Lately, Disney movies tend to fall under one of three categories: half-baked new ideas, sequels no one asked for, or live-action revivals.
So far, their live-action revivals have gotten mixed to low reviews, with every Disney Princess revival having been trashed, in some way, by fans of the animated versions. Whether it’s the “Mulan” remake excluding certain characters or “The Little Mermaid” having questionable special effects, there’s no doubt live-action Disney is getting a lot of hate.
Despite this, the company isn’t slowing down.
According to Cinema Blend, Disney has several live-action adaptations and remakes planned for the near and distant future. Releasing in December, “Mufasa: The Lion King” is acting as a prequel to 2019’s live-action “The Lion King”. Meanwhile, 2025 will see the long-awaited live-action Snow White and 2026 will, supposedly, have a live-action “Moana”. A live-action “Lilo and Stitch”, though not having a release date, is also under production.
While adding to, or doing something different with, characters fans know and love makes some sense, Disney also has a lot of less successful films they plan to turn into live-action adaptations. This list includes “Hercules”, “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”, “The Aristocats”, “Robin Hood”, and “Bambi”.
Ok, even I have to admit that a revival of “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” could be interesting.
Despite this exception, I can’t be the only one thinking this is getting excessive. So, are these revivals going to stop?
Well, probably not.
The movie industry is, in no simpler terms, complicated. With new ideas, Disney has seen they haven’t been doing that great. As a result, they turn to something that worked decades ago and try to make it work again. Unfortunately, in an attempt to be well-received by current audiences, they will often make changes that aggravate fans of the original movies.
Looking at it this way, Disney only has two choices: continue with new ideas, which aren’t exactly working, or do a live-action film in an attempt to keep classics alive. With how complicated the viewer’s relationships were with “Encanto”, “Raya and the Last Dragon”, and “Wish”, it’s not shocking that they’re turning their attention to revivals. Sure, they also have the possibility of sequels, but those are just half-baked ideas with returning characters.
