It seems that now the fashion in Disney It is to make remakes of cartoon movies in live action, however, it is not a new format in the fantasy house: for a few years we have been seeing how the great entertainment company has gradually been increasing a "live-action" catalog » that now, simply, has taken more run than ever. Such is his long list (and what is to come in the coming years), that it is time to review the idea behind these tapes and all the films that the house has under this concept. settle down
What is actual action?
Although it is a bit obvious because the word itself says so, we couldn't stop defining in the first place what is meant by real action within the cinematographic world. With this term live action) would include all those graphic documents that have been recorded by direct filming of the actors and the real elements, that is, in a traditional way -the opposite of animation, wow.
It is clear that the word is understood when we talk about films in the world of cinema, so in the end this adjective is usually only used when we refer to adaptations or remakes (with people and/or animals) of movies or series that are originally animated. The word can also be used in cases in which one speaks of films in which reality and animation are mixed in the sequences. It is likely that after reading this the mythical Who cheated on roger rabbit? from 1988, but we can go back much more in time to find films in which these two "realities" are mixed: Alice in Wonderland (Alice's Wonderland), from 1923, already combined real actors with an animated world, being one of the first proposals of this type within the scene -you have an image below these lines, from the database of IMDb.
So even if you have the idea in your head that live-action movies are something new, it's not like that: Disney is simply betting much more on them and releasing more frequently, taking advantage of many of the popular stories of their filmography to make remakes, apply new and better editing advances and bring them back to the big screen.
The live action from Disney
As we pointed out, Disney is not the only firm that has live-action movies in its history, but it is possibly one of the ones that has the most titles of this type. In addition, she is considered one of the pioneers in the field with her aforementioned work on Alice in Wonderland.
In this way, the company has been using this format on several occasions during the 40s and between the 60s and 80s (Mary Poppins, Pete's Dragon,...), although these tapes were always characterized by being original stories. It is in the 90s when he decides change the approach and start harnessing your own material: instead of creating new plots, he starts making remakes of his own animated films. Thus we find, for example, the adaptation of The book of the jungle (originally launched in 1967) which premiered in 1994 or with the media 101 Dalmatians, a remake of the 1961 animated film of the same name.
From there until now we have seen a total of 15 remakes, in which, of course, certain narrative licenses have also been taken -in the case of Sleeping Beauty, the protagonist is Maleficent (and that is the name of the film) and although the essence of the plot is the same, it delves into the past of the villain.
Disney's live action remakes
We list below all adaptations that the company has made of old movies to turn them into live action tapes. As you can imagine, (almost) all of them are Available to watch on Disney+, the company's on-demand content service.
*Note: video previews of the first three films are not included because they do not have the official trailer in good quality.
The Jungle Book: The Adventure Continues
A young man and the animals that raised him find themselves in danger when modern civilization invades their home: the selva. By the way, watch out for the leading actress, does it ring a bell?
- Original Animated Movie: The Jungle Book / The Jungle Book (1967)
- Release year: 1994
- Director: Stephen sommers
- Cast: Jason Scott Lee, Cary Elwes, Lena Headey, Sam Neill, John Cleese, Jason Flemyng
- * Note: Not currently available on Disney+
101 Dalmatians
A couture designer, Cruella De Vil, conspires to steal 101 dalmatians to make your own unique fur coat. But they are not going to make it easy for you.
- Original Animated Movie: 101 Dalmatians / One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)
- Release year: 1996
- Director: Stephen herek
- Cast: Glenn Close, Jeff Daniels, Joely Richardson
102 Dalmatians
The reformed Cruella De Vil returns to her old ways and reset your master plan and obsessive about designing a fur coat created from dalmatian puppies.
- Original Animated Movie: is actually considered a sequel to 101 Dalmatians
- Release year: 2000
- Director: Kevin Lima
- Cast: Glenn Close, Gerard Depardieu, Ioan Gruffudd
Alice in Wonderland
The teenager Alicia returns to the magical world from his childhood adventure, where he reunites with his old friends and discovers his true destiny: to put an end to the reign of the evil Red Queen.
- Original Animated Movie: Alice in Wonderland / Alice in Wonderland (1951)
- Release year: 2010
- Director: Tim Burton
- Cast: Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter
Maleficent
maleficent was a young man with a pure soul Whose heart hardens due to betrayal. Years later he will meet a princess whom he will want to destroy at all costs.
- Original Animated Movie: Sleeping Beauty (1959)
- Release year: 2014
- Director: Robert Stromberg
- Cast: Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sharlto Copley
Cinderella
When her father dies unexpectedly, young Ella finds herself at the mercy of her cruel stepmother and stepsisters. Without losing hope, the luck of She she will start to change after meeting a handsome stranger who turns out to be the Prince.
- Original Animated Movie: Cinderella / Cinderella (1950)
- Release year: 2015
- Director: Kenneth Branagh
- Cast: Lily James, Cate Blanchett, Richard Madden
The book of the jungle
This is the second remake of the animated story. After a threat from the tiger Shere Khan forces him to flee the jungle, Mowgli, a boy raised among wolves, embarks on a journey of self-discovery with the help of Bagheera the panther and Baloo the bear.
- Original Animated Movie: The jungle book / The jungle book
- Release year: 2016
- Director: Jon Favreau
- Cast: Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley
Alice through the mirror
Alicia returns to the magical world she already knew and travels back in time to try save the mad hatter.
- Original Animated Movie: Alice in Wonderland / Alice in Wonderland (1951)
- Release year: 2016
- Director: James Bobin
- Cast: Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter
Beauty and the beast
A young woman falls prisoner in the castle of a mysterious beast. Despite her fears, she befriends the castle's haunted inhabitants and learns to see beyond the frightening aspect of the beast, discovering that inside there is a great heart, that of the true Prince.
- Original Animated Movie: Beauty and the Beast / Beauty and the Beast (1991)
- Release year: 2017
- Director: Bill Condon
- Cast: Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans
Christopher Robin
The boy who embarked on a thousand adventures in the Hundred Acre Wood with his band of stuffed animals has grown up and…lost his way. He now he touches his childhood friends Step into his world and help Christopher Robin remember the loving and playful boy he still has inside.
- Original Animated Movie: winnie the pooh movies
- Release year: 2018
- Director: Marc Forster
- Cast: Ewan McGregor, Hayley Atwell, Bronte Carmichael
Dumbo
Holt Farrier, with the help of his children Milly (Nico Parker) and Joe (Finley Hobbins), take care of a newborn elephant whose giant ears make him be the laughing stock in a circus It's not exactly going through its best moment.
- Original Animated Movie: Dumbo (1941)
- Release year: 2019
- Director: Tim Burton
- Cast: Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito
Aladdin
The rogue Aladdin comes across a magic lamp whose Genius He has the power to make all his wishes come true, among which is to get the beautiful Jasmine.
- Original Animated Movie: Aladdin (1992)
- Release year: 2019
- Director: Guy Ritchie
- Cast: Will Smith, Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott
The Lion King
Following the death of his father, a young lion prince flees his kingdom only to learn the true meaning of responsibility and bravery. It is one of the great Disney classics (and what to say about its emblematic soundtrack), its animated story being one of the most money-grossing in the company's history. It should be noted that, unlike other live action films, here all the protagonists are animals, with no human presence, which makes it quite difficult to make the film.
- Original Animated Movie: The Lion King / The Lion King (1994)
- Release year: 2019
- Director: Jon Favreau
- Cast: Donald Glover, Beyonce, Seth Rogen
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
This story takes place several years after "Maleficent" and will allow us to learn about the events that hardened the heart of Disney's most famous villain and that led her to curse the newborn Princess Aurora.
- Original animated film (inspiration): Sleeping Beauty (1959)
- Release year: 2019
- Director: Joachim Ronning
- Cast: Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Harris Dickinson
La dama y el vagabundo
This is the romantic story of a pampered uptown cocker spaniel named Reina and a homeless dog named Gulf. A beautiful classic of the animal kingdom whose stamp of the two protagonists eating a plate of spaghetti It has been recorded in the retina of millions of people. The two protagonists will live a fun adventure that will transport us to their original film, released in 1955.
- Original Animated Movie (in English): Lady and the Tramp (1955)
- Release year: 2019
- Director: Charlie Bean
- Cast: Tessa Thompson, Justin Theroux, Sam Elliott
Mulan
It is impossible to know how the film would have worked if the pandemic had not crossed our lives, but the truth is that Mulan had the bad luck of being released directly on the Disney + content platform (making users pay extra) without go through the cinemas, which undoubtedly distorted its impact compared to other live action films. The tape tells us the story of how Mulan decides to pose as a man and join the army to replace his sick father.
- Original Animated Movie: Mulan (1998)
- Release year: 2020
- Director: Niki Caro
- Cast: Liu Yifei, Donnie Yen, Gong Li
cruella
It is one of the most recent tapes and possibly also one of the funniest. Disney decided to go back in time and release a 101 Dalmatians prequel in which we meet how Cruella became the character she is when she was young -so it's not really a remake, but we'll skip this detail. Emma Stone is in charge of giving life to the protagonist with enough success and personality, thus giving us a new story that is based on a great classic from the factory. As a villain we don't have Cruella, of course, but the one she mentored, also played brilliantly by Emma Thompson.
- Original animated film (inspiration): 101 Dalmatians
- Release year: 2021
- Director: Craig gillespie
- Cast: Emma Stone, Emma Thompson, Joel Fry
The Little Mermaid
The most controversy of all, without a doubt. The new live action adaptation of The Little Mermaid has been the film that has had the most "publicity" prior to its premiere of all and the reason could not be sadder: its main character is black. It seems to a sector of the population that this detail about the color of Ariel's skin did not like it at all and they even opened platforms to collect signatures for Disney to rectify and return the "real little mermaid" -because, of course, everyone knows that mermaids are real and we must honor the truth and history... At the moment the tape only has one teaser, which is the one you have on these lines. What a desire to see her.
- Original Animated Movie: The Little Mermaid (1989)
- Release year: 2023
- Director: Rob Marshall
- Cast: Halle Bailey, Jonah Hauer-King, Melissa McCarthy, Simone Ashley