A couple of weeks ago, when I was on vacation at my grandparents' house in Florida, my aunt said something that has stuck with me.

She has two daughters, my cousins, who are seven and three.

But when I asked if they would want to come along to see the new live action Aladdin movie, she said, "No, they don't like live action. It's scarier for them because they don't see the disconnect between movies and reality like they do with animation."

And in that moment, I realized that thought had no occurred to me at all.

These live action remakes (Maleficent, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Mulan, etc.) were all animations I thrived on when I was younger. Disney was my all time favorite.

Yet as I sat in that dark theater, watching live humans replace Aladdin, Jasmine, and the Genie, I couldn't help but think how much scarier it would all be to me as a little kid.

Something about animation forms this disconnect.

Why exactly?

Possibly because animated characters do not look completely human. This doesn't mean we can't empathize or sympathize with these characters. In fact, kids still get scared by some animated shows and films.

But I got what my aunt had meant; that it feels more separate from our own reality.

Yes, there's magical elements to all of these stories (animals don't talk, people don't have powers, etc.), but animation seems to push it even further away.

So why would Disney, a company I always pegged as being geared towards children, make the choice to recreate so many of their classic films in a new live action format?

I feel as if they are taking a new approach to movie making.

Of course, they have made other live action films and movies separate from what would be considered "classic Disney animation" in the past, but they have really shown a shift towards capturing a more mature audience these past years.

They now own Star Wars and are creating its own park, darker themes and mature relationships appear more, and especially remaking films that older people cherished in their childhood.

This is not me calling out Disney in a negative way.

In fact, this could be a good thing. For people to maintain loyalty to the brand and the company.

I just hope they never lose the original intention of bringing joy to young children in kid-friendly stories, ways, and themes!