In recent years, Hollywood has seen a surge in remaking classic animated films into their live-action counterparts. Iconic movies such as The Lion King, Mulan, Aladdin, Cinderella, and Pinocchio have already been remade as part of this initiative, to name a few. With Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Lilo & Stitch set to premiere in 2025 along with Moana in 2026, Disney doesn’t seem to show any signs of slowing down anytime soon (Screen Rant). These reimaginings have sparked passionate discussions among audiences, with the most important question being: do these live-action remakes truly bring back the magic of the classics?
While the remakes promise new light and may seem enticing, they tend to fall short of the originals. Many would agree that these films are unnecessary and even risk diminishing the charm of our once-favorite stories.
Of course, wrapped up in all this is the nostalgia factor. Animated classics have a unique ability to bring back happy memories from our childhood. Imaginative storytelling, bright colors, and dramatic expressions characterize animation and capture the magic of it. Often, when studios try to translate these into live-action, that magic is lost. The hyper-realism of live-action strips away this depth of the classics. These remakes fail to pay homage to nostalgic value, leaving audiences disappointed.
Many have also questioned Disney’s ability to come up with new ideas. As an entertainment giant, Disney is expected to be creative and innovative, with new, fresh stories that appeal to modern audiences. However, this campaign of turning animations into live-action seems to indicate that Disney is more focused on relying on old successes. With such a fixation on these past films, there is little room for new and exciting stories.
Gavin Esqueda (10), a Disney enthusiast, shares, “Though seeing the movies I watched as a little kid being transformed into 3D is relatively cool, it just lacks so much creativity. Instead of making new and exciting stories, they’re just recycling old ones. There’s nothing new nor creative about them.” He also describes this notion as a “cash grab,” which is a common complaint among other people as well.
More often than not, these films fail to capture what made the originals great. Rather than attempt to reimagine animated classics, studios should instead work on new stories that appeal to today’s audiences. The legacy classic animations have left can never be replicated, and we must honor their originality rather than overshadow them with remakes.
