Remakes are all the fad in Hollywood, and Disney is not any exception.

A beloved beacon within the leisure trade, the legacy studio has been churning out animated classics for practically a century. Its first characteristic movie, 1937's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, is the newest staple to get the live-action therapy. The brand new remake stars Rachel Zegler because the fairest of all of them, following Halle Bailey, Emma Watson, and Lily James' turns as Ariel, Belle, and Cinderella, respectively.

However live-action Disney films aren't restricted to princess photos; a number of animated options have gotten a second wind lately, for higher or worse.

Right here's Leisure Weekly's tackle each live-action Disney film remake, ranked.

23. Mufasa: The Lion King (2024)

The prequel movie Mufasa a minimum of promised one thing thrilling — a brand new story that, not like 2019’s The Lion King, wasn’t merely a “live-action” rehash of an older (and higher) movie. However Mufasa feels insecure, as if audiences would lose curiosity the second it wasn’t nodding to its supply materials. So we get an pointless bookend with The Lion King’s characters, relentless visible references to the animated authentic, and so, so, so many origin tales, from the place Rafiki acquired his stick with how Scar acquired his, properly, scar.

Barry Jenkins, who co-wrote and directed the elegant Moonlight, brings a kinetic, character-driven method to his route, nimbly pivoting between grandeur and intimacy. Nonetheless, there’s a sweatiness to the entire affair, as if no scene can breathe a second earlier than it’s time to remind the viewers of the higher film they may very well be watching as an alternative. —Randall Colburn

22. The Lion King (2019)

There’s a sure sacrilege that comes with remaking a masterpiece. Among the higher entries on this listing show which you could take a basic and craft one thing recent; different instances, the consequence feels a bit like puppeteering a long-dead corpse. Jon Favreau’s exhausting Lion King retread falls into the latter camp, a “live-action” movie that feels fully lifeless. (Each single animal is a clunky CGI creation.)

The 1994 authentic isn’t beloved as a result of it’s Hamlet with speaking animals; it’s a masterful piece of filmmaking in itself, a stunning, colourful household saga stuffed with humor and coronary heart. This 2019 retread makes an attempt to squeeze that very same emotional response out of viewers, just by recreating each body by means of photorealistic CGI. The result’s tedious, a pointless remake with no soul of its personal. —Devan Coggan

21. Alice By way of the Trying Glass (2016)

With a billion-dollar field workplace haul, it's no shock Disney ordered a follow-up to 2010's Alice in Wonderland. However any semblance of actual whimsy and enchantment (not to mention income) went down the rabbit gap with Tim Burton, who stepped down from director to producer for this diminished sequel. James Bobin took his place, catching up with Alice (Mia Wasikowska) a number of years after her preliminary go to to Wonderland.

Upon passing by means of the titular trying glass, she embarks on a time-traveling journey to fix the Mad Hatter's (Johnny Depp) damaged coronary heart over his lacking household. However their journey is all present and no stakes, whereas the visuals are over-wrought with dizzying CGI dreamscapes like a kaleidoscope of colourful slop. Lewis Carroll’s second Alice novel was a witty, welcome growth of the now-classic story; why we wanted this movie (past the plain cash-grab) is a curiouser and curiouser query. —Allaire Nuss

20. Pinocchio (2022)

The previous adage “If it ain’t broke, don’t repair it” is related to a number of movies on this listing, however maybe none so pointedly as Disney’s 2022 tackle Pinocchio, first animated by the Mouse Home in 1940. It’s laborious to argue with the expertise — Tom Hanks is an impressed alternative for woodcarver Geppetto — however Robert Zemeckis and Chris Weitz’s screenplay is just too liberal with the sandpaper, smoothing away the rambunctious picket doll’s tough edges whereas layering in a weepy backstory for Geppetto that’s belabored and pointless. There’s nothing handmade or one-of-a-kind right here — this doll was born of an meeting line. —R.C.

19. Dumbo (2019)

Whereas the unique Dumbo is certainly one of Disney’s shortest characteristic movies, it’s additionally certainly one of its saddest and trippiest with its hallucinogenic pink elephants and story of animal cruelty inside the circus. Provided that, Tim Burton’s macabre type ought to’ve been the proper match for transforming Dumbo into a live-action film. However the film is an odd jumble of neutered World Warfare I PTSD, theme park-owning villains (self-examination from Disney?!), and household dynamics.

Michael Keaton steals scenes as V.A. Vandevere, the proprietor of Dreamland theme park, and Colin Farrell serves up a sizzling, unhappy dad. However this Dumbo is as flimsy and devoid of emotion as a circus act, relying too closely on the CGI elephant to generate any actual flights of fantasy. —Maureen Lee Lenker

18. Girl and the Tramp (2019)

First, the excellent news: Disney discovered some completely lovely canines to star on this remake of the 1955 authentic. The canine actors taking part in the titular lovestruck pair are pleasant, they usually appear like hand-drawn cartoons that sprung to life. (The enduring spaghetti scene is totally charming.) However in any other case, this straight-to-Disney+ retread has little so as to add, largely coasting on the attraction of the unique. To its credit score, the brand new movie neatly excises a number of the authentic’s extra problematic moments — like slicing the racist “Siamese Cat Music.” However in any other case, the brand new Girl and the Tramp proves that this previous canine can’t precisely be taught new methods. —D.C.

17. Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Guide (1994)

This live-action forebearer's actual animals don't converse, however wildlife isn't the centerpiece right here. Reasonably, the 1994 adaptation's point of interest is the added human drama, as a grown Mowgli (Jason Scott Lee) is cornered by the British military within the jungles of India to assist him develop into “civilized.”

A family-friendly journey movieàla directorStephen Sommers' The Mummy (full with cultural stereotypes and colonial overtones), it's admittedly extra thrilling than Jon Favreau's in any other case superior imaginative and prescient from 2016, that includes lush surroundings for its stunts and a magnetic motion star in Lee, who kicks severe ass to satisfying impact. The movie advantages farther from a romantic arc with a pre-Recreation of Thrones Lena Headey. However whereas it largely eschews Rudyard Kipling's authentic plot, it sadly has its personal problematic components, making the truth that it's largely forgotten sting rather less. —A.N.

16. Peter Pan & Wendy (2023)

Of all of the basic Disney animated movies, Peter Pan looks like one that might really use some trendy revisions and touch-ups. However despite the fact that this 2023 replace makes Tiger Lily (Alyssa Wapanatâhk) a badass as an alternative of a damsel and foregrounds Wendy (Ever Anderson) in each the title and narrative, Peter Pan & Wendy nonetheless lacks the magic of director David Lowery’s different fantasy movies (or, for that matter, different live-action versions of Peter Pan).

The brand new backstory between Peter (Alexander Molony) and Hook (Jude Legislation) represents the film’s incomplete creativeness, gesturing at an growth of its supply materials with out really fleshing out these concepts. —Christian Holub

15. Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019)

Angelina Jolie’s red-lipped, black-winged theatrics propelled Maleficent to a $750 million worldwide field workplace haul, so a sequel to the 2014 fairy story was a foregone conclusion. What do you do, although, whenever you’ve already given your depraved queen a face flip? Properly, you introduce one other depraved queen. That’s precisely what Maleficent: Mistress of Evil does, introducing Michelle Pfeiffer’s Queen Ingrith, whose white garb, such a distinction to Jolie’s gothic getup, belies in poor health intentions.

Jolie is improbable, after all, however she has fewer notes to play than she did beforehand. The plot, too, is threadbare to the purpose of incoherence, with a slew of overqualified performers — together with Imelda Staunton and Lesley Manville — left to fill within the gaps as fairies, man-crows, and anthropomorphized mushroom caps. All that inexperienced hearth ought to maintain the children entertained, however don’t anticipate this spell to outlast the closing credit. —R.C.

14. Magnificence and the Beast (2017)

Magnificence and the Beast is a jewel in Disney’s animation crown — the primary animated movie to earn an Oscar nomination for Greatest Image. However for all of the magic and plush imagery of the 1992 authentic, the live-action model is as lifeless as an unenchanted candlestick. Emma Watson tries too laborious to make Belle a feminist icon (when she already was one!) and there's an excessive amount of pointless backstory about her useless mother.

“Be Our Visitor” ought to be a feast for the eyes, however as an alternative it’s a blur of CGI-crafted cutlery that's extra prone to induce a headache. Luke Evans is superlative as Gaston (although it’s nonetheless a rattling disgrace he didn’t get to sing “Me” from the Broadway adaptation) and Kevin Kline lends the bumbling Maurice a soulful sentiment. However the finish result’s a mish-mash of pointless updates, lackluster new songs (once more, the Broadway rating is RIGHT THERE), and a disregard for what made the story as previous as time, properly, timeless. —M.L.L.

13. The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010)

In the event you’ve ever watched Mickey's iconic Fantasia sequence — through which he, clad in a crimson gown and pointy stars-and-moons hat, squares off towards bewitched buckets and brooms — and thought it might be neat with, say, mops, it’s possible you’ll get pleasure from The Sorcerer's Apprentice.

A unfastened adaptation of that animated phase, this hopeful franchise-starter from Nationwide Treasure director Jon Turteltaub is a hyper-caffeinated train in CGI necromancy. The movie advantages from its NYC-set showdowns and a charismatic flip by Nicolas Cage, who snarls beneath stringy gray locks as a centuries-old wizard named Balthazar. Jay Baruchel, so affecting in 2023’s BlackBerry, is much less profitable, his withering nasal drone rising tiresome throughout the movie’s 110-minute runtime. —R.C.

12. Aladdin (2019)

Replicating the magic of Robin Williams is an unattainable job, so director Man Ritchie’s live-action Aladdin properly went in a very completely different route by casting Will Smith as their model of the Genie. The filmmakers didn’t fairly go far sufficient with that authentic take (they need to’ve let Smith carry out his hip-hop model of “Good friend Like Me” within the film scene as an alternative of leaving it for the top credit) however Aladdin’s crackerjack plot and literal wish-fulfillment premise nonetheless makes for an entertaining film. —C.H.

11. Alice in Wonderland (2010)

Tim Burton, the undisputed king of kid-friendly workout routines in darkish fantasy, was an impressed alternative for a live-action Alice in Wonderland, first animated by Disney from the works of Lewis Carroll in 1951. However this take, through which an grownup Alice (Mia Wasikowska) returns to Wonderland (or is it Underland?) for a second time, struggles to reconcile fantasy and actuality.

Wasikowska’s Alice by no means fairly feels current with the oddballs she encounters, whether or not it’s Helena Bonham Carter’s Queen of Hearts or Johnny Depp’s Bozo-esque Mad Hatter, and Linda Woolverton’s script by no means fairly nails the pretzeled wit of Carroll’s supply materials. Nonetheless, there’s an offbeat power to the affair, with Burton layering an ominously stormy sky over a world wealthy in coloration and grandeur. His Alice in Wonderland doesn’t tickle the mind like its predecessor, nevertheless it’s a worthwhile journey down the rabbit gap. —R.C.

10. Maleficent (2014)

A revisionist fairy story within the mildew of Wicked, Maleficent recenters the 1959 basic Sleeping Magnificence to concentrate on its horned antagonist, performed by a putting and claw-curling Angelina Jolie. Right here, Maleficent involves remorse the curse she lays on Aurora (Elle Fanning), realizing that her fellow females aren’t responsible for her lot, however the ego-driven patriarch who bends society to his will.

It’s a intelligent subversion of the unique story, however Maleficent performs like a metronome, clicking predictably from one location (the fortress) to a different (the magic forest). What retains us coming again is Jolie, who navigates her drift towards sympathy with out absolutely abandoning the ink stain that’s unfold throughout her soul. —R.C.

9. Mulan (2020)

Mulan was hampered by a mid-COVID lockdown launch, producing ire amongst audiences for its excessive on-demand price ticket on Disney+. For many who have been enormous followers of the unique film, the songs are a serious omission (“I’ll Make a Man Out of You” is all the time and perpetually a high Disney banger). However Mulan deserves extra honor heaped on its identify for its success as a supremely cool martial arts film.

Directed by Niki Caro, this Mulan is much less Disney Princess, extra Lara Croft. The movie is filled with jaw-dropping struggle sequences and unbelievable stunts. Admittedly, it was most likely more durable to understand that on a tv as an alternative of the massive display screen. However on the subject of a narrative of lady energy couched in Chinese language legend and martial arts types, this live-action replace is a film price preventing for. —M.L.L.

8. Cruella (2021)

Nobody was actually clamoring for a Cruella de Vil redemption arc: In any case, the snooty fashionista who skins puppies alive doesn’t precisely make for a sympathetic heroine. However this 2021 flick refashions (ahem) Cruella right into a misunderstood artiste, an up-and-coming garments designer (Emma Stone) desirous to make her mark on Nineteen Seventies London.

There are a number of clunky, shoehorned references to the unique — dalmatians killing Cruella’s mother is as ridiculous because it sounds — however the very best scenes have little in frequent with the supply materials, and it’s pleasant to look at Cruella face off towards her tyrannical boss (Emma Thompson, going full Miranda Priestley). Is it profitable as a 101 Dalmatians remake? Not likely. However it’s nonetheless a devilish delight. —D.C.

7. Christopher Robin (2018)

It’s all the time good to spend time with previous associates. Reasonably than attempt to remake a beloved basic shot-for-shot, as so many different titles on this listing do, Christopher Robin really tells an authentic story in dialog with the basic Winnie the Pooh tales that so many people grew up with. In consequence, it feels recent and new whereas additionally offering recognizably lovable moments from iconic characters like Pooh and Tigger.

Numerous credit score for that belongs to veteran voice actors like Jim Cummings (the voice of Pooh for greater than 30 years), but additionally the CGI work that makes the Hundred Acre Wooden characters look as believably worn as your personal stuffed animals. —C.H.

6. 101 Dalmatians (1996)

Lengthy earlier than Emma Stone donned that black and white wig, Glenn Shut was the unique flesh-and-blood Cruella, puffing an extended cigarette and plotting to kidnap a squad of noticed puppies. In 1996, live-action variations of Disney classics weren’t but a pattern, however 101 Dalmatians proved to be a success, spawning dozens of copy-cats (er, copy-dogs?) to return.

The movie itself lacks a lot of the unique’s charms (right here, the canines don’t converse), and John Hughes’ so-so script borrows closely from his earlier movie Residence Alone, proper right down to the 2 fumbling bandits (Hugh Laurie and Mark Williams, taking part in Cruella’s henchmen). However Shut elevates your complete camp affair, glowering maniacally, hair trying like she simply caught her finger in {an electrical} socket. Not like Stone’s toned-down model, this Cruella has little interest in a redemption arc: If she doesn’t scare you, no evil factor will. —D.C.

5. The Little Mermaid (2023)

The trick in these live-action remakes is to be neither a shot-for-shot remake (see: The Lion King) nor up to now faraway from the unique that followers are upset (i.e. eradicating the songs in Mulan). The Little Mermaid holds that center floor swimmingly. Halle Bailey is gorgeous as Ariel and casting a Black lady as certainly one of their most iconic princesses heightened the movie’s attraction as a Little Mermaid for a brand new era.

The underwater scenes supply a vibrant, vivid magnificence, however the movie's finest asset is the chemistry between Bailey and Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric. A richer backstory of their mutual sense of curiosity and love of exploration deepens their connection, whereas Daveed Diggs additionally steals scenes as Sebastian the Crab. However it’s Rob Marshall’s very good route (and agency reminder that film musicals are higher when directed by somebody with Broadway chops) that makes your complete factor a veritable under-the-sea buffet of marvel and whimsy. —M.L.L.

4. Pete’s Dragon (2016)

The 1977 Pete’s Dragon isn’t a serious participant within the Disney pantheon — which is why David Lowery’s 2016 reboot is such a pleasant shock. As an alternative of obsessively making an attempt to recreate the unique, Lowery takes the bones of the primary movie — a basic boy and his dragon story — and crafts one thing recent, an enthralling environmentalist fantasy that’s each light and heartfelt.

Lowery makes use of each body to seize a childlike sense of marvel, whether or not it’s a quiet shot of the Pacific Northwest forest or the second when younger orphan Pete (Oakes Fegley) meets his large fuzzy pal for the primary time. It’s the uncommon remake that significantly improves on the unique. —D.C.

3. The Jungle Guide (2016)

A transparent triumph in comparison with Jon Favreau’s tackle The Lion King a number of years later, his model of The Jungle Book stays far superior for a number of causes. Although it retains “Bear Requirements” and the opposite songs made iconic by Disney’s 1967 animated movie, The Jungle Guide additionally provides extra components from Rudyard Kipling’s authentic tales (such because the household dynamic of Mowgli’s adoptive wolf dad and mom) which prevents it from feeling like a straight retread. Additionally, the fixed presence of Neel Sethi’s Mowgli is vital in giving all of the CGI animal characters a human being to bounce off. —C.H.

2. Snow White (2025)

Main as much as its launch, Snow White was the topic of quite a few controversies, with tradition warriors raging over the casting of Latina actress Rachel Zegler and Recreation of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage decrying the studio revisiting this “f—ing backwards story about seven dwarfs dwelling in a cave collectively.” Fortunately, director Marc Webb’s film is nice sufficient to rise above the discourse.

Zegler brings a recent, prickly power to the timeless character. She belts the movie’s charming new songs with gusto, most notably "Ready on a Want," through which she muses about "The lady I'm meant to be…Somebody who may lastly begin / Begin talking with a fearless coronary heart / Somebody who simply could be courageous / Somebody nobody wants to avoid wasting." This isn't your great-grandma's Snow White; it's a totally trendy reimagining that lends the princess invigorating company whereas retaining the magic of Disney's 1937 staple. —R.C.

1. Cinderella (2015)

Although there are a number of titles on this listing with earlier launch dates, Cinderella launched the present spate of Disney live-action updates. A decade later, it nonetheless stays a step above the remaining. Director Kenneth Branagh treats the fairy story with as a lot respect and magnificence as a Shakespeare play, elevating the supply materials to one thing grander. Lily James, who at the moment was finest identified for her supporting position on Downton Abbey, proved herself a film star along with her luminous portrayal of the serving lady turned princess. However Cate Blanchett in her couture-worthy ensembles as Cinderella’s stepmother, Girl Tremaine, steals the image along with her biting dialogue and viper’s smile.

Every little thing about this adaptation is radiant — from Cinderella’s glowing blue ballgown to the heartrending relationship between the Prince (a dashing Richard Madden) and his ageing father (Branagh favourite Derek Jacobi). Branagh casts romanticism and enchantment over each facet, giving Cinderella a brand new depth whereas by no means dropping sight of what makes her particular — her deep-seated decency and kindness. If a dream is a want your coronary heart makes, we’d want for each live-action remake to be this magical. —M.L.L.

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