Live-action remakes recycle the OG magic. Disney needs a plot twist

Indian Express

2 days ago

'If it ain't broke, why fix it?' seems to be the reigning sentiment in the era of Disney remakes. As the studio house takes apart its classics to reinvent, in some cases, and recreate its timeless stories, Disneyheads are not too impressed. Over the weekend, the live-action remake of Lilo and Stitch became the second-highest-grossing Hollywood release worldwide in 2025. Critics, however, have dismissed it as an 'unnecessary' and 'soulless copy' of the original 2002 film.
This comes on the back of the disastrous remake of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs that remained mired in controversy and outrage. The pushback begs the question: Are the audiences tired of Disney's needless attempts to revive its biggest hits? Has Disney lost its magic? And if so, can it be restored?
Disney's journey into the world of live-action has been tumultuous to say the least. The 1996 release 101 Dalmatians failed to capture the audience's imaginations. Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland (2010) bedazzled the audiences but received criticism for dispensing with the nonsensical pursuit of the original literature.
A turning point came in 2014 with the release of Maleficent, which strayed from the traditional fairy tale take, choosing instead to focus on the villain. The movie junked moral binaries to present a greyer protagonist.
What followed was a surplus of high-budget remakes of beloved stories like Cinderella (2015), The Jungle Book (2016), Beauty and the Beast (2017), Aladdin (2019), The Lion King (2019), Mulan (2020), and The Little Mermaid (2023). Some of these movies were huge hits, commercially and critically, while others failed to resonate with the fans.
At the heart of these remakes, however, is Disney's attempt to leverage nostalgia, recycling the original magic, which defined millions of childhoods, birthday themes, cakes, bedtime stories, and family time, into CGI-fuelled visions.
The kids who grew up watching Ariel comb her hair with a fork or Tramp and Lady share a spaghetti dinner are now adults, and still feel a connection. So, when Disney announces a remake, it's met with curiosity, even from sceptics. Will it be a failure or surpass the original animation? Despite mixed reviews from critics, these movies generally perform well in the long run because of their curiosity.
When done right, these remakes can be spellbinding and spectacular. Take The Jungle Book, for example. The Jon Favreau directorial was not just a skeleton of the original 1967 classic. It seamlessly blended CGI with the storyline, making the jungle and its inhabitants super realistic and even more expansive.
Disney tends to avoid risk, relying on an established fan base, which ensures pre-release buzz and merchandise sales, for guaranteed success. However, it doesn't always hit the mark.
Remakes like The Lion King, despite earning big, have been called visually unimpressive. While actor Will Smith delivered a great performance as Aladdin's genie, some felt he failed to match the charm of the original 1992 genie, voiced by the legendary Robin Williams. Meanwhile, a realistic CGI version of a warthog, meerkat and a lion cub singing 'Hakuna Matata' barely feels the same.
It's time Disney turned to overlooked films. Several 2000s releases flopped back then but now enjoy cult followings. With a diverse global audience demanding unique content, one could say the best time for these movies to shine as live-action remakes is now.
Take, for instance, The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), a film that tackled themes of identity, faith, and justice but was deemed too dark back then. A live-action version today could be both powerful and timely. A sci-fi rendition of Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, released in 2002 as Treasure Planet, was an ambitious project that could do better with today's technological advancements.
Rumours of a live-action remake of Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) never took fruition. But the film, inspired by the works of both Jules Verne and the art style of Mike Mignola, would make for a thrilling cinematic universe.
Unlike Snow White, these new movies won't be trying to make the stories into something they are not. Sleeper movies like these deserve a second chance rather than movies that have already proved their potential and set the bar in the first try.
Another live-action remake, Moana, will release next month, while Hercules is in the pipeline, and an Aladdin 2 is rumoured. Clearly, Disney's remake spree isn't slowing down anytime soon.
The Disney magic isn't dead. It's just buried, waiting to be rediscovered. To recapture it, the studio must take the necessary risks. While fans may groan at another remake, they will still show up. All they need is a reason to believe again.