Disney has been the face of bringing children’s stories to life through film. Originating in cartoon form, the company has recently transitioned to recreating these nostalgic stories with real actors — much to the audience’s dismay.
Children around the world have grown up watching their favorite princesses drawn to perfection while surviving the trials and tribulations of their own original story. These stories have withstood the test of time with new generations of kids growing up with cartoons from the 1930s and ’50s.
While these movies may be outdated, their nostalgia still holds true for many. However, the live-action remakes and retellings have caused fatigue amongst Disney fans — people are getting tired of hearing the same old story over again.
With the consistent remakes and reimaginings of these cartoons into live-action films, the magic and imagination are being taken from these beloved stories. While the new movies are beautifully done, they have received backlash for the wrong reasons.
Many users all over social media have been taking the skin color of the actors and trying to create a problem, saying that it was wrong that Disney cast Hallie Bailey as Ariel in the live-action “The Little Mermaid.”
Instead of Disney only focusing on casting BIPOC actors for roles, Disney should focus on creating new fairytale stories with characters that aren’t exclusively white. With characters like Tiana and Mulan, the company has shown that they are not exclusively making white princesses, however, their focus on diversity has not been at the forefront of their minds until very recently.
These newer movies with real people playing the beloved characters are well-made and have brought new audiences to these older stories. The issue is that they are wholly unnecessary.
There is a type of appeal that these older cartoons had, where the characters are not only leaving children enamored by the main characters but also their lovable side characters. With the remakes, those cute drawings are turned into realistic creatures that are sure to be nightmare-inducing.
Many of these stories have non-human characters that have become favorites for kids, from Gus Gus the Mouse in “Cinderella,” Mrs. Potts in “Beauty and the Beast” to Pua in “Moana;” these are just a few examples of the characters that have decorated children’s bedrooms for years and formed the imagination for many. When these characters are brought to real life they are far less cute and cuddly.
Many people have ignored the fact that Flounder from “The Little Mermaid” is not nearly as adorable when he is realistic and still speaking. Abu from “Aladdin” is seen less as the sneaky little partner to the street-urchin, but as the pesky monkey that could be terrifying to any young child who is watching Aladdin for the very first time.
Not every live-action movie is a complete failure when it is finally taken off of the drawing board. “Beauty and the Beast” (2017) and “Cinderella”(2015) show that even as a remake it can bring the love for the stories back to the viewers.
Yet, two good movies do not change the overall standard that they are lackluster at best. Movies like “Lady and the Tramp”(2019) and “The Lion King”(2019) are just a few of the live-action movies that did not do well at the box office, making viewers wonder why Disney insisted on recreating these previously beloved stories.
Disney needs to draw the line at retelling old stories, especially when the box office is proving this.
They should spend their energy on creating more original princesses that the newest generation will look up to and fall in love with. Kids today should be able to experience the joy of seeing their favorite princess on a shirt in the store and collect the different stuffed animals or action figures.
