Disney should stop making live-action remakes

Illustration: Thayer Sindelar· The Sentry

They should produce more original content

With the recent release of the Dumbo and Aladdin trailers, and with Mulan in the works, it is evident that Disney’s live-action remakes are in full bore. While these upcoming remakes, and those that have already been released, entertain younger generations, as well as those who grew up watching the classics, it would be nice to break up the monotony of the remakes by being able to watch original Disney stories or even sequels.

This period of live-action remakes, according to Mashable, began with the $1 billion success of Alice in Wonderland back in 2010. If this film adaptation was a hit, then others could be as well, right? Nine years later and it’s getting to the point where remakes are a dull expectation rather than a treat that provides a modern twist to Disney classics. From Cinderella to Beauty and the Beast, from The Jungle Book and other movies in the works, these live-action remakes are losing their luster for some audiences.

For example, according to Insider, Mulan is getting a new plot and new characters. While Disney is trying to be original with this live-action remake, it is actually hurting the franchise because “fans of the original are pissed,” Insider asserts.

Even casting of the live-action remakes have received backlash from Disney audiences. Will Smith, for example, as the Genie in Aladdin caused people to say that “this Genie would give them nightmares, that it was horrifying to look at, that the CGI sucked,” according to We Got This Covered. Many agree that no one can replace Robin Williams in this iconic role and that he practically made the original Aladdin, so why should the movie be replaced with this version?

An English professor who used to teach at CU Denver, Amy Vidali, said there’s nothing new to write about under the sun and Disney seems to be following this philosophy. But there are diamonds just waiting to be mined if the writers just look at the parts of stories that haven’t been told yet—they’ve done it before. The story of Maleficent not only branches from the original movie but also tells the untold story of the Disney villain, making it an original film.

Disney is capable of creating completely new stories. Disney shared its wonderful imagination with audiences beginning in 1937 with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Over half a century later, Disney is still capable of producing quality films as is evident from Frozen, Zootopia, and Moana, which are all within the top 50 of Disney’s highest grossing films, according to Business Insider. Even 2017’s Coco, for example, which won an Oscar, brought in approximately $209 million domestically, according to Deadline.

Sequels to any of the beloved Disney movies would also be a breath of fresh air in the midst of these live-action remakes. Fortunately, audiences will be getting more of this with films like Frozen 2, that will be released later this year, giving fans more of the original storylines.

Disney needs to stop pumping out bland live-action remakes and focus more on original content and sequels instead.