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Indian Express
18 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Live-action remakes recycle the OG magic. Disney needs a plot twist
'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.
Time of India
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
When Dulquer Salmaan shared throwback safari memories with wife Amal Sufiya from Kruger and Ranthambore
Malayalam star and his wife Amal Sufiya are known for their love of travel. Throwback to the time when Dulquer took to social media to share a heartwarming video from their past safari vacations, giving followers a peek into their memorable trips together. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Kruger and Ranthambore adventures The video, which quickly caught the attention of fans, features stunning moments from their journeys to Kruger National Park in South Africa and Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan. Dulquer described his experience at Kruger as 'like stepping into The Lion King,' while Ranthambore reminded him of 'stepping into The Jungle Book.' His playful hashtags—#throwback, #otherworldly, #safarijunkies, #ranthambore, #tigerspot, #steppingintomyfavbooks, #dQnA, and #decadeofdecadence show just how much these trips meant to him and Amal. In the caption he wrote, "If Kruger was like stepping into The Lion King, then Ranthambore was like stepping into The Jungle Book." The couple's safari adventures are filled with glimpses of wildlife, breathtaking landscapes, and candid moments together, making it clear that they cherish exploring the world side by side. Their throwback video has inspired many fans to revisit their own travel plans and consider embarking on a safari with their loved ones. On the work front Dulquer Salmaan was last seen in the Telugu film 'Lucky Bhaskar'. The film is a period crime drama directed by Venky Atluri. The film has been honoured with the Third Best Feature Film award at the inaugural Gaddar Film Awards 2024. The ceremony is scheduled to take place on June 14 in Hyderabad. He is working on his next Telugu film 'Aakasam Lo Oka Tara'. Directed by Pavan Sadineni it is an aspirational drama featuring music by GV Prakash Kumar.
Scotsman
2 days ago
- Politics
- Scotsman
Robert Jenrick wants to 'shame' fare-dodgers - where was this sense of duty from Tories in government?
Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Robert Jenrick has been busy since the Tories were unceremoniously booted out of office for making us all poorer. The man, who held numerous ministerial positions in government, now spends his time like a freshly cancelled celebrity - complaining about wokery and making social media videos. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick confronting suspected fare dodgers at Stratford train station in east London. | Robert Jenrick on X (Twitter) This week the Conservative MP did so at a London tube station, confronting commuters for not paying, following them and shoving a camera in their faces, all in a desperate bid to smear London mayor Sadiq Khan. Having finished his Batman cosplay, the perennial Tory leadership contender then warned about society being chipped away at, citing crime, and, er, 'weird Turkish barber shops'. While rational onlookers can recognise this Alan Partridge-esque performance as a desperate attempt at attention - which he's getting - there were also plaudits that despite the format, he was right. Pundits lined up to say only the right recognised issues with a divided society, and he was raising a salient point about social fracture. Former Tory leadership contender Robert Jenrick Ignoring the fact that fare dodging in London has actually fallen, the notion that a Conservative minister in the last government has any authority on divisions in society is absolutely laughable. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Few have done more to break down society than ministers in the previous government, not least Mr Jenrick. Being barged by fare dodgers is annoying, but so is moral preaching from a vandaliser of the state. If the failed party leadership candidate was so worried about society, why did he order the painting over of a mural at a children's immigration centre? The Mickey Mouse and Baloo from The Jungle Book disappeared because they were "too welcoming" - an act that aims at othering people before they've even been formally welcomed into Britain. Let's not forget he also called for the arrest of anyone who said 'Allahu Akbar' on the street, the Arabic phrase that means God is great. If Jenrick is so concerned about divisions in society, perhaps he should try to understand it before running after people who might not be able to afford an expensive transport system. That's to say nothing of the Tories' cuts to welfare, youth centres or the justice system. If you hollow out the support system, there might be a gap in society, yeah. Finally there is the shame element of his argument, with the Tory MP saying it was about doing the right thing. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Where was this sense of morality when he unlawfully intervened in a planning decision involving a billionaire Conservative party donor? Or getting donations totalling £75,000 from a firm that was loaned money via a tax haven? Or when the Conservative Party's biggest donor told colleagues that looking at veteran Labour figure Diane Abbott makes you 'want to hate all black women' and said the MP 'should be shot'? Or the whole of Partygate. This might be clever politics, but it's completely shameless, and ignores the role Jenrick has played in creating a hostile environment, in pushing people below the bread line. It's not about doing the right thing, it's a proxy campaign for the leadership and, perhaps without ministerial responsibility, something to kill the time.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Postcard' seaside village in Sussex with links to Disney author and tennis star
With much of both East and West Sussex being on the coast, there are a number of quaint seaside towns and villages. From cosy locations you may not have heard of to larger settlements, you are sure to have visited, there is a range of spots. This one we are spotlighting today has a "perfect postcard setting" and has been named among the most beautiful in Britain. So, here is why you should visit Rottingdean. Rottingdean is a village in Brighton and Hove on the south coast. Boasting a historic centre, it is often the subject of picture postcards. The first recorded mention of the village is 'Rotingeden', in the Domesday Book in the 11th century. Visit Brighton says its "most fascinating period" is that of "highly organised smuggling involving almost the entire village in the late 1700s". It is rumoured that the village had a "maze of brick-lined tunnels that led from the cliffs, under the duck pond, right into the locals' houses". Visit Brighton describes the village today as a "picturesque" spot, boasting a "pretty duck pond and cosy cottages". It adds: "It is a perfect postcard setting with its own nature reserve and some impressive manicured gardens. As if that isn't appealing enough, it also has its own beach, just a five-minute walk from the village." Rottingdean saw its beach recently crowned one of the best in Britain, too. Rottingdean has a number of notable residents. One of these is famous author Rudyard Kipling, most known for The Jungle Book, a classic collection of short stories and poems first published in 1894 These have been made into several films, with the most well-known being the Disney animated classic from 1967, as well as a live-action remake by Disney in 2016. Kipling lived in the village, and you can visit Kipling Gardens, which were once part of The Elms, where Rudyard Kipling lived from 1897 to 1902. Other famous faces with links to the village you might recognise include the former number one tennis player, Fred Perry. He won three consecutive Wimbledon Championships in the 1930s and was the last British player to win a men's singles Grand Slam title until Andy Murray won the 2012 US Open. You will likely recognise the name due to the popular clothing company that exists today, The iconic white cotton sports shirt, made to be similar to René Lacoste's, was launched at Wimbledon in 1952. The Fred Perry tennis shirt was an immediate success and still remains a large brand today. British politician Sir Michael Fabricant was born in the village. Sir Michael Fabricant appeared on Celebrity Big Brother 2025 (Image: ITV) Sir Michael was the MP for Lichfield in Staffordshire, formerly Mid Staffordshire, from 1992 until his defeat in 2024. You may recognise him for appearing on the latest series of Celebrity Big Brother. As Visit Brighton says, Rottingdean is home to "plenty of appealing places to stop for a bite to eat", including "warm and cosy pubs, some tea rooms and a few other small shops and cafés". The Terraces Stage on the seafront boasts a programme of music and theatrical events from June through to September, most of which are free admission. Recommended reading: 'Beautiful' market town in Sussex named one of Britain's happiest places to live The 'famous' Sussex town that is a celebrity hotspot and inspired a Disney book 'Secluded hidden gem' in Sussex named one of Britain's most beautiful villages You could also try The White Horse Hotel, which overlooks the sea and offers "traditional pub grub", or Molly's café down on the beach itself. The village is also home to the Grange Museum and Art Gallery, which overlooks the pond and village green. The early Georgian building currently houses a library and tea garden too.
Sky News AU
4 days ago
- Sky News AU
Darling Harbour's stunning new 'W' hotel, hilltop Singapore resort among new entrants on luxury list of the best places to stay in Asia, Australia and beyond
A new hilltop hotel in a tropical garden with its own beach has helped reignite a tourism boom in Singapore. It is one of a number of new hotels from Asia, Europe and Australia to make the hotel hot list this year. Raffles Sentosa is Singapore's first all-villa hotel featuring 62 contemporary lodges, each with its own private pool. It is an ideal place for a mini break for travellers making the arduous trip to and from Europe. Or stay longer and settle into a resort style hotel with access to an award-winning golf club and Sentosa's Tanjong Beach. Raffles Sentosa is set in 100,000 sq m of gardens. It is a far cry from the original Raffles hotel built at 1 Beach Road in 1887 and named in honour of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the British statesman and the father of modern Singapore. It is steeped with history and nostalgia. Rudyard Kipling edited his first draft of The Jungle Book there. Elizabeth Taylor, Michael Jackson, W. Somerset Maugham, Noël Coward, and Ernest Hemingway also stayed there. The hotel was refurbished in 2017. The Raffles name also spread to 18 hotels including new properties in Cairo, Istanbul, London and Bali. Raffles London at the OWO occupies a stately Grade II Edwardian Baroque building in Whitehall once the centre of British Government and the Old War Office. It is close to St James's Park, Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey and close to West End theatres. Raffles Bali features 32 oceanfront villas, each with their own pool and garden. Raffles Sentosa is noted for its culinary offerings starting with the Empire Grill, a modern Italian restaurant. And of course there is a restaurant offering Cantonese cuisine. Royal China is set in a dining room framed by floor-to-ceiling windows and surrounded by lush greenery. And there is a Japanese omakase restaurant, Iyasaka by Hashida. Chef Kenjiro "Hatch" Hashida's aim is to make it the best Japanese restaurant outside his homeland. Hilton, the global hotel colossus, already operates 8,600 hotels and resorts and is planning more. The new ones are being built in New York, Costa Rica, Athens and Osaka. In London, The Emory at Belgravia in London seems to be top of the hit parade with the critics. It's the capital's first all-suite hotel and one of the last projects by the late Richard Rogers, one of England's most celebrated architects. The Emory was built by the Maybourne hotel group which owns and runs the Berkeley next door as well as Claridge's and the Connaught. In Sydney, the curvaceous W hotel at Darling Harbour reeks of glamour and sophistication and features weirdly wonderful mirror aluminium panels on the ceiling. It is a grand edifice with 588 guestrooms and suites. Josh and Julie Niland's boutique hotel Grand National in Paddington couldn't be more different. It has 14 rooms and is a study in a restrained elegance. It sits above their celebrated restaurant, Saint Peter, and is a drawcard for the culinary cognoscenti. Their original restaurant, Saint Peter, opened around the corner in 2016, was the only Australian restaurant that made it to The World's Best Restaurant List in 2024. The new Eve Hotel on the border of Surry Hills and Redfern in Sydney draws on the Australian landscape for its architectural inspiration. Guests enter a calming lobby anchored by natural stone and bespoke glazed terracotta. Architect Adam Haddow designed the hotel to wrap around a central courtyard allowing sight lines through to lush greenery. The hotel's 102 guest rooms each offer a 'unique experience with an Australian inspired palette of either eucalyptus or red clay tones'. Each room has a private balcony. Haddow's groovy hotel is the centrepiece of the new Wunderlich Lane retail and hospitality precinct on Cleveland Street. TRAVELLERS' TIP Singapore Airlines is offering competitive business class fares to Singapore. A sampler: Sydney to Singapore return, from $6,108. Melbourne to Singapore return from $4,343. Adelaide to Singapore return from $4,448. Brisbane to Singapore return from $5,659.16.
