I've been a Disney fan since I watched the VHS tapes before/during my naps (I often fell asleep during some of the films, not because they were boring but because I was good at napping when I was young) as a toddler and preschooler. Some of their recent films have been great ("Zootopia", "Moana", "Tangled"...), but the company has made a lot of missteps lately. One of the biggest is the live action remakes they've released over the last few years, starting with "Maleficent". I'm not sure why Disney thought they were necessary, but I'm going to provide five reasons why they need to stop.
1. The actors aren't that great in their roles.
Lily James is lovely, but her Cinderella didn't feel authentic or look quite right (did anyone else notice how dark her eyebrows were compared to her hair?). Emma Watson is basically the Internet's fancast for Belle (as evidenced by the picture above) and, based on the trailer, her performance didn't match Belle. Plus Ewan McGregor's French accent for Lumiere sounds atrocious.
2. The CGI is awful.
Case in point: Lumiere and Cogsworth in the upcoming "Beauty and the Beast" remake.
I don't even know how they're going to do a live-action "The Lion King". Won't that mostly be CGI?
3. The Mulan casting call is awfully concerning.
For anyone who wasn't aware, "Mulan" has been added to the list of Disney remakes. There was some worry about whitewashing, but that's not what I'm concerned about. This is:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the male lead sounds like another Gaston. And what was wrong with Shang???
4. What happened to originality?
Walt Disney was very anti-sequel, and this is basically the same thing. The remakes are basically direct adaptations with just a few changes that honestly don't help the movie (i.e., apparently Belle is the inventor, NOT her father). Films like "Moana", "Zootopia", and "Inside Out" prove that Disney and Pixar can still produce amazing original (to some extent, since they often play with legends and fairytales) stories. So why do they need to do the live action films when they could be concentrating their efforts on original animated movies?
5. They're ruining childhood favorites.
"Beauty and the Beast" has long been my #1 favorite Disney movie. Yes, that's mostly because Belle loves to read like I have since I was in preschool, but as I've grown up, I appreciate the animation and soundtrack more. I like that Belle demanded respect from the Beast and only fell for him once he started acting like a decent being. "Cinderella" and "Sleeping Beauty" were two of my favorites, too, and I don't like how "Maleficent" messed with the original story and the live-action "Cinderella" can't compare to the original. (Plus live-action "Aladdin" is disrespectful to the memory of Robin Williams.)
I know all of these reasons are coming from a very biased place (except for #4), but I think Disney needs to take a long hard look at what they're doing. I know they are a corporation and do a lot of things for money, but they're not hurting for cash. As a creative person, I believe Disney needs to focus on their art and not the dollar.
