Next on Disney’s list of “animated-classics-remade-as-live-action” is Beauty and the Beast:
What do you think about this phenomenon? Are you excited about beloved stories getting new life, or do you see this as yet more evidence that there are “no new ideas” in Hollywood? Is this an innovation or a crash cash grab?
I wasn’t thrilled about remaking animated classics as live action — but my daughter really wanted to see The Jungle Book, so I went with her and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. The CGI is amazing. Parts of the story have been changed from the animated film, and personally I still prefer the book to either version, but that’s okay. True classics are constantly being reinvented, with varying degrees of success. I just hope they don’t tackle Peter and the Wolf next! I once saw a Russian live-action version of that one that was truly awful.
I loved Maleficent because it was a true re-envisioning. Cinderella annoyed me a lot. Haven’t seen The Jungle Book yet, but I one thing I will say for improved CGI technology is that it’s now possible to tell live-action stories that HAD to be animated in the past.
I am still hoping desperately for a live action The Last Unicorn. There were rumours, but I think it fizzled… 🙁