A couple nights ago I finally got around to watching two of Disney's recent live-action remakes of classic animated films: Aladdin and The Lion King. I was cautiously optimistic, given that I’ve enjoyed some of the other remakes of late, but these two I had no idea what to think going in.
Aladdin vs The Lion King
First we watched The Lion King. Initial thoughts: there was hardly anything new in it. It seemed to me like almost a shot-for-shot remake (especially the opening scene). It was a weird experience. I obviously knew the story, the characters, and the songs, so it was a bit like seeing a familiar play, but with a different cast. Everything is the same except for the acting. The only re-cast role was James Earl Jones as Mufasa, who still gave a great performance, just not as energetic as his original vocal performance from 1994. The new Scar (Chiwetel Ejiofor) was nowhere near as intimidating as Jeremy Irons, and his “Be Prepared” song was weird and short. I liked that the hyenas were scarier. Timon and Pumbaa were not as funny, nor was their singing as good as the originals. Their only scene I thought was really funny was when they starting singing “Be Our Guest” as a distraction for the hyenas. Donald Glover did a great job as Simba, as did Beyonce as Nala. I thought it odd that “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” did not take place at night. I liked the new song “Spirit”, but I would have liked if they also included a song or two from the Broadway musical (which I actually saw on Broadway back in 2009). I was sad that Mufasa’s face didn’t appear in the sky. The original effects in the 1994 film were awesome, so it was kind of a missed opportunity to me to not have that in this one. The animation was beautiful, but I didn’t like that the facial expressions were not as vibrant. I guess that’s what they get for trying to make the film look photorealistic. Really, to call this a “live-action” film is kind of stretching it; even the recent Golden Globe Awards nominated this film for Best Animated Feature (which it didn’t win by the way). This movie still managed to make me cry in all the usual places, but I still much prefer the original film.
After The Lion King ended, we had a short break, then put on Aladdin. I was already more excited for this than I was for The Lion King, mostly because this would truly be a “live-action” remake - like with people in it. I am glad to say the movie did not disappoint. One of my favorite aspects of the movie is that it truly was a retelling of the original animated movie. Sure it still had the same basic plot, but the way it went from plot point to plot point was different, which I very much appreciated. It also didn’t reuse almost the exact same dialogue like The Lion King did. The performances were all excellent. Though nothing can beat Robin Williams’ Genie, Will Smith didn’t try to, and instead made his own version, which I loved. Aladdin and Jasmine had great chemistry and were also decent singers. I really liked Jasmine’s new song, but it didn’t seem to fit in that well with the rest of the movie. Jafar didn’t seem as evil in this movie, but he still did a good job with the part. I couldn’t take Abu seriously because he looked so fake, and every time I saw Rajah I just kept having flashbacks to The Lion King, which I had just finished watching. I thought it cool that Jasmine was able to become the next Sultan - she deserved it. I also liked that when the Genie was freed from the lamp, it turned him human, which is a neat idea. I liked that he got to have his own happy ending with Jasmine’s handmaiden (a new character that I greatly enjoyed). In general, I liked this film just as much as the original - though I can’t say which I like better. I look forward to watching this again sometime for a second opinion.
(Short) Reviews of all the Disney Remakes (so far)
While I’m on the subject of these two Disney live-action remakes, I thought it would be fun to give a breakdown on all of the recent remakes. For this list, I am only including the recent remakes, starting with 2010’s Alice in Wonderland. This list, therefore, does not include Stephen Sommers’ 1994 live-action adaptation of The Jungle Book (which I really like by the way), or either of the 101 Dalmations films starring Glenn Close. For this list I am including a one-sentence review, my score out of 10, whether or not I would watch it again, and if I prefer the original or the remake better.
Alice in Wonderland (2010)
6/10 - Weird, but entertaining. I would watch it again. I think I actually prefer this to the original.
Maleficent (2014)
7/10 - I remember liking how they changed the story. I would watch it again, though I still prefer the original.
Cinderella (2015)
9/10 - I highly recommend this beautiful, romantic retelling of the story. I would watch it again. I prefer this version.
The Jungle Book (2016)
6/10 - Visually pleasing (its effects won an Oscar), but otherwise just okay. I would probably watch it again, though I still prefer the original.
Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016)
4/10 - Even weirder than the first one, which is not a good thing. Someday maybe I’ll watch it again, though I’d rather just watch the original 1951 animated movie.
Beauty and the Beast (2017)
7/10 - A decent adaptation, though a little much sometimes. I would watch it again, though I much prefer the original animated movie.
Christopher Robin (2018)
10/10 - Beautifully recaptures the magic of the original cartoons, and features some excellent live-action and voice acting. I would definitely watch this again, and I like it just as much, maybe even more than the original Winnie the Pooh movies.
Dumbo (2019)
?/10 - I haven’t seen this one, nor do I plan to. I never really liked the original movie, but maybe I should watch that again, since it’s been a long time since I last saw it.
Aladdin (2019)
9/10 - Highly enjoyable and refreshingly original. I would gladly watch it again, and I like it just as much as the original.
The Lion King (2019)
5/10 - Too similar the original film, to a fault. I might rewatch it someday, though I much prefer the original film.
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019)
?/10 - I haven’t seen this one yet. It seems like an unnecessary sequel, but I may watch it someday if I catch it on TV or if it’s on a plane or something. I’ll need to rewatch the first Maleficent before I do so.
Lady and the Tramp (2019)
?/10 - Haven’t seen it yet, but I might if I’m bored one day. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the original, but I remember not liking it as much as the other Disney movies.
Upcoming remakes with release dates
Mulan - March 27, 2020
The trailer looks pretty good. It’s looking like it won’t be exactly the same as the animated film, which I’m glad about. Here’s hoping this will be a good one.
Cruella - May 28, 2021
Unless they go the comedy route like they did with the Glenn Close movies, I can’t see Disney making me feel for a character who wants to kill dogs just for their skins.
Upcoming remakes with no announced release date yet
The Little Mermaid
Lin-Manuel Miranda will be contributing some new music to this adaption starring Halle Bailey (not to be confused with Halle Berry). I’m excited for this one.
A sequel to The Jungle Book (apparently)
Not sure what they’re planning to do with this. I’d honestly much rather they make a sequel to Aladdin instead.
The Sword in the Stone
I remember liking the original movie as a kid, but I haven't seen it since then. Arthurian legend stories are cool, so they better not mess this one up.
Lilo & Stitch
I don't like the idea of seeing a "live-action" Stitch - I would think that would be creepy. The original movie is so beautifully animated, I would hate for them to massacre this one.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Seeing as Notre Dame was recently on fire, I don't know if this is good timing or bad timing. I love the music from the original movie, so I would hope this would be a musical as well.
Movies they really should actually do remakes of:
Atlantis: The Lost Empire
This movie is highly underrated, and would benefit greatly from the Disney live-action remake treatment. Moreso than other movies, this sci-fi adventure film would translate really well to live-action. Plus, the endearing characters make fan-casting this film a lot of fun. You'll see me at the Thursday night preview showing of this movie if they ever make it.
Treasure Planet
Another highly underrated movie, perhaps even more than Atlantis: The Lost Empire, this would also translate well to live-action. Unfortunately, this is a probably less likely to be made, since a larger budget would be required for all the space locations and alien characters.
(maybe) The Emperor’s New Groove
This one is iffy. The original film is one of my favorites, so it would be difficult to improve upon it. Kuzco's ability to break the fourth wall and talk to the audience is a bit like Deadpool, and those movies have done well at the box-office, so if Disney starts running out of ideas, they may turn to this one.
In Conclusion
Disney is, and will be for the foreseeable future, king of the box-office. That title was already pretty much guaranteed when all the Star Wars and Marvel Cinematic Universe films starting making tons of money. But when Alice in Wonderland and The Jungle Book both made about a billion dollars, Disney realized they had a new gold mine - remaking their old animated films. I'm okay with them, as long as they are more reinventions like Aladdin and Maleficent, instead of exact remakes like The Lion King.
Thanks to Wikipedia, where I got all my information. I like writing about this kind of stuff, but I'd love to hear your thoughts as well. Which Disney remakes do you like best? Are there any you prefer more than the originals? Are there any films you'd like them to remake, or any you hope they don't?
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