A Definitive Ranking of Every Disney Live-Action Remake
The post A Definitive Ranking of Every Disney Live-Action Remake appeared first on Consequence.
In the lead-up to the release of the live-action The Little Mermaid, Consequence will be looking back at the Disney Renaissance and how it shaped our culture. Today, we begin with a ranking of all the live-action adaptations of Disney classics.
The question every remake faces is this: Why? Why take a film that already existed, and retell the same story again? The reason is almost always an essential facet of whether or not the remake is actually worth watching, because when the answer is rooted in creative choices, it can (at the very least) be an engaging viewing experience. But when the reason is more business-minded, well…
Let’s be real: So many of Disney’s live-action remakes of animated films fail to live up to their inspirations, adding little creatively — despite the live-action versions often stretching the runtime an extra half-hour or more over what came prior. Seriously, every single live-action remake is longer than the film upon which it’s based or by which it’s inspired, except for one. And that film, perhaps not coincidentally, happens to be the top-ranked film on this list.
There have been bright spots over the years, thanks to a fresh angle, an innovative casting choice, or visual flair that pushes the original to a new plane. And there may be more bright spots on the horizon, with directors like Moonlight’s Barry Jenkins and Marcel the Shell’s Dean Fleischer Camp taking on a Lion King prequel and Lilo & Stitch, respectively. In the battle between art and commerce, Disney’s live-action adaptation obsession is definitely a front line. But when we’re lucky, the art manages to win out.
— Liz Shannon Miller
Senior Entertainment Editor
21. Pinocchio (2022)
Pinocchio (Disney+)
Robert Zemekis’s descent into the uncanny valley has been one of 21st-century film’s most disappointing developments; he’s a great filmmaker when not obsessing over his mo-cap toys, which unfortunately hasn’t happened for a while. There are some interesting additions to the classic tale of a wooden puppet who wants to become a real boy, like the character of Fabiana (Kyanne Lamaya), a disabled puppeteer, but it’s still hard to look into Pinocchio’s blank animated eyes and not feel chilled. Even if Guillermo del Toro’s Oscar-winning adaptation, released a few months later, hadn’t been so good, this would still be an unsettling dud. — L.S. Miller
20. Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016)
Alice Through the Looking Glass (Disney)
The confection-colored blandness of Alice Through the Looking Glass somehow forgets to be sweet; it’s like a candy binge that skips past the sugar rush and goes straight to the stomachache. The action scenes never muster any stakes, and the starry cast ranges from at best underused (Helena Bonham Carter) to those who are sleepwalking straight to the bank (Johnny Depp). As for Alice herself, Mia Wasikowska dazzled as a teenage gymnast in HBO’s In Treatment, but as much as she stood out in an intimate therapist’s room, Disney’s overwrought Wonderland swallows her whole. The best Lewis Carroll adaptations evoke a children’s story dreamed up on LSD, but this one never marshaled more inspiration than a room full of suits dreaming of money. — Wren Graves
19. Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019)
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (Disney)
This lavish sequel to 2014’s Maleficent creates additional mythology for the franchise’s more nuanced treatment of the titular evil fairy — and gives her a powerful nemesis in Michelle Pfeiffer’s Queen Ingrith. But the world-building is murky, the storytelling limp, and the effects used to create Aurora’s faithful fairy friends (Harry Potter’s Imelda Staunton, Ted Lasso’s Juno Temple, and Phantom Thread’s Lesley Manville) are deeply unsettling. — L.S. Miller
18. Lady and the Tramp (2019)
Lady and the Tramp (Disney+)
Maybe some time down the road we’ll get a film where we see Tessa Thompson and Justin Thereoux banter — in human form, this time. 2019’s Lady and the Tramp went straight to Disney+, and didn’t feel like it made a huge footprint, but it succeeded most when it didn’t take itself too seriously. However, the biggest bone (get it?) to pick with the folks behind this movie is changing the lyrics to the classic Disney track “He’s a Tramp.” That song was perfect as is! — Mary Siroky
17. The Lion King (2019)
The Lion King (Disney)
One of Disney’s finest Renaissance creations was 1994’s The Lion King, and in 2019, they released a photorealistic version of the same animated film. Jon Favreau’s The Lion King is perhaps impressive on a technical level; his CGI-aided remake of The Jungle Book offered a new way of rooting beloved stories in a more concrete, realistic fashion, and it makes sense that Disney would want him to recreate this strategy with an even more precious story. Besides the big-budget animation and realistic cats, the biggest win in Favreau’s The Lion King is the upgraded voice cast: With Donald Glover, Beyoncé, and Chiwetel Ejiofor all voicing lions of the African savannah, there’s a considerate effort to follow the Broadway adaptation and emphasize predominantly Black performers. But beyond that, The Lion King doesn’t even contain half of the magic of its original; there’s something almost lifeless about the film and its CGI-heavy imagery, and at its worst, it feels, well, pointless. — Paolo Ragusa
16. Aladdin (2019)
Aladdin (Disney)
One of Disney’s less successful live-action experiments, Aladdin truly had so much potential. A lengthy casting process yielded a charming and talented young star in Mena Massoud, but the CGI-heavy adaptation wasn’t able to capture the charm or magic of the original. Attempts at modernizing the character of Jasmine were reasonable and well-intentioned, but came off a bit forced; Will Smith, notoriously one of the most charismatic actors in Hollywood, just wasn’t able to live up to the very large shoes left by Robin Williams. — M. Siroky
15. Alice in Wonderland (2010)
Alice in Wonderland (Disney)
While Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland was by no means Disney’s first foray into adapting their classic animation into live-action spectacles, there’s an argument to be made that it soft-launched their current obsession. When it dropped in 2010, it had been a decade since their last live-action adaptation, and while it would still be a few years before Disney would raid their vault of IPs, Alice in Wonderland served as a valuable case study. The thing made over a billion dollars globally, no doubt teaching Disney a valuable lesson about audiences’ appetites for such flicks. — Jonah Krueger
14. 102 Dalmatians (2000)
102 Dalmatians (Disney)
Glenn Close gets off one incredible delivery of the word “pupp-eh” in this exceptionally unnecessary sequel to the 1996 film. With Close and Tim McInnerny being the only two returning cast members from the original, the story focuses instead on Chloe (Alice Evans), Cruella’s post-release parole officer; Chloe’s new litter of puppies; and Kevin Shepherd (Ioan Gruffudd), the nice young man who runs a local animal rescue. (Did you catch that his last name is Shepherd?) There are plenty of cute puppies and slapstick comedy (oftentimes in the very same scene), and the focus on Cruella’s post-prison rehabilitation gives this film something unique to explore. But aside from that one “pupp-eh” moment, there’s very little here that’s memorable. — L.S. Miller
13. Dumbo (2019)
Dumbo (Disney)
After essentially kicking off Disney’s obsession with live-action remakes, Tim Burton returned to helm Dumbo. Unlike Alice in Wonderland, though, this time around, he leaves behind most of his Tim Burton-isms. The result is a more consistent but at times lifeless retelling of what should be an engaging and dramatic story. Dumbo is at once too faithful to be interesting and too sanitized to appreciate any artistic deviations. Coming out well into Disney’s live-action adaptation era, all of the usual criticisms apply: it’s too long, the CGI strips non-human characters of their emotionality, and the star-studded cast (in this case, led by Danny DeVito and Michael Keaton) can’t do nearly enough to save it. – J. Krueger
12. 101 Dalmatians (1996)
101 Dalmatians (Disney)
With Glenn Close, Jeff Daniels, Hugh Laurie, and the perfect amount of lovable pups, 1996’s live-action take on 101 Dalmatians is pure, campy fun. One of the most enduring images from the release is Glenn Close showing up to the red carpet in full Cruella de Vil regalia, and while Emma Stone really succeeded at bringing the vampy villain to life much later, sometimes you just can’t outdo the doer. The first film didn’t stray too much from the source material, but also was enough of a breath of fresh air that it didn’t feel like a shot-for-shot cash grab. — M. Siroky
11. Maleficent (2014)
Maleficent (Disney)
Chronologically, Maleficent falls in Disney’s proto-live-action-remake period: Coming out just one year prior to Cinderella, the film was effectively the end of the more experimental era of Disney remakes. Not experimental in any real technical or artistic sense, mind you, but experimental in the sense that the stories were greater than mere scene-by-scene translations. It was a time when the director’s voice would still be present in the final cut — because of this, there’s something admirable about Maleficent. It’s by no means a particularly good film or even a particularly good kids’ film, but it is more interesting than many of the 14 movies that followed – including its sequel. – J. Kreuger
10. Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book (1994)
Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book (Disney)
The best/worst thing about this 1994 film (technically the first live-action remake made by Disney) is that it is technically a Jungle Book remake/adaptation… but really, it’s just Tarzan with different names. Sure, there are tweaks to the story (and of course, they’re set on different continents) but the core idea of a boy abandoned in the wild and raised by the friendly animals he finds there remains consistent. As is the major thrust of the story, as a grown-up Mowgli (Jason Scott Lee) is discovered by the world of men, and comes to learn their ways with the help of his childhood friend Kitty (a pre-Game of Thrones Lena Headey!). Directed by The Mummy helmer Stephen Sommers, it works best in its most Tarzan-y moments, and while there’s an eyebrow to be raised over casting the Hawaiian/Chinese Lee as Mowgli, it holds up better than you’d think. — L.S. Miller
09. Mulan (2020)
Mulan (Disney)
Of all the Disney live-action remakes, 2020’s Mulan had the worst luck. Most of it was no fault of anyone — releasing a film in September 2020, month number six of the pandemic, was never going to offer the type of fanfare that Disney craves. So, they decided to charge folks $30 (more than a movie theater ticket at this or any other time) for “Premiere Access” to the film on Disney+, and its limited release led to the film only grossing $70 million against a $200 million budget. But business aside, there are a lot of fascinating updates to Disney’s 1998 original: more specificity to the characters and environments, battle scenes appropriately blockbuster-tier, and the screenplay feels fresh and different compared to the original. They struck out the character of Mushu and the 1998 film’s terrific songs, so the levity of the original isn’t nearly as present in the remake. But overall, the film’s action sequences and dedicated craftsmanship shine, though it’s a very different film than what many were expecting. — P. Ragusa
08. Cinderella (2015)
Cinderella (Disney)
A mid-period addition to the live-action films, 2015’s Cinderella is lovely, if perhaps not exceptionally memorable. Kenneth Branagh brings some romantic touches to the story, and the production design is impeccable. Plus, when presented with the challenge to create a truly magical ballgown for Cinderella’s big debut at the ball, the legendary Sandy Powell went above and beyond with her delicate blue concoction (made with more than 270 yards of fabric and 10,000 crystals). Lily James and Cate Blanchett stand out the most when revisiting this one, but Richard Madden feels a bit flat — though to be fair, Prince Charming isn’t the most layered character in the Disney canon. — M. Siroky
07. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (2010)
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (Disney)
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is an interesting case. Rather than being an overly-faithful adaptation of a full-length Disney animation, it’s a fairly original story based on the classic broom sequence from Fantasia. Because of this, the tone and story of the film feel much more realized than many of the more straightforward adaptations. Led by a very Nicolas Cage-y Nicolas Cage performance and a genuinely endearing Jay Baruchel, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice works much better as an entertaining kid’s movie than many others on this list. At the very least it doesn’t inspire a rage-filled “look what they’ve done to my boy” response, and that’s a rare thing. – J. Krueger
06. Peter Pan & Wendy (2023)
Peter Pan and Wendy (Disney+)
Director David Lowery doesn’t offer up too much reinvention of the original Peter Pan, which is a bit of a disappointment, but there’s a lush beauty to his depiction of Neverland. And as the title promises, it’s a much more even-handed take on the J.M. Barrie classic, with both the boy who never grew up (Alexander Molony) and Wendy Darling (Ever Anderson, whose face makes so much more sense when you find out she’s Milla Jovovich’s daughter) sharing an equal amount of the story. As with so many Peter Pan adaptations, so much is dependent on the Captain Hook, and Jude Law proves more than capable of bringing both the menace and flair necessary to the role. Plus, real effort is made to update the character of Tiger Lily in ways that almost make up for the original film’s incredibly racist depiction of Native people. If it’d stretched outside the limits of the original more, perhaps it’d be higher on this list. But if Disney must make these movies, one hopes they continue to make them like this. — L.S. Miller
05. The Jungle Book (2016)
The Jungle Book (Disney)
A live-action ape that could be mistaken for one of the rebels in the most recent Planet of the Apes movies doesn’t quite capture the magic of King Louie’s swinging “Wanna Be Like You.” But when you’re not missing the colorful energy of the animated classic, Jon Favreau’s photo-realistic remake puts in the work to make its cast/menagerie come to life, an impressive technical achievement when you consider how much of the film’s lush jungle was created digitally. (It wasn’t a huge shock when the film won Best Visual Effects at the Oscars that year.) Plus, it does feature strong vocal performances from its ensemble cast, including Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Lupita Nyong’o, Giancarlo Esposito, and Christopher Walken, with perhaps the most inspired choice being the casting of Scarlett Johansson as seductive python Kaa. — M. Siroky
04. Beauty and the Beast (2017)
Beauty and the Beast (Disney)
The original was so perfect it could scarcely be improved, but the 2017 remake of Beauty and the Beast manages to capture much of that spirit while doing very little to damage our memories. Emma Watson is a spot-on Belle, and if some alterations didn’t add much (did we really need to shoehorn in the bubonic plague?), others, like Josh Gad’s flamboyant LeFou, brought a bit of sprightliness to the proceedings. With one of the all-time great soundtracks by Alan Menken, and a plot structure as sturdy as those castle walls, Beauty and the Beast proves the wisdom of its title track. When dealing with a tried and true classic — a “tale as old as time” — faithfulness is all you need. — W. Graves
03. Christopher Robin (2018)
Christopher Robin (Disney)
“When you do nothing, it leads to the very best something,” is a message aimed more at adults than children. So is this whole Winnie the Pooh adaptation, which invites parents to rediscover their love for play while kids cackle at characters stuffed with fluff. Christopher Robin (Ewan McGregor) is a fatherless World War II veteran who grew up too quickly and is now holding himself together with a white-knuckle grip — at the expense of his wife (Hayley Atwell) and daughter (Bronte Carmichael). Who should come to the rescue but a talking stuffed bear, Pooh, whose invasion into dreary London sends Robin on a desperate mission back to the Hundred Acre Wood. The first third of the flick sinks into Robin’s depression, but once he drops his cynicism, the story takes flight. It’s the kind of film that’ll inspire you to log off early and hug your children close. — W. Graves
02. Cruella (2021)
Cruella (Disney)
There are lots of elements that work in Cruella’s favor. For one, the character’s introduction may have been in 1961’s One Hundred and One Dalmatians, but Cruella de Vil was never given a proper origin story. The chance to develop Cruella beyond her cold, fur-obsessed persona is a worthy challenge, and after several hires and exits, Disney landed on a strong creative team: The Favourite scribes Dana Fox and Tony McNamara penned the screenplay, and needle-drop expert Craig Gillespie filled in for original hire Alex Timbers to direct. But Cruella wouldn’t be nearly as successful without its commanding lead actress, Emma Stone. She gives Cruella de Vil a dynamic, nuanced portrayal, making a woman with “Cruel” and “Evil” in her name a lot more well-rounded than just a dog-hating antagonist. Not only that, the film’s high fashion setting means everyone looks incredible — multi-Oscar-winning designer Jenny Beavan won the Academy Award that year for the film’s stunning ensembles. — P. Ragusa
01. Pete’s Dragon (2016)
Pete’s Dragon (Disney)
Pete’s Dragon is a certified diamond in the rough, a surprising breath of quality fresh air in a cloud of smog. Perhaps it’s because the film takes on one of Disney’s less canonized IPs, or maybe the studio considered it outside of their greater live-action remake plan because the original wasn’t wholly animated (rather, an animation-live-action hybrid). Whatever the case, right from the opening scenes, there’s a noticeable difference in feel watching Pete’s Dragon when compared to say, The Lion King or Aladdin.
Technically, it can be argued that the film upon which Pete’s Dragon is based is also partly live-action — but thanks to films like The Lion King, the definition of “live -action” we’re working with here is already pretty loose. And more than any other film on this list, Pete’s Dragon manages to capture Disney’s signature wonder. The bleak, transparent cash-grab nature of many of their other remakes is nowhere to be found. Instead, director David Lowery presents a focused, engaging, and surprisingly touching story. And, unfortunately, few saw it. The film grossed just $143.7 million worldwide — not bad for its $65 million budget, but a drop in the bucket compared to the billion-dollar returns of Disney’s other outings. Maybe if Pete’s Dragon reached such heights Disney would have ultimately taken a different approach to their subsequent remakes, leading to a wealth of thoughtfully crafted adaptations instead of star-driven, CGI messes. Sure, it’s speculation, but it’s nice to watch this heartwarming movie and wish upon a star for such a reality. – J. Krueger
A Definitive Ranking of Every Disney Live-Action Remake
Consequence Staff
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