Snow Whiteis just the latest in a string of live-action remake flops, and three Disney movies from a decade ago prove what has gone horribly wrong with this trend. AlthoughDisney has been making live-action remakesof their animated classics for years now, production of these films has ramped up significantly. Multiple remakes are being released per year, but the quality and box office returns are significantly declining. Many are wondering what has changed with Disney’s live-action remakes, and by analyzing three movies from the company’s past, the issues with movies likeSnow Whitecan clearly be seen.
2025’sSnow Whitehas been a commercial and critical disappointment for Disney, with this signaling the continued downfall of the company’s live-action remakes. Despite being one of Disney’s most notable movies of the year,Snow Whitewas a box office disappointment, opening with $88.6 million against a budget of around $270 million. The film also hasn’t fared well critically, withSnow Whiteearning a 42% onRotten Tomatoes.Snow Whiteis among other live-action remake failures likeThe Lion King,Mulan, andPinocchio, with it having many viewers asking where things went wrong.
The Jungle Book, Pete’s Dragon & Cinderella Are The 3 Top-Rated Disney Live-Action Remakes
& They Are All From Nearly A Decade Ago
Disney’s filmography of live-action remakes has an interesting trend, as the three top-rated live-action remakes are from nearly a decade ago. Based on Rotten Tomatoes data, the highest-rated of Disney’s live-action remakes is the 2016The Jungle Bookremake, which has a critics' score of 94% onRotten Tomatoes. The second highest-rated remake is 2016’sPete’s Dragonremake, which has a score of 88% onRotten Tomatoes. The third highest-rated remake is 2015’sCinderella, which has a score of 84% onRotten Tomatoes.
Snow White Live-Action Remake Cast & Character Guide
Rachel Zegler leads the cast for the live action remake of Snow White. But who else has joined the ensemble and what characters do they play?
Notably,all three of these films are from nine years ago or more, meaning that Disney clearly hasn’t been as consistent in recent years. BeforeSnow White, the most recent live-action remakes were 2023’sPeter Pan & WendyandThe Little Mermaid, with the former having aRotten Tomatoesscore of 65% and the latter having aRotten Tomatoesscore of 67%. 2022’sPinocchiois the lowest rated of the remakes onRotten Tomatoes, with it having 27%. Things start to get better the further back you go, with the trend peaking in 2015 and 2016.
Disney’s 2015 & 2016 Live-Action Remakes Were Praised For Their Visuals
& The Recent Remakes Are Panned For Theirs
Themost critically-acclaimed Disney live-action remakeswere praised for multiple aspects, but their visuals were one of the most beloved parts.The Jungle Bookused hyper-realistic animals like some of the later Disney live-action remakes. However, characters like Baloo and King Louie were still expressive enough to resemble their original counterparts. Meanwhile,CinderellaandPete’s Dragonmanaged to blend their realistic visuals with their fantastical worlds, with them finding the right balance of the animated films and the new adaptations.
However, praising the visuals of the live-action remakes is far less common nowadays. Movies likePinocchio,The Little Mermaid, andLady and the Trampare downright ugly. The animation on the CGI characters is bad, and they don’t feel like they naturally exist as part of the film’s world. The character designs are uncanny blends of a realistic style and the original animated counterparts, with characters like Honest John and Sebastian looking a bit terrifying.
Meanwhile, the movies that are technically impressive still have visual problems.The Lion KingandMufasa: The Lion Kingare undoubtedly achievements, with them looking almost like documentaries. However,hyper-realistic lions aren’t all that interesting to look at during a story. Their lack of expressions and grounded nature make some of the musical numbers and emotional beats feel stilted and wrong.The Jungle Booksomehow managed to find this balance, which is why its odd thatThe Lion Kingcouldn’t only a few years later.
Storytelling Continues To Be A Divisive Issue With Disney’s Live-Action Remakes
There Are Either Too Many Changes Or Too Few
Anotherissue that has plagued the live-action Disney remakesis storytelling. Movies likeThe Lion KingandThe Little Mermaidhave been criticized for being nothing more than beat-for-beat remakes of the original. These remakes add almost nothing new to the original animated films, meaning that there isn’t much of a reason to watch them. Meanwhile, movies likeMulanthat significantly change the original films seem to misunderstand the point of the classic animated movies. The modern remakes either made too few changes, or the changes just aren’t good.
8 Ways Rachel Zegler’s Snow White Is Better Than The Animated Character
Reviews are mixed on Disney’s new live-action Snow White, but one thing is for sure; Rachel Zegler’s Snow White surpasses her original counterpart.
Meanwhile,remakes likeThe Jungle Book,Pete’s Dragon, andCinderellafind balancesthat are far better. 2015’sCinderellais essentially another adaptation of the original story rather than a remake, with it mixing some of the iconography from the Disney movie with its own take on the story.Pete’s Dragonis similar, with it being a complete reimagining of the original film.The Jungle Bookdoes fare a bit closer to its animated counterpart, but it does a lot to modernize the film’s story and characters, with it feeling like a new take rather than a beat-for-beat retelling.
What Disney Can Learn From Snow White & Other Recent Live-Action Remakes
Can It Save The Future Movies?
If Disney ever wants to get back on the right track, it needs to learn fromSnow Whiteand the other recent failed remakes. Firstly, the studio needs to put more time and effort into the remakes. Despite having bloated budgets, the recent movies still look pretty ugly.An over-reliance on CGI and attempts to closely stick to the visuals of the original movieshas led the recent remakes to feel like nothing more than really ugly versions of their animated counterparts. These older remakes weren’t scared to try something new visually, and future remakes can’t be afraid either.
Disney also needs to focus more on movies that would naturally work in live-action. Movies likeThe Little Mermaid,The Lion King,Lady and the Tramp, andLilo & Stitchrequire so much CGIthat there isn’t much of a point in making them live-action. There was a reason that these movies were originally created as animated films. Movies likeThe Sword in the StoneandAtlantis: The Lost Empirecould work as live-action remakes, as they mostly focus on humans in locations that can be practically filmed. However, these franchises may not be as well-known asThe Lion King,The Little Mermaid, orSnow White.
