The number of live action remakes of classic animated movies has risen exponentially in the past few years. But as they develop into shot-for-shot replicas of the originals, their necessity is beginning to be questioned.
Originally, live action remakes seemed like a fun way to revive the original’s magic while also creating a new product with new revenue. But recently, live action remakes seem to be less about the magic and more about the revenue. Three relevant examples of the decline of live action remakes are The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, and the currently unreleased How To Train Your Dragon.
The Lion King (2019) is a very prominent example of an irrelevant remake. It’s essentially a shot-for-shot reprise of the original movie without taking advantage of any benefits of a remake. If made, live action versions of animated movies should give it a new spin, and The Lion King absolutely fails at this task.
The Little Mermaid (2023) does the opposite of The Lion King, avoiding being a shot-for-shot remake from the beginning. The movie added multiple new songs, both for Ariel and Prince Eric, fixing issues that were prevalent in the original. New character development is added for both, highlighting Prince Eric’s drive and giving Ariel more motivation to be in the human world than just wanting to be with a man. The movie also creates more extravagant shots and scenes that wouldn’t have been possible with the technology of the ‘80s.
One of the biggest live action remakes of this decade is set to be How To Train Your Dragon. An immensely beloved series, How To Train Your Dragon is known for being absolutely breathtaking and immersive. The magic of the series is unmatched, and when a remake was announced, fans were both excited and apprehensive. But the release of the trailer did little more than fill them with fear of what the new movie was shaping up to be.
The trailer solely featured remakes of shots already in the original movie. While the director has claimed the movie will further develop the characters and the plot, so far it serves as a line-for-line, shot-for-shot remake of the original movie with the same composer and same animation style. While this does give it the potential to capture the spectacle and wonder of the movie, it also makes it more likely that it’ll lack heart and soul, as it’s seeming more and more like a cash grab.
This may also be an effect of the movie industry in general as it becomes less focused on making art and more focused on making money. Studios have started using AI instead of writers to create scripts, leading to the writers’ strike, movie theatres are struggling as streaming services grow, and remakes and sequels get higher priority than new ideas from smaller directors. When the people in charge of movies begin to care less about movies, we lose the opportunity to see unique films and projects.
All in all, live action remakes are consistently unnecessary. While sometimes they can be used to fix issues established by the original movie, they generally end up being made out of the want of money, and not of the genuine want to create art.
