Every little girl and boy grew up on hopscotch, Goldfish and Disney. Disney movies marked my childhood and teenage hood, from watching “The Little Mermaid” with my babysitter when I got home from preschool, to belting out “Mulan” lyrics with my campers at summer camp. There’s just something about the classic movies that entices children when they’re young and keeps them hooked all through adulthood- I have no doubt that classic Disney tracks such as “Hakuna Matata” will stay on my car playlist forever. Maybe it’s the intricate animations that Walt Disney is known for, but I believe that the reason people of all ages get hooked on Disney is because of two things: the iconic songs and the thrilling storylines.
That’s why I was excited when I found out that Disney was rebooting some of their animations and making them into live action feature films. While I don’t particularly love their casting decisions on some of the movies, who can deny that Emma Watson is the perfect Belle? I grew up idolizing Watson as the badass Hermione, and honestly I don’t think it’s a bad thing that little girls of 2017 and beyond will look up to her as the timeless character of Belle.
Speaking of little children, while I don’t think watching old movies is ever a bad thing, the children of today seem to think differently. My 10 year old campers at summer camp always voted to watch 2016’s Zootopia over 1994’s The Lion King and 2010’s Tangled over 1989’s The Little Mermaid. The fact of the matter is, animated Disney, while forever classic, are now old classics. And while there is certainly nothing wrong with the classics, there is also nothing wrong with a little refresh of them.
When an animated movie becomes a live action one, often the plot can be expanded and characters can get more background and development. While in the animated film the villain may be a one sided, static character, live action remakes provide a deeper view into the characters we all know and love. Honestly, I’m a major fan of live action remakes. I’ll always love the classic animations that I grew up on, but there’s nothing wrong with a good old fashioned update.
