Disney Live Action Remakes

Disney and Live-Action Remakes: A Match Made In...

One of Disney’s most recent ventures is churning out live-action remakes of their original animated films. As a business decision it’s fairly easy to see why, nostalgia sells and seeing everyone’s favourite childhood cartoons brought to life with state-of-the-art technology is a winning formula that has brought millions to Disney; ensuring that they’re going to keep making more in the future. With that being said, most of these films, whilst they’re not completely terrible, feel more like the quick cash grabs Disney obviously intended them to be, lacking the heart or passion of the original versions. It feels like Disney made these films on a conveyor belt, checking off the memorable songs and fights they needed to recreate while also attempting to fix problematic elements of the originals to appeal to a mass audience. While there are undoubtedly some offensive elements of old Disney films, the remakes feel so safe and sterilised, that they feel outright soulless.

This can be seen throughout all their main characters: they’re more or less all the same template. A diverse range of expressive characters are now bland, sassy, wide-eyed dreamers, held down by their cranky old authority figures, who don’t share the same visions. They’re also all geniuses now, who never feel negative emotions. The best example of this is Mulan. The original Mulan was awkward, clumsy but also determined and loyal. The original movie gave ample time to show her insecurities but also resolved these with the song “Reflection” and cutting her hair to symbolise that she couldn’t turn back from the army; both scenes are cut from the new version. Instead Mulan has superpowers from birth and her only struggle is to learn to show them off. The relatable underdog story is completely gone and all we’re left with is an emotionless kung fu robot.

Belle and Mowgli likewise go from quiet, bookworm and curious, naïve child to expert inventors, who can make washing machines and weed whackers much to the chagrin of their simple-minded society around them that doesn’t appreciate their talents. By trying too hard to make these characters empowering, Disney actually just removes their relatability. As a result, the message of these films seems less about ordinary people, achieving happiness/greatness through hard work and perseverance and is instead replaced with the idea that some people are just born prodigies and thus flawless. This is a very superficial idea of empowerment. Making the characters stronger or more defiant doesn’t mean much if they’re more two dimensional than the cartoons they’re based on. The same problem extends to side characters. Comic reliefs in the animated features, like the Sultan in Aladdin or Mushu (who has been changed to a phoenix),

Disney and Live-Action Remakes: A Match Made In...

were changed into more serious supporting cast and yet they’re so dull, I can barely remember them compared to the gags of the originals.

The villains are likewise weak. Two of Disney’s most memorable villains, Scar and Jafar, not only lose their charisma in an attempt to be less cartoony but also both of their villain songs. This is detrimental since we’re not only missing out on fantastic numbers, but the character’s song is usually where they throw all their emotions on to the screen. Now, they just feel half-baked and not helped by weak acting performances. Allegedly Scar’s ‘Be Prepared’ song was cut because the dark shadows cast upon the walls, with the army of hyenas below marching in perfect formation as Scar looms over them has been compared to Nazi propaganda films like Triumph of the Will many times over the years. This comparison should not be disregarded, however, Disney are still missing the crucial point that they do not need to completely erase history. They should reflect upon their past mistakes, create better storylines and give Scar a song which demonstrates his evil in a way which benefits the story and the audience watching.

Even when they attempt to add new things to seem more ‘woke’, it’s still often misguided. Disney really emphasised that the Beauty and The Beast character Le Fou (whose name translates to ‘the idiot’ or ‘the insane’) was now gay. This resulted in two seconds of him dancing with another guy before the film ended, not to mention the fact that they are still perpetuating the idea that homosexuality isn’t normal by giving this storyline to ‘the insane’ character. I also love that they created a brand-new song in Aladdin for Jasmine about how she “won’t be silenced”, only for her to get captured right after, not the best advocation for female empowerment I’ve ever seen.

I’m not disagreeing with Disney’s attempts to make a positive change, it’s more like with every decision made to update these classics, I can almost hear the marketing department in the background altering the story based on what they’ve been told is good PR. These remakes aren’t made because someone wanted to retell these stories, instead it’s because Disney knows they’re easy money with little concept since the originals were greatly loved by many to begin with. words by: Alex Daud Briggs design by: Alessio Philip Grain