Disney has been on a roll for the past several years when it comes to adapting its classics to live-action. WithDisneygreats likeCinderella,Beauty and the Beast, andThe Lion King,just to name a few, the media giant has been taking advantage of the nostalgia still held by fans for their all-time great titles to remake them in live-action form for a new audience or to just for another chance to make even more from them. This has come with some criticism, however, with mostly mixed reviews between critics and fans. Not many reach a consensus for these adaptations, positive or negative.
Most criticism, however, seems to be around whether these adaptations are toosimilar or too different from the originals. This comes with the territory of trying to adapt films that have been so loved by so many fans for decades. It is a tightrope act that must be treaded lightly to ensure that the expectations of the original films are hit, all while presenting something new to the movie that makes it worth the while of spending time and money on a new adaptation. Although they can be seen as all-time greats in animated form, live-action movies have different requirements and different limitations, which could hurt the story being adapted.
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Why The Live-Action Remakes Fall Flat
From visuals to characterization, live-action movies typically have different sensibilities and audiences, making it difficult to change from one to the other. Another, and possibly most important factor, is that the classics may be too much to live up to, making it near impossible to make something that is worthwhile to critics and fans. Most often, new material or more detailed exploration is needed from a live-action adaptation, but most of Disney’s live-action remakes are lacking in this department.
But it wasn’t as if Disney didn’t know that theywould need new material in the live-action adaptations. The run-time of the live-action films has been considerably longer, withThe Lion Kingbeing half an hour longer than the original. But for the most part, it didn’t need extra time to change anything, and it shows in the final product. The 2019Lion Kingis longer, but is still somehow a beat-by-beat exact remake with little to nothing new to offer. This is one reason why many of the remakes don’t work for fans, as the original movies are already great with how they have been presented. When making a live-action remake, it would work best to remake a movie that could benefit from a longer run-time or isn’t already adored by fans on the scale that Disney classics likeThe Lion KingandCinderellaare. With that said, what could make a great live-action remake is Disney’s foray intosci-fi and science fantasy animated movies from the early 2000swithAtlantis: The Lost EmpireandTreasure Planet.
Atlantis and Treasure Planet: Untapped Potential
Both of these films came out only a year apart and are very much alike, yet both are unique for Disney movies. From having a PG rating rather than a G, and both being influenced by or adapted from classic epic tales, it would be difficult to identify these movies as Disney creations if not for previous knowledge. But that is perhaps what makes them more adaptable to live-action than Disney classics have been.
For one,AtlantisandTreasure Planethave slightly longer runtimes than the likes ofBeauty and the BeastorThe Jungle Book. But even with the longer runtimes, there’s so much material to explore in these epic Sci-Fi worlds that they could use a longer runtime as seen with the live-action remakes.AtlantisandTreasure Planetreally only scratch the surface of the massive worlds they unmask. Diving deeper into the lore and allowing the audience to have more time with side characters would greatly benefit the overall story of these ambitious animated tales.
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AtlantisandTreasure Planetare massive epics with loads of characters and locations, but still manage to be personal and intimate. They were very much ahead of their time; thus, now would be perfect to release these movies to audiences amidst the renaissance of epics happening at the box office. Hollywood has created an influx in massive sprawling tails with a roster of characters and locations likeDune,Avatar, and almost everything in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It’s what audiences want now, as the bar has been raised for how massive movies can be while still telling personal, relatable stories.
BothAtlantisandTreasure Planetcheck all of those boxes with current trends at the theater. Although the scope of these movies is quite large, they put characters in situations that are relatable even though it’s in a location like space or Atlantis.EvenTreasure Planet’s relatable villain, Long John Silver, matches the trends of current villains today, since he has a tangible motivation that the audience can connect with.
Unfortunately, not many recognize these movies anymore, especially with newer Disney fans getting familiarized with the classics. They just didn’t create the impact that their Disney classics had. However, giving them a second chance would give audiences the chance to revisit and rediscover these movies, adventuring along with Milo and Jim as they discover their own worlds. Disney fans already know and loveCinderellaandMulan. A live-actionTreasure PlanetorAtlantiswould introduce these stories to millions of new viewers.
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