When you think of your favorite movies, do you think about animated cartoons, complete with talented voice actors, or do you think of films with familiar faces of real people? Lucky for us, when we say “Disney movies,” you can think of both. Disney is unique and set apart from other production companies because they make animated and live action films; there’s something for everyone!
Disney started with animation, and many classics have come in this form. Viewers fell in love with the cartoon characters and plots from day one, and they couldn’t get enough. In fact, some of the animated films did so well that Disney decided to retell their stories all over again, but this time, using real people. Did the new films live up to the former’s reputations? Not always. Here are ten live action remakes from Disney and how they measured against their cartoon counterparts.
Dumbo
Dumbo the great, the most famous and loved elephant out there, the only one we know of that can fly! Being born with larger than life ears, ripped from your mother, and forced to perform in a circus can definitely have its challenges, but this baby elephant manages to keep his head up and overcome adversity! He did so first in 1941 in cartoon form and again in 2019 in CGI. The first film tied as the highest in our list with a 98%, and the remake was given a lowly 46%.
Cinderella
The story of Cinderella has been brought to our screens in one way or another over a hundred times, and Disney themselves made two movie adaptations. The animated classic came out in 1950, and 65 years later, the 2015 film made Cinderella the first Disney Princess to get a live remake.
In each movie, Cinderella is a servant girl who winds up at the ball by magic and meets a handsome prince! The first film earned a 97%, and the second came in not too far behind with an 84%.
Alice in Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland was first a novel by Lewis Carroll until Walt Disney turned it into a colorful film in 1951. Alice is a young girl who stumbles down a rabbit hole and finds herself in a magical and wonderful new world where things are often silly and not always as they appear. In 2010, director Tim Burton put his creepy spin on the story as real live actors mixed with the fictional Wonderland. Walt got an 81%, while Tim received 30 points less with 51%. Still, both films are made by Disney’s company, so we can’t complain!
Lady and The Tramp
It’s the movie that made eating spaghetti on a date seem so much more romantic and gave a new meaning to the term “puppy love.” Lady and the Tramp first came out 1955, and it simply tickled the part inside our hearts that hopes to get a puppy for a present each holiday. This film taught us about love and what’s important when it comes to being from different worlds. The 2019 live action version of the film brought us real pups to enjoy on screen, and we loved every minute of it. Critics, however, were not as impressed, giving the second film a 65% when the first received 93%.
Sleeping Beauty
Everyone knows the story of Sleeping Beauty, the princess who was cursed as a baby to grow up and prick her finger on a spinning wheel on her sixteenth birthday. She was sent away with three kind fairies who would raise her in a cottage far away from the evil Maleficent.
However, it turns out that Maleficent was not as wicked as she seemed to be, as we found out when she got to tell her side of the story in 2014 with her own film, titled Maleficent. This isn’t an exact remake like the other movies on our list, but rather it’s a unique take on the events before and during the original Sleeping Beauty that audiences loved. Critics only gave the villain’s tale a 54%, favoring 1959’s Sleeping Beauty with an 88%.
101 Dalmatians
101 Dalmatians originally came out in 1961 when Cruella De Vil burst into our screens and demanded a new fur coat made of precious puppies. In 1996, we were met with actual Dalmatians for the live action film. Interestingly enough, each movie had their own sequel, the animated 101 Dalmatians 2: Patch’s London Adventure and the live 102 Dalmatians. In both instances, the first films did better on Rotten Tomatoes; the original 101 Dalmatians earned a 98%, the highest score on our list, and the remake received a 42%, the lowest score on our list.
The Jungle Book
Before Disney had Tarzan being raised in the jungle by apes, they had Mowgli being raised by wolves in The Jungle Book. We were introduced to this adorable feral boy in 1967 when he was found as a baby in a basket and was brought to a new mother wolf. After knowing nothing but the jungle for ten years, Mowgli is forced to leave once word gets around that a man-eating tiger is in the area.
Disney may believe in just the bare necessities, but in this instance, that included a remake in 2016. This time around, the movie did even better with a 94% RT score from critics in comparison to an 87% for the animation.
Beauty and the Beast
It’s a tale as old as time and a song as old as rhyme. A kind-hearted bookworm ends up being taken hostage in place of her father by a misunderstood grumpy beast under a magic spell, who is actually a prince in disguise! Beauty and The Beast danced into theaters for the first time in 1991 and again with Emma Watson as Belle in 2017. Rotten Tomatoes critics say that the second film offers a “faithful yet fresh retelling,” although it only got a 71% versus the animated movie’s 94%.
Aladdin
If you had a genie to grant you three wishes, do you know what you would wish for? That was exactly the predicament in which Aladdin found himself in 1992 and again in 2019. At first, finding a magic lamp with a genie tucked inside feels like a dream come true, but Aladdin soon learns that getting wishes granted is not always as good as it seems to be. The iconic Robin Williams played the genie in the animated film, while Will Smith took over the role this past year. Looks like Mr. Williams takes the win with a 95%, with Mr. Smith’s movie coming in at 57%.
The Lion King
From Dalmatians to elephants, we now bring you lions with The Lion King. This one may be cheating a bit because there was no “live action” actors playing all the animals; it was CGI. Poor Simba the lion cub took responsibility for his father’s death in 1994, and we had to watch the tragedy strike again last year in 2019. Both films shared the honor of having James Earl Jones voice Simba’s father Mufasa, and his performances were a highlight in each film. However, he and his cast mates seemed to do better the first time around, as the cartoon got a 93%, and the CGI film only got a 53%.
