Opinion

Why Live-Action Disney Remakes Don’t Work

Editor Ethan Miller

By now, it’s pretty common knowledge that the Aladdin remake has been polarizing. Aladdin is one of the most popular Disney movies, so seeing Disney’s grand attempt at adapting it into a more modern feel is bound to grind some gears. Going into the trailer, I was cautiously optimistic. Surely Disney wouldn’t be foolish enough to drop the ball on one of the most fondly remembered Disney films of all time, right? Oh, how wrong I was.

I have never been on board for these remakes since 2015’s Cinderella. Even from the get-go, it seemed like Disney just wanted to capitalize on the market at the time, going towards a darker, more lifeless art style. The reason I love Disney movies is exactly what these remakes are taking away. Their charm. The crazy villains, bombastic music numbers, and those usually bright and colorful art styles that always stand out from one another. There is a lot less that can be done to make a movie stand out in live action than animation. It also doesn’t help that they all look the same. They have these bland, dark, washed out tones to them, taking away from the charm of Disney’s best films.

A good example of washed out villains is Gaston from Beauty and the Beast. Gaston is one of the most memorable villains. He’s crazy, over the top, exaggerated (to the point where he brags about eating five dozen eggs for breakfast; that’s 60 eggs!) and a hoot to watch his hopeless attempts at wooing Belle. He’s a memorable villain, showing that he will stop at nothing to get what he wants. There is only one problem. I forgot he was even in the 2017 remake. That’s right, one of my favorite villains in any movie was able to be forgotten. They turned a generally good villain, into a normal dude that’s just unusually horny. Even worse, Jafar looks and sounds like a standard dude. I can’t take Jafar seriously when he orders his guards to fetch him the lamp when his line delivery sounds like he’s a hung-over goose.

It’s a shame too, as the quality of these films just keeps getting worse and worse. Cinderella is a miles better movie than Beauty and the Beast and Maleficent, that’s not to say that it holds even a slightly lit candle to the original. There is a reason the internet is laughing at Will Smith’s janky looking Genie. The CGI in these films are absolutely horrendous. It’s not like good CGI can’t be done, just look at Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War. Disney obviously has the money to make these effects to look good, but of course, they aren’t going to spend too much money on these films. They aren’t meant to be good films, just to make some quick cash by capitalising on timeless films. It’s tiring to see these movies looking like something that wouldn’t feel out of place in a prison.

While I’m frustrated that it has taken until Aladdin to realise that these movies may not be a good idea, at least people are starting to get it. Maybe these movies can be good if Disney chooses to put some effort into them, but that’s the problem. Disney won’t put effort into them because that would cost more money. That would defeat the purpose of them existing in the first place. There’s a reason that there are six lined up to release in the span of a year. Why put any effort on retaining the feel of a beloved classic when you can make a quick grab on nostalgia? It’s simple; people keep seeing them.

Aladdin isn’t the first of these remakes, and it certainly isn’t the last. With eleven more on the way, including films based on the Hunchback of Notre Dame, Lilo and Stitch, and even Mulan, I’m definitely interested in seeing if Disney could actually get a grip an put some actual effort with these classic properties. At this point in time, however, there isn’t a lot of hope for these movies judging by the garbage that Disney is pumping out every year.