When you think of Disney, you probably picture the classic animated films. The type of movies Disney has created in recent years has changed, however, and more and more of the animated classics are turning into live-action remakes. Some people enjoy this and some people don’t, but I think each remake stands on its own in regard to its success. Here’s how some of the remakes stand up to the originals (at least in my opinion). Caution: there may be spoilers if you haven’t seen these movies yet!
Alice in Wonderland (2010)
I think everyone expected an already-wacky movie to become an insanely wacky movie when they discovered Tim Burton was going to be the director. I would say that the remake definitely did live up to its expectations of Burton’s take on it.
Overall, the plot was pretty similar between the 1951 original and the 2010 remake. They are both colorful, trippy movies in their own way. The remake wasn’t well received (it only received a 6.5/10 from IMDb and a 52% from Rotten Tomatoes), but I don’t think it was that bad. Seeing the colorful world of Wonderland live rather than animated was a cool change, and the characters were much more exaggerated thanks to Tim Burton’s wild imagination. They probably didn’t need to make the sequel (which wasn’t as good because it was a different director anyway), but again, I still enjoy the depiction of Wonderland.
Winner: It’s a tie!
Maleficent (2014)
Maleficent isn’t a typical remake, but it offers a different point of view of the story of Sleeping Beauty. In the original Sleeping Beauty (1959), Maleficent is seen as this horrible villain who is just plain evil. In Maleficent, however, you discover the reason behind Maleficent’s evil ways and even start to feel bad for her.
While this is pretty dark for a Disney movie, it was done well. Angelina Jolie played a great Maleficent and it was cool to consider the story from a different perspective.
Winner: Maleficent (2014)
Cinderella (2015)
Cinderella is probably one of the most popular Disney princess movies. It originally debuted in 1950 and included plenty of catchy songs. While watching the remake, however, I noticed there weren’t any songs. There was background music, but none of the classic songs sung by characters. I figured they would at least have “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo” or “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes,” but nope. That was the most disappointing part for me.
Some of the characters in the remake were honestly just creepy. The Fairy Godmother first appears as a homely-looking old woman before turning into a more fitting image of a fairy. She isn’t the only creepy one though . . . the animals that are turned into servants/carriage drivers don’t seem to complete their transformations. The driver is originally a goose, and he still looks like a goose with a huge beak-like nose. Two little lizards are turned into footmen, and they really do not look like men. They still have sharp little teeth and beady eyes. *shudder*
Some of the other differences include Cinderella meeting the Prince before the ball. They just happen to run into each other in the woods, and neither reveals who they really are. There seemed to be more humor in the remake than in the animated version, which I enjoyed. Another difference was the fact that the stepmother and stepsisters end up admitting that the glass shoe does indeed belong to Cinderella, but she’s only a commoner, unlike them, so therefore she doesn’t matter.
Winner: Cinderella (1950)
The Jungle Book (2016)
In the original Jungle Book (1967), Bagheera finds Mowgli as a baby. He then gives him to the wolves for them to raise him. In the remake, the movie begins with Mowgli trying to race the wolves. How Bagheera finds him is later shown as a flashback. New (minor) characters are introduced right away in the remake (such as a porcupine who can’t get used to his quills).
A new subplot is also introduced soon after the movie starts. A bunch of different animals gather at a watering hole and it is understood that they will not attack each other due to the Water Treaty/Truce. This works out just fine until Shere Khan shows up. He discovers Mowgli and threatens to break the truce if Mowgli isn’t handed over to him because man does not belong in the jungle. In the original Mowgli is supposed to leave just in case Shere Khan discovers him. When his wolf pack is arguing about what should be done with Mowgli, he seems to understand what’s going on more in the remake than he does the original.
The remake seems darker and more realistic. There are natural disasters (mudslide and flooding) resulting in more animal deaths. An important addition relating to this is the “Red Flower,” which is what the animals call fire. In the end Mowgli accidentally ends up setting the jungle on fire because he feels pressured to bring fire to the animals.
Overall, the plot in the remake is just slightly different than in the original. The remake ends with Mowgli staying in the jungle rather than moving to a “man village” as he does in the original. I liked this ending better because it allowed Mowgli to remain with the animals he felt were his family.
Winner: The Jungle Book (2016)
Beauty and the Beast (2017)
Beauty and the Beast first came out in 1991. Upon rewatching it after seeing the live version, I noticed changes right away. In the live version it’s not mentioned that the rose will bloom until the Prince’s 21st birthday. Another difference I noticed was that Gaston doesn’t show his muscles at all in the remake. This surprised me since he shows them off every chance he gets in the original. There’s also the added subplot (if you want to call it that) in the remake of LeFou being gay, but that isn’t explicitly revealed until the very end. Belle also portrays some inventor characteristics as she finds a new way to do her laundry.
There are quite a few differences with Belle in the castle as well. In the original, the Beast seems much gentler to her when she first gets there. He offers her a room while the servants get her a room behind the Beast’s back in the remake. The remake added a special trip to Paris as well as a harpsichord character; I thought these were both good choices. One other major change is the fact that Lumiere, Cogsworth, and everyone else actually turn permanently into their furniture selves while the spell turns everyone back right away in the original.
Many will probably disagree with me over the fact that the remake is better, and that’s fine. I just enjoyed the added special effects that a live-action film has that an animated film does not. They both tell good versions of the same story, but the remake just has a little bit more to it.
Winner: Beauty and the Beast (2017)
Whether this is good or bad news depends on your opinion of the remakes, but Disney will be remaking 19 of its animated movies in the next few years. I’m sure that some will be great, maybe even better than the originals, as has already happened, but I’m not so sure how the others will be . . . how could a live-action The Lion King be better than the original? We’ll just have to wait and see what the magic of Disney can do!