The Curious Case Of The Disney Remakes

Remakes, reboots and reimaginings of popular and timeless classics always has been, and likely always will be, a huge point of contention among many fans. Nobody wants to see their “childhood ruined”, or something they loved and thought was of great quality to be “bastardized by Hollywood” for a quick buck. 

While I’ve always been of the mind that the mere existence of a remake of a popular property does nothing to take away from the magic of the original, there’s definitely an interesting conversation to be had around the topic, especially in regards to recent string of Disney remakes.

Disney’s attempts at producing live action adaptations of their animated classics date as far back as 1994’s The Jungle Book, a remake I wasn’t even aware existed until doing research for this essay. I myself, and I’m sure many others, are much more familiar with 1996’s 101 Dalmatians, as well as its sequel. 

Following these films, Disney wouldn’t really play around too much in this space until the release of 2010’s Alice in Wonderland. Though the Tim Burton directed effort received mostly mixed reviews, it did generate over $1 billion at the box office. The success of the film caused many more live action adaptations to be greenlit at the Disney studios. 

Since then, in addition to Alice in Wonderland receiving its own sequel, various other Disney classics have gotten the same remake/reimagining treatment such as The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Dumbo, Cinderella and Maleficent, with the former three each grossing over $1 billion. 

The money train of Disney remakes is showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon either. An adaptation of Mulan is on the horizon, and we’ve gotten confirmation of new versions of Lilo & Stitch, The Little Mermaid, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and many more. Not to mention the advent of the Disney Plus streaming service, which will launch with a Lady & the Tramp remake, and is a perfect avenue for a multitude of Disney remake projects. 

But why are these remakes (at least most of them) so wildly successful? Though the company seems to be putting out billion dollar films every other week, that amount of money is still nothing to turn your nose up at. 

The short and simple answer, nostalgia. Nostalgia is an absurdly powerful tool, especially in the entertainment world. People come out in droves to see band reunion and anniversary tours, something my age group is doing right now for the Jonas Brothers. 

I’ve seen people almost literally foam at the mouth at the prospect of reunion episodes for shows like Friends or the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and nostalgia is the sole reason that shows like Fuller House and Girl Meets World exist in the first place. 

Although this essay is primarily focused on the Disney remakes, it’s worth noting that the remake trend is not at all exclusive to the house of mouse. New versions of popular movies or franchises like Cats, Terminator and Ghostbusters seem to be getting more and more prevalent with each passing year, further feeding into the idea of nostalgia, our innate human desire for the “good ole’ days”.

Remakes and reboots are perfectly deserving of the space they occupy. In no way do they have to take the place of the original, and I would argue it’s not at all in their best interest to try and do so. So if these remakes and such are going to exist, what’s the “right way to do them,” so to speak. To answer this question, I’d like to point an analytical eye at the various ways Disney has approached this so far.

A few of the Disney remakes we’ve gotten so far have been nearly shot for shot, beat for beat identical to the original. This style of production has typically been used on the classics that are considered to be timeless, untouchable or perfect. Films that are masterpieces in every sense of the word, and require every single part involved to have this title. 

Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King fit this bill to a T. Both are widely debated as both the greatest Disney and animated features of all time, and it’s their remakes that got the shot for shot treatment. 

While Beauty and the Beast featured the tiniest of differences when compared to the original, The Lion King is in every way, shape and form identical to the 1994 animated film. While I personally argue against this style of remake, I can understand why the team behind these projects would approach them this way. 

On paper, it sounds great, and is a great way of getting hesitant fans on board, especially in the case of The Lion King. Watching that film, it truly felt like every single person involved, from the actors, directors and environment designers, genuinely understood the importance and reverence the film has in the hearts of longtime fans. 

Every character, every song and every moment is totally intact. The new voice actors sound great, and really pour their all into their characters. The dedication to recreating the songs is impeccable, and a special shout out needs to go to Chiwetel Ejiofor’s performance as Scar throughout the entire film, including his rendition of Be Prepared. 

But when you stick so closely to the original, you’re only exacerbating the already inevitable comparisons. It makes it extremely hard to watch the films and not feel like you’re watching a worse version of something that has already existed for years. Many moments in The Lion King fell flat for me, mostly because there’s nothing new or exciting about them. 

You’ll never replicate the magic of the original using this method, and this is why I much prefer Disney’s other approach to their recent adaptations, that is, being different, while still retaining the important elements of the original. To explain this, I’d like to focus on Dumbo.

My personal philosophy in regards to any sort of remake, reboot or reimagining, is to be different, yet the same. A good remake should retain the spirit, general ideas and story beats of the original, but should strive to add its own unique elements to enhance the experience. 

What parts and characters are mandatory to the film? Which parts can be altered or omitted. These questions, as well as their answers, can be a hard pill to swallow for many fans. 

I wasn’t at all excited to see Dumbo (mostly because I haven’t at all been a fan of Tim Burton’s other remakes), but I ended up really enjoying it. I find it to be the perfect example of exactly what I was talking about. There are a lot of things omitted or altered from the original Dumbo. There’s no Timothy Q. Mouse, no crows (for obvious reasons) and no baby elephant being delivered by a stork. But for every element the remake removed, it added a bunch of new and interesting ideas. The plot is much grander and more involved, focusing on a struggling circus crew, and Dumbo is primarily overseen by two kids whose father has returned to the circus from his military duties. 

In addition to all these changes, additions and omissions, the center of the story is still Dumbo and his mother. The film still has the centerpiece songs from the original, Pink Elephants on Parade and the classic Baby Mine. 

Dumbo has all the pieces that I find make a remake worth seeing. The heart of the original is still there in Dumbo and his mother, as well as the iconic musical pieces. There’s a totally new story that has interesting and emotional moments in its own right. While I still personally prefer the original animated Dumbo, I genuinely believe the remake does a great job at making itself stand out, and be worth seeing. 

I consider The Lion King and Dumbo to be two extremes among the Disney remakes, but there are plenty that fall somewhere in the middle. Aladdin and The Jungle Book steer much closer to their animated counterparts than Dumbo, but do much more to set themselves apart than The Lion King. And then there are others like Maleficent that seem to be totally original takes on the story and characters. 

Disney’s remakes of their timeless classics will always be controversial among fans, and although I’ve enjoyed a handful of them, I wouldn’t be sad if they stopped releasing them. But as long as they continue to exist, I can only hope that they take the Dumbo approach. I don’t want to see any more like The Lion King, because it’s genuinely saddening to see so much effort, talent and dedication go to waste, all because it’s so close to the original experience, but without all the freshness and magic. 

Give me new takes on these classic tales and characters. Let me see you take them in new and interesting directions. Give me films that can stand next to their animated counterparts as equals. The creativity on display in Disney’s animated features can’t be understated, so it would be awesome to see that same creativity channeled into their remakes.