Recently the teaser for the live-action adaptation of Aladdin came out. I was excited for it and I watched it and it was a bit concerning. Now I love Disney movies, they’re like a religion to me, I try to watch every movie of theirs in cinemas, and I try to introduce as much of them as I can to my family but…
These new live-action adaptations have been a hit or miss, critically. While Aladdin will undoubtedly make big money, it will mostly be due to the fact that nostalgia sells a lot. The live-action Beauty and the Beast made over a billion dollars worldwide. If it weren’t for Star Wars: The Last Jedi, it would’ve been the highest grossing movie of 2017.
My Thoughts on some of these movies
I saw Maleficent three times, I liked it the first time, thought it was decent the second time and really gave up on the third viewing. It’s not bad by any means but it really butchered the source material unnecessarily. I love the live-action Cinderella, it’s as magical as it’s animated counterpart. It adds to the animated movie’s story while respecting it’s iconic moments. I also The Jungle Book‘s live-action adaptation. It’s a wildly entertaining, funny and action-packed ride great for anyone.
Beauty and the Beast was another story. The animated movie is one of my favourite movies period. I was indescribably excited for the live-action remake. I saw it and I was enchanted really, I loved it. Then I started seeing videos about how it butchers the animated movie. I have to say I do agree on a lot of things they said. I have a complicated opinion on the live-action movie.
Then I started thinking, the movies which were the most critically acclaimed were the live-action remakes of the older and simpler Disney movies. Both The Jungle Book (1967) and Cinderella (1950) had fairly simple plots and a short runtime. Beauty and the Beast (1991) was made not that long ago, it was more complex, it had more depth and it was as great as a live-action romance. The live-action remake knew this and tried to be different resulting in a lower quality version of the story. The same could unfortunately happen to Aladdin.
Future Remakes
The only remakes worth being excited for are The Lion King, Aladdin, Dumbo and Mulan. I have faith that The Lion King is safe in the hands of Jon Favreau. The cast is also pretty freaking amazing, Donald Glover, Beyonce, James Earl Jones and Billy Eichner are just some of the cast members. Aladdin as I said could be the next Beauty and the Beast or the new Cinderella in terms of quality. I liked the teaser for Dumbo quite a bit and since it’s a remake of one of the first Disney movies, they have plenty of room to expand the story. Of course Mulan has some pretty big shoes to fill. This has to be even bigger than Crazy, Rich Asians, the original is beloved and you know there’s the whole empowering women aspect as well and the musical aspect and more. So far it’s looking very promising though.
All in all, the worst thing that can happen to Aladdin is having the same quality as Beauty and the Beast and maybe insult people of Arabic ethnicity and potentially ruin the movie for countless people.
Ok, jokes aside it actually looks good, I’ll be seeing it. I do hope that if these unnecessary remakes do keep getting they can at least bring in a new generation of Disney fans who will grow up with these tales.
What do you think? Do you these remakes are a bad idea? Do older Disney movies make better remakes?
Aladdin comes out in May 2019.
owen is a filmaholic 