Looks like the success of recent films has provoked The Walt Disney Company to replicate more classic Disney films.
This live-action remake trend started with the 2015 version of Cinderella, starring Lily James as Cinderella and Cate Blanchett as Lady Tremaine, which received steady reviews and an 83% on Rotten Tomatoes. Following its lead was the 2016 live-action/animation hybrid remake of The Jungle Book, directed by Jon Favreau, which was a major box office hit, and Pete’s Dragon, a live-action/animation hybrid film based on the classic film of the same name. Soon after The Jungle Book was released, news of more live-action remakes began flooding social media.
In 2017, Disney is releasing Beauty and the Beast featuring Emma Watson as Belle, which has already been making the news for several months. It was also announced recently that Jon Favreau will be directing a remake of The Lion King as well as a sequel to The Jungle Book, putting his Disney Parks Magic Kingdom film on the back burner. Other announcements included a live-action Mulan, coming in 2018, and Aladdin, to be directed by Guy Ritchie.
Beyond these beloved nineties classics, there will also be Mary Poppins Returns, starring Lin-Manuel Miranda of Hamilton fame and Emily Blunt of Into the Woods. A sequel to the 2007 live-action/animation film Enchanted, aptly titled Disenchanted, is also scheduled to start filming in 2017 with director Adam Shankman.
Although there’s been a recent boom with live-action Disney films, it’s not the first time they’ve produced these types of films. Live-action/animation hybrid Disney films started in the forties with The Reluctant Dragon, and Disney’s first ever completely live-action film was Treasure Island in 1950.
Re-making classic films into live-action has proven to be successful, but will these films live up to expectations? Let us know what you think in the comments.
