Disney has been on a campaign of gradually retrofitting the animated classics that defined many fans' childhoods into more modern live-action blockbusters for over 20 years now. While a couple of good films have come out of this project and it’s unquestionably been profitable, most of the outings have received massive pushback from fans and audiences.
Currently, the two upcoming Disney live-action remakes that have captured the public consciousness are Robert Zemeckis' take onPinocchioandDean Fleischer-Camp’sLilo & Stitch. Neither of these films is out yet, the latter doesn’t even have an announced release date, but the subject has become common. With dozens of these adaptations behind the company, there have been a lot of learning opportunities.
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The first example of this phenomenon is the utterly forgotten 1994 take onThe Jungle Book. In that period, however,these live-action Disney filmswere few and far between. The studio brought out two live-action takes on101 Dalmations, then shelved the gimmick for a decade. The real kick start for this technique was Tim Burton’s 2010 adaptation ofAlice in Wonderland. That film brought home over a billion dollars despite its mediocre reviews and laid the path for the rest of the franchise. Not every Disney live-action movie has been a financial success, but the ones that blew up wound up with comical piles of cash.Cinderella, The Jungle Book, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin,andThe Lion Kingwere smash hits, despite widely varied critical responses, mainly on name recognition. While Jon Favreau’stake onThe Lion Kingis unquestionably not a live-action film, it is a remake, and it’s the seventh highest-grossing film ever made. So, the technique works often enough that it isn’t going anywhere, but maybe picking better source material could help the films.
Treasure Planet
After multiple other projects with the mouse, creative duo John Musker and Ron Clements finally got to put together their dream project; a high-concept sci-fi take on Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1883 novelTreasure Island. It took three pitches to get the project greenlit by thenDisney head Jeffery Katzenberg. The film is one of the most visually grandiose projects ever undertaken by Disney, a genuine creative masterwork that required an unconscionable amount of work and talent to come together. Unfortunately, it then became one of the most expensive flops in film history, leading to a decades-long realignment of the company and a gradual shift away from 2D animation.
The failure ofTreasure Planetis the kind of Greek tragedy that makes it hard to be a fan of film in general. It’s fair to say that the modern landscape of film would be fundamentally different if this film had been anything other than a disaster. It’s also fair to say that the visual artistry and fast-paced kinetic action wouldn’t have been possible with the live-action VFX of 2002.Modern effects and filmmaking techniques, however, could absolutely create something brilliant from this starting point.Treasure Planetdeserves another chance, and the moviegoing audience deserves to see it play out in the kind of effects that are only possible today.
Atlantis: The Lost Empire
Released only a year beforeTreasure Planet, Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise’sAtlantis: The Lost Empirewasn’t quite the disaster of its peer, but it wasn’t a success either. It’s Disney’s first sci-fi animated film, and it’s a landmark in the genre. It tells the tale of a young academic who stumbles upon a book that he believes will lead a group of hired guns to the lost civilization beneath the sea. The film made use of more CG than Disney’s previous efforts, but still got beaten byShrek. This too, however, is a visual masterclass with one of the best settings in an animated film. The argument is much the same, modern VFX could make a brilliant piece of art out of the fantastic source material. Both films received excellent critical reception, andthe modern fanbase wouldsurely push either work into the realm of success.
Meet the Robinsons
This 2007 CG-animated film is yetanother clever science fictionfilm that takes a simple idea and executes it with near-perfect creativity. And, yet again, it wasn’t rewarded with success at the box office, despite good critical reception and cult-classic status.Meet the Robinsonstells the tale of a brilliant boy who meets a time-traveler who seeks to protect him. Most of the film is spent exploring the clever retro-future aesthetic of the film’s world. Rather than blowing minds with VFX wizardry, a live-action adaptation of this cult classic would be a chance to pack in countless visual gags and clever design aesthetics.
The elements that would make for a good Disney live-action remake are a cult-classic status, a lack of appreciation in its time, and a visually gripping art style. Hopefully, since the technique isn’t going anywhere, the company will make some better choices.
