WHEN I was younger I was enthralled with Belfast’s Disney Store (which sadly closed in 2021). Everything from the sparkly blue floor tiles, shelves piled high with colourful plushies, exquisite princess dresses and sets of miniature characters were captivating to me.
Towards the back of the shop there was a small screening area continuously showing one of the many classic Disney movies. I think I have probably seen all of the popular animated Disney films which span a period of almost 90 years beginning with 1937′s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
The Disney franchise has been enchanting and delighting us for generations and not just on screen. There are 12 theme parks which extend across 6 worldwide locations attracting millions of visitors per year. There is also a luxury Disney-themed cruise line and a dedicated television channel. I am sure creator Walt Disney never imagined his name would become such a universal byline for the embodiment of childhood wonder.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m as much a fan of the Disney juggernaut as the next person but I am becoming increasingly baffled by the decision to transform all of these much loved classics into the live-action genre.
The first notable example of a reworking of a Disney animated film was 1996′s 101 Dalmatians starring Glenn Close (a remake of the 1961 film). For this version, which was made without the use of modern CGI, animatronic creatures supplied by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop were used together with over 300 real puppies. I do appreciate, perhaps in this case, this version surpassed the original – after all cartoon puppies will never exceed the adorable appeal of the real thing.
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However, some fall short of recreating the wonder and magic of the original such as 2019′s Dumbo directed by Tim Burton and Lady and the Tramp (also 2019) which, when reviewed by Rotten Tomatoes, was described as lacking “some of the magic that made the original 1955 film such a delight”.
The most recent addition to Disney’s live-action canon is Mufasa: The Lion King (2024) which, in order to ‘put my money where my mouth is’, I saw a couple of weeks ago. While I enjoyed the film and found the computer-generated lions and panoramic backgrounds quite realistic, I felt it also missed the mark in terms of creating that escapist magic Disney is known for. The soundtrack by Lin-Manuel Miranda (of hit musical Hamilton fame) was catchy but lacked the emotion and impact of the original Lion King score.
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Realistically though, ‘live-action’ might be a slightly misleading description as, unlike the dalmatians, no real lions were used during filming – for obvious reasons…
Interestingly the Mufasa film was classified PG whereas the animated Lion King was U.
The cynic in me wonders if this is part of a cunning plan by Disney to lure those raised on the classics back to the franchise by combining nostalgia with realism while simultaneously saving both time and money by rehashing tried and tested characters and plotlines.
It’s not as though the animated film genre has lost its appeal - 2024′s Inside Out 2 was the highest grossing animated film of all time.
The latest classic to undergo the live-action treatment will be Snow White (to be released on March 21) and there are also plans in the pipeline to adapt 2010′s Tangled.
Judge for yourself but the old saying ‘you can’t improve on perfection’ is how I feel about these beloved classics.
