In recent years Disney has been making live-action remakes of the original animated movies. For example, over the past summer, a live-action version of “The Lion King” was released in theaters.
Many people have had many different opinions on the live-action remakes that have been made so far. Though I have not seen the new Lion King movie I have seen several of the live-action films such as Cinderella, The Jungle Book and Beauty and the Beast. Though some of these films do steer away from the animated film’s stories, they do bring a feeling of nostalgia to all the older viewers who grew up watching the classics.
Dr. Paul Wright, associate professor of English who teaches film courses, had an interesting input as to why Disney might be remaking movies.
“This is an example of Hollywood rebooting existing stories, so this is as old as the hills in Hollywood… A lot of film industries actually… Where you take a proven property that was profitable in the past and you bring it back to life with a new cast, a new look and special effects.”Wright said. “What Disney is doing is remaking and rebooting at a faster pace. So we get remakes that seem to come practically on the heels of the original and feel like a sequel, not a remake. So in a way what Disney is doing is something all of Hollywood has done and Disney has done in the past… I think they are trying to capture new audiences. I think they assume that CGI property may be more appealing to a younger audience than an old school animation. What’s kind of funny is that wave of animated Disney classics in the ’90s, like Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Lion King, etc. Those movies all embraced a style of more tradition animation… Those three movies I mentioned felt old school and people loved that about them and I think it was getting to the parents, not just the kids.”
Wright’s opinion on Disney remaking their old movies are for more profits and to attract a bigger audience.
Ashley Hopner, sophomore criminology major, and Francesca Maslin, senior writing major, gave their opinion on Disney’s choice to remake old movies.
“I think they’re running out of content and they are not being very creative. I think they’re just recreating old ideas,” Maslin said.
“I think Disney is trying to revamp the stories in a way that pulls in the new generations, while also still tying in the older generations because it’s a classic,”Hopper said.
Hopner and Maslin express valid opinions on the remakes. Disney could be running out of ideas or they’re trying to attract the younger generation.
Kesiah Vaughan, sophomore education major, had another interesting point to add.
“I believe Disney is making old movies into live-action movies because they want to keep the tradition and old memories alive… The new movies that they’re making don’t make up for the old movies. It doesn’t have that same feeling. It’s very modernized,” Vaughan said.
