Disney has been making a lot of remakes over the years, but what do people actually think about these remakes? Disney made the live action version of The Lion King in 2019. When I watched The Lion King it was very cool to see one of my favorite movies as a kid come to life, but something about the live action just doesn’t feel right. The original cartoon gives this warm feeling that the remake didn’t. In the live action it was just really weird to see realistic animals try to mimic cartoon animals. The idea is very nice when you think about it but seeing it all play out on the screen just doesn’t feel how it felt seeing the original on the screen. “It kinda just ruined it, the “Live Action” was animated, just a bad take on the original.” Says Devin Mathis, grade 8.
The live action version of Beauty and the Beast came out in 2017. What made me watch it was not only because Belle is one of my favorite Disney princesses but because Disney had casted Emma Watson to play Belle. Seeing a familiar face did persuade me further to watch the movie. This version of Beauty and the Beast did not live up to my expectations. After watching the movie I didn’t get that feeling you get after watching a movie for the first time. It didn’t have any special feeling whatsoever; it was just a long, realistic, and boring version of the original. But despite it not living up to my expectations, out of all of the Disney remakes that have been made it would be one of the best they have done. “It was okay because at some parts the movie was boring (I fell asleep watching it.)” says Caliyah Harper, grade 8.
Disney came out with the live action Aladdin in 2019. I watched the original cartoon of Aladdin almost every year as a child. It was a beloved movie in our household and will always hold a special part in my heart, so when the live action came out I had to watch it. The songs in the remake were absolutely amazing and made the vibe of the movie astounding. Not to mention the outfits the characters wore were beautiful. Overall the live action of Aladdin has to be my second favorite Disney remake ever made. The only reason why it wasn’t first was because it had a lot of unnecessary scenes and storylines that Disney added to the live action that weakened any nostalgia I might have had while watching. “Not bad, the original was better, but the music was nice.” Says Devin Mathis, grade 8.
The live action Mulan was released into the world in 2020. Mulan was never really my favorite Disney character but I did think the plot of the story was pretty interesting. When watching the Mulan remake I did get a little bored. The movie didn’t really seem like a Disney movie and felt more like an historical fiction movie about china. Even though it got boring at times, Disney did add some characters and storylines that made it a little interesting. Disney also decided to make this remake without any of the original songs, though I do prefer non-musical movies, Disney movies are known for being musical which I think is why this version of Mulan felt very different than any other Disney movie. “It wasn’t as good as the original, like, where was Mushu?” Says Isabelle Milks, grade 8.
I have always hated Peter Pan growing up so when Disney made the live action of Peter Pan in 2023 I wasn’t looking forward to watching it. The movie was really boring and made no sense whatsoever. Disney completely changed every character’s personality. They somehow made Peter Pan even worse than before and made Wendy absolutely the most annoying character ever. Tinkerbell practically had no role in this movie. She was just kind of there just existing. The cartoon gave Tinkerbell personality and a backstory but the remake completely destroyed that for her. They added new characters that made no sense and it was super unrealistic even for a fantasy movie. Hook absolutely obliterated them toward the beginning and they ended up completely fine. I also don’t understand why they had girls in the lost boys. Their is no point in having the lost boys if your also going to have girls included. It also defeats the purpose Wendy was supposed to have. Wendy was supposed to be the only girl and probably the first girl any of the lost boys met and her being the only girl was a crucial role in the movie. Overall this movie was horrible and one of the worst movies Disney has ever made. “I didn’t really understand the movie.” says Mack Soffe, grade 8
Disney came out with the live action The Little Mermaid in 2023. While watching I noticed that the cgi for this movie was really bad and almost looked cartoonish which would defeat the whole purpose of making a live action remake. I also didn’t like the songs they added, the movie was already musical enough with the original songs so when they added more the musical aspect of the movie got very annoying. Another thing that I didn’t like about this movie was how everyone’s wardrobe contained at most 2 outfits. The last thing I didn’t like about this movie was that they ruined the whole thing where Ursula turns human to steal Eric from ariel. Vanessa(Ursula) only lasted like ten minutes and the challenge of Ariel getting her voice back wasn’t that hard and there was just no build up or suspense. I do have to admit that they did cast perfect actors and actresses for the role and they did make it feel a little like the original. Overall this movie was pretty bad and I wouldn’t necessarily recommend watching it.“The movie seemed rushed, the wardrobe consisted of basically two outfits, and it didn’t feel complete.” Says Q Bowers, grade 8
The live action Lady and The Tramp was released in 2019. My whole life I’ve always loved dogs and favorited them more than any animal, so of course lady and the tramp has always been one of my top favorite Disney movies, but after i watched the live action i was very disappointed. The cgi for the dogs talking was horrible and they also made the cats look very weird. Also the background in this movie was really empty and seemed like no one had ever lived there, like the streets and the cars had never been touched. They also changed Lady’s personality a little and I feel that they ruined the plot of the movie too. The plot of the movie was supposed to make you feel and see that dogs can be a little human too but instead they just made it feel cartoonish which Kind of ruins the whole point in making a live action version. Overall this movie wasn’t all that great and didn’t live up to my expectations. “It was alright, the original one is better.” Says Kai Denmon, grade 8
