6 Of Our Favourite Disney Live-Action Remakes

We’re reeling following all the recent Disney announcements and showcases from D23 this year! With the live-action Snow White getting a teaser trailer, the reveals of a live-action Lilo and Stitch as well as The Incredibles 3 and Toy Story 4!

Disney have been on a quest to recreate our childhoods one movie at a time for the last couple of decades! Whilst many consider Disney’s live-action remakes to have begun with 2010’s Alice in Wonderland, that wasn’t the first time that Disney had recreated one of their beloved animated features. There are so many to choose from, so don't yell at us if your favourite isn’t here, but let’s take a look at some of ours:

Alice In Wonderland (2010)

Starting with 2010’s Alice in Wonderland, this was Tim Burton’s last huge project before he started to slow down (until the upcoming Beetlejuice Beetlejuice that is). His take on Lewis Carroll’s classic works was not only a live-action adaptation but a reimagining, and an expansion to Disney’s 1951 animated version. Burton’s signature flair floods Wonderland with wacky characters, gothic visuals, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and a score by Danny Elfman.

Following 19-year-old Alice, here with the last name Kingsleigh (the original books never mentioned her last name, though she was based on the real-life Alice Liddell) as she stumbles back down the rabbit hole into a world that she used to know. The world that has been waiting for the return of “the Alice”- whether or not this one is her is the cause of some debate.

Now, this isn’t the best of Burton’s movies, and it isn’t the best Alice In Wonderland movie or even the best adaptation of Carroll’s works (to be honest, I’m just looking for a reason to mention the American Mcgee video games), but we thought it was worthy of being here because it is the film that kickstarted Disney’s live-action universe. It was also Oscar and Golden Globe nominated, as well as becoming the fifth highest-grossing-film of all time during its run and is part of the billion-dollar club. It does boast dazzling visuals and witty humour, with good performances from its star-studded cast, even if the CGI is questionable. Burton would also go on to direct the live-action version of Dumbo.

101 Dalmatians (1996)

An early entry in Disney’s live-action remakes, 1996’s 101 Dalmatians translated the 1961 film from drawings to real people, which itself is an adaptation of Dodie Smith's 1956 novel.

Unlike later Disney live-actions, the animals in 101 Dalmatians don’t speak, with the dalmatians being rather ordinary dogs, except being particularly good at setting traps and thwarting Cruella de Vil’s attempts at stealing their fur, although it’s her henchmen Jasper and Horace, played by Hugh Laurie and Mark Williams, who often find themselves on the receiving end.

This version of the film, directed by Stephen Herek, is absolutely not without its faults-  by most accounts, the best live-action film in the spotty-dogged universe is 2021’s Cruella with Emma Stone which offered an origin story for the classic fur-obsessed villain. However the Glenn Close version of Cruella is, much like Angelina Jolie is for Lara Croft, the definitive un-animated version of the character. For those who grew up in the 90s, she was terrifying, campy and just the right amount of pantomime. It also got a sequel, 102 Dalmatians.

Mulan (2020)

2020’s Mulan took a slightly different approach as far as Disney’s live-actions go, deciding to omit the musical aspect which is so synonymous with the magic of Disney’s brand. The news was met with much disappointment from fans of the original who wouldn’t be able to sing “I’ll make a man out of you” at the top of their lungs in the cinema, but they did include them as part of the instrumental soundtrack. Not to mention that there’s no Mushu!

What director Niki Caro and co attempted with Mulan was an adaptation as opposed to a remake, creating a version of the story that is more akin to epic Chinese fairytale and martial arts movies, even going as far as casting wuxia legends Donnie Yen and Jet Li, along with the brilliant Gong Li (whose impeccable acting chops are largely wasted here). Of course, Liu Yifei too, as the titular Mulan (who has been named one of the New Four Dan actresses of China, referring to the country’s most bankable actresses).

(Mulan: Rise of a Warrior, 2009)

Visually, the film is stunning, with filming taking place in locations across both China and New Zealand. The action sequences are great, the colours are, as excellently put by Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times, “so vibrant they would dazzle a Crayola factory.” It’s not perfect, but it stands out amongst Disney’s live-actions as a fine example of how to take something familiar and make it fresh.

On another note, as the story of Mulan is from an ancient folktale, this isn’t the first live-action adaptation of the story. In fact, there was one in the same year as Disney’s titled Wu shuang Hua Mulan. Perhaps the best adaptation of the classic tale though comes in the form of 2009’s Mulan: Rise of A Warrior. A far cry from the Disney version, Jingle Ma’s film is violent, gritty and grounded in the realism of its history. Two thumbs up.

Maleficent (2014)

Another live-action remake that attempted something different, Maleficent isn’t so much a remake but an expansion- the same story told in 1959’s Sleeping Beauty but from the perspective of the villainous dragon-witch Maleficent. Offering an origin story explaining why she became so, well, villainous. Why is she the evil, bitter witch that we have come to know?

It’s practically impossible to think of a better actress for the role than Angelina Jolie, and she gives a dazzling performance here as you’d expect. Complete with the horns, green mist, evil chuckles and cheekbones so prominent that they could’ve received their own acting credits. She is a fairy who gets betrayed by her human lover and decides to take revenge by targeting his newborn daughter, Aurora (played here mostly by Ellie Fanning- one of many actresses who portrayed the character at different ages, including Jolie’s own daughter Vivienne Jolie-Pitt).

Robert Stromberg in his directorial debut along with writer Linda Woolverton does a wonderful job of humanising the character and this works as both a backstory, expansion of the original tale and a character-study. In addition to the typical themes of true love, it also tackles the more mature themes of revenge, loss, corruption and the complexity of good and evil. It also makes the character a little less terrifying for those of us who were traumatised by her as children.

Cinderella (2015)

2015’s Cinderella, which was helmed by Kenneth Branagh, whose accolades include just about every major screen award there is, is pretty much universally agreed to be Disney’s best live-action remake to date. Unlike many of the others, Cinderella is not a shot-for-shock remake, with films like The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast opting to be as close as possible to their animated counterparts.

Each character seems perfectly cast with Lily James and her cheery demeanour as the titular princess, Cate Blanchett as the bitter stepmother, the wildly underrated Richard Madden as our prince, and Helena Bonham Carter as of course the fairy godmother. The film is every bit as magical as you’d want it to be from the flowing dresses, the sparkles and the dreamy transformation sequences. As Peter Debruge of Variety put it, this remake is no ugly stepsister.

Cinderella also leans into its more universal themes loss, maturity, experience and  resilience, which as children growing up with the 1950 original, is a welcome expansion as we revisit the tale in adulthood. No matter your thoughts on Disney’s remakes as a whole, this one proves that Disney have not lost their old magic.

The Jungle Book (2016)

Other than Cinderella, 2016’s The Jungle Book is the highest-regarded Disney live-action remake. This isn’t the first live-action version of Rudyard Kipling’s stories, with that being the 1994 version directed by Stephen Sommers, but that one wasn’t produced by Walt Disney Studios, they only held the distribution rights. It’s also very good, but Disney’s own version is of course more similar to their animated version, and also to the original book.

This version is helmed by Jon Favreau, director of Iron Man 1 and 2 (and executive producer on many other Marvel projects), Elf, Cowboys and Aliens and of course Disney’s own live-action version of The Lion King. Unlike The Lion King however, Favreau was not limited by an attempt at BBC Earth-like realism. The Jungle Book did of course take a realistic approach to the animals, but they retained much their animated charm. Not to mention the expressive voices of the likes of Christopher Walken, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Lupita Nyong'o, Scarlett Johansson and Giancarlo Esposito.

The Jungle Book is considered by many to be an improvement over its animated predecessor and received high praise for its impeccable CGI. Whether you agree with one of those statements, both or neither, it cannot be denied that this version of the beloved story is great and can easily make a case for being Disney’s best live-action remake.

Extra: Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (2022)

We’ll put this down as an honourable mention considering that it isn’t a Disney production nor is it an adaptation of their 1940 animated classic, but dark fantasy maestro Guillermo del Toro’s version is just really good, retelling the iconic children’s tale with his own stop-motion animated charm. It won Best Animated Feature at the Oscars, Golden Globes and the BAFTA’s in 2022/23.

Interestingly, Disney also released their own live-action adaptation of Pinocchio that same year. You’d be excused for not knowing about it, as it was released exclusively on Disney+. It also wasn’t very good.

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