whereas there isn’t as much focus on Cinderella herself.
Her dress is also stunning in the remake, it’s simple yet beautiful and no jewelry to complete it, all you need is butterflies and glitter. To add onto that, I also thought the ballroom dance scene was way better as it shows the chemistry continuing to grow between her and the prince as they dazzle the audience.
In this remake, the mice are still present but they don’t overtake the plot too much. Even so, I still watch the original from time to time but if I wanted to watch a Cinderella story with a more serious tone, then I would turn to the 2015 version first. It has more depth in the story but is still faithful.
The Jungle Book (2016)
I love the original version of this movie, but the remake really surprised me when I went to see it with my friends in the theater. One thing that really made me happy was its intro with the recognizable score and slow movement through the jungle before the plot begins. I really like a lot of the casting choices they made in this one like Bill Murray playing Baloo and Christopher Walken as King Louie. The latter’s performance gave the character a darker image, which I liked, as a gigantopithecus such as when he sings his number and pursues Mowgli in the tunnels.
I also like how Shere-Khan was given more backstory in this movie that explains his hatred for humans and pyrophobia. However, the only changes I wasn’t completely on board with were how Kaa was made female and the absence of the elephants which were hilarious in the original film but I guess you can’t always get what you want.
Aladdin (2019)
This remake was better than I thought. The original movie has a special place in my heart as one of my top five classic Disney flicks, but that doesn’t mean this remake is lacking anything.
Its strongest element was how Jasmine was a stronger character in this movie. Not that she wasn’t in the original, but I absolutely loved how in this remake, she gets her own song and my God it is an amazing song. When I was in the theatre watching this, she sang a softer version first which I thought was beautiful albeit brief and really hoped an extended version would come later. I got my wish as soon as it got to the scene where Jafar became Sultan and it was like time stopped as Jasmine began to sing the remainder of the song, with a more powerful sound, all in one take, and it gave me so many goosebumps, I was so happy! Also, I liked how she was set to inherit the throne rather than it being given to whoever she was married off to.
I was a bit skeptical about Will Smith playing the genie but it turns out I underestimated him. He did a great job and Robin Williams would have been proud. In fact, all of the songs in this remake were well done and gave me the same nostalgic feel.
As for Jafar, since he is one of my favourite Disney villains, I feel like he was given a much more serious image in this movie. In a way, it works a little with the film’s tone, but I think he needs to grow on me. One of my friends thinks this version of him is hot, no argument there. However, I’m too attached to the original version of him with Johnathan Freeman delivering the quirky and sinister iconic performance with that evil laugh that makes me gawk and then swoon before I start laughing with him.
Did any of these newer live action Disney films capture your attention? What are your favorites?
đź‘˝Emily
Monsterlady's Diary 