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Given the recent reports surrounding projects like the new Bambi and The Sword in the Stone adaptations, it seems like the studio is preparing to pull the plug on the Disney live-action remakes. Where did it all go wrong?
The remakes have almost always had some sort of negative stigma attached to them, but that wasn’t always the case. Before Disney put their mitts to divisive adaptations of previous successes, there was a time when the studio was more focused on retelling its familiar narratives rather than just placing a live-action filter over stories we’ve seen and heard before.
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Initially, the Disney live-action remakes were more of a novelty than something that dominated the theaters every year, but sometime around Beauty and the Beast (2017), the ship began to sink before eventually failing to make bank at the box office. It’s not that the movies were necessarily bad, but they strayed too far away from the original formula.
Deconstructing the Disney Live-Action Remakes
A previous development from Disney CEO Bob Iger shared that multiple projects at the Walt Disney Company were essentially being shelved as the studio prepares for a major directional shift. This also comes in close proximity to the report that the new president of Disney Studios, David Greenbaum, questioned whether or not films like these remakes needed to exist.
Related: Disney Remake Cancels Century-Old Love Story
Given the recent track record of the remakes at the box office, it might be that Disney does more than put these movies on ice. As many viewers and consumers might sigh a chorus of “finally,” others might wonder where the bottom dropped out in Disney’s game plan.
Before they were associated with such a bad rep, the Disney live-action remakes actually had some merit to their retellings. Viewers could distinguish the films from the stories that inspired them without making too many connections, and that loss of identity ultimately led to their downfall.
What Went Right?
As much as audiences like to criticize some of the studio’s recent retellings, there was a time when many of them had the right ideas, which made Disney a lot of money (hence the need to push more). They worked so well because they stuck to a certain formula but still kept the Disney identity that could link them back to the studio.
Related: Disney+ Revives Beloved Remake Amid ‘Snow White’s’ Scandal
Consider Maleficent (2014), Cinderella (2015), and The Jungle Book (2016). All of them made the studio millions before movies like Beauty and the Beast (2017) pushed to the billion-dollar mark at the worldwide box office, but they all had a similar palate of elements to work with that kept them as separate films apart from Disney’s originals.
They all kept to the same beats their originals followed, but they all utilized the same corresponding points to stand out. They utilized different character perspectives, changed the narrative while still sticking to Disney’s pre-set storylines, and they did it with something that kept Disney’s identity while still doing something new.
For example, Kenneth Branagh’s adaptation of Cinderella follows the same Disney fairytale plotline, but it adds its own original twists without taking that away. It still had its animal sidekicks, pumpkins, coaches, and fairy godmothers, but it also expanded on the characters of Cinderella, Lady Tremaine, and the prince. With the inclusion of elements like “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo,” viewers could still recognize it as distinctly Disney’s.
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Compare that to the much-maligned Snow White (2025) with Rachel Zegler. The movie isn’t even out yet, and already the fanbase has torn it to shreds. Why? Because those involved have gone to great lengths to get away from Disney’s original design, tell a completely different narrative that misses those story beats, and remove characters and points that made the 1937 film work.
The unfortunate truth of the matter is that it might be a dollar short and a day late. From Snow White nixing the romance element to the proposed Bambi remake dropping the death of Bambi’s mother, the previous success of the Disney remakes seems to be far too overshadowed by fan backlash to warrant much redemption.
Do you have a favorite Disney remake? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!