May 13, 2025
By Chloe O’Donnell
Staff Writer
Disney has a long history with live-action remakes. The trend began in 1994 with “The Jungle Book,” starring Jason Scott. Almost three decades later, the entertainment company has released 16 live-action adaptations with plots almost identical to those of their animated precursors.
Despite their prevalence, some critics and fans say the new versions fail to match the originals’ quality and charm. In fact, six of Disney’s live-action movies have lower than a 60% critic score on the Rotten Tomatoes entertainment review website. Among these is Disney’s most recent live-action film, “Snow White,” starring Rachel Zegler, which was released on March 21 and has a 40% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Sophomore Joey Romeo, who enjoys watching Disney movies, is among those who believe the remakes, which rely on computer-generated imagery, fall short compared to the animated originals.
“The originals were really part of my childhood, so it ruins me sometimes when I see a live-action movie and it’s not good,” Romeo said.
Even though he said none of the remakes will ever improve upon the animated versions, he believes Disney will continue releasing live-action remakes.
“They’re just running out of ideas to the point where they are only going to make more remakes. I don’t know what the next one will be, but I know it’s not going to be good,” Romeo said.
He said the 2017 release of “Beauty and the Beast,” starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens, is the best Disney live-action remake he has seen.
“I loved the music and how [actors] like Emma Watson sang their songs,” Romeo said. “I loved the scenery, [which] did not feel like a CGI scene. It felt like a real, authentic movie. This was the one live-action movie that felt like justice had been done to the animated movie.”
Social studies teacher Mr. Tessalone said he prefers Disney’s animated films to the live-action remakes.
“Because I originally saw the cartoon versions, I’m going to say that the cartoons are better. But, from an artistic standpoint, you could argue that what [director Jon] Favreau did with [the ‘The Lion King’ live-action movie in 2019] was exponentially more advanced than [Disney’s animated film] in 1994,” Tessalone said.
“The Lion King” remake was created almost entirely using computer-generated imagery. Although the movie got mixed reviews and has a 51% score on Rotten Tomatoes, it was a nominee for a Visual Effects Oscar in 2020.
Although he does not mind when films are based on other works, Tessalone said they do not compare to the originals.
“They can be good art, but, at the same time, I think it’s very difficult to improve on something that is considered a classic,” Tessalone said.
“The originals were really part of my childhood, so it ruins me sometimes when I see a live-action movie and it’s not good.”
He said one reason Disney continues releasing live-action remakes is that it is safer than producing films with fresh storylines.
“When making movies, there’s a high risk. You’re spending a lot of money, and if those movies aren’t hits, you’re probably losing a lot of money,” Tessalone said.
English teacher Mrs. Ruiz said that what looks good in animation does not necessarily look good in a live-action film, so live-action remakes struggle to capture the magic of the original animated movies.
“It doesn’t translate. You’re not immersed in it as much as you are when it is a cartoon,” Ruiz said.
She said that Disney is creating too many movies based on its previous films.
“Every once in a while to do a remake, sure. Every once in a while, to do a sequel even. But I would love to see more original [movies],” said Ruiz.
