Despite being nearly a shot for shot remake of the original animated film, the creators of Beauty and the Beast were paid absolutely nothing for the live-action remake. Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale, directors and executive producers on the 1991 princess story, have recently confirmed that they were given no compensation for the amount of their work that was effectively translated 1:1. Despite the billion-dollar smash hit that the Emma Watson remake was, Wise and Trousdale were surprised to find out they were given a credit of any sort.

Those familiar with Disney's business practices may not be especially surprised, as they have a history of pulling stunts considered shrewd or even cruel by other branches of the industry they currently dominate. Additionally, the company is nothing if not familiar with claims of plagiarism, from the classic comparisons of The Lion King to Kimba, the White Lion to the more recent and seemingly trivial, such as an artist suing over a van design. Even so, Disney's live-action remakes are such cash cows; it seems odd if not downright wrong to refuse the original creators' compensation, especially in the case of shot-for-shot remakes like Beauty and the Beast.

Related: Disney's Live-Action Remakes Should Focus On Its Bad Animated Movies

In an interview with Collider, Wise and Trousdale went on record as saying that not only do they (definitely without bias) think the animated versions are better and believe fans should just watch those instead of live-action recreations of them, but also that it is, in fact, the norm for them not to get paid for those live-action recreations. “I didn’t get a red cent from the new Beauty and the Beast,” Wise said, to which Trousdale added, "No, there was no financial to it. And the fact that we got credit was a surprise to me." It was only through the efforts of the original's producer Don Hahn that Wise and Trousdale were even given credit and an invitation to the remake's premiere.

Belle approaches the enchanted rose in Beauty and the Beast

Part of the issue with credit and such has to do with union differences between animated and live-action films, and will only complicate further as Disney's live-action remakes differ more and more from their original sources. A good example is Josh Gad's upcoming Beauty and the Beast spinoff, which will surely take liberties and explore concepts never touched by the original animated film. The rest of it, however, likely has more to do with profits.

There's nothing illegal about Disney not shelling out some of its live-action profits to the creators of the animated films that spawned them. Still, there is something inherently unsettling about it. A Google search for Beauty and the Beast brings up exclusively the live-action remake, and the tag "original" has to be added even to find the animated version. Disney doing things for profit is par for the course, but there's a case for complete artist erasure here. Hopefully, as more light is shed on this topic, Disney has a change of heart and realizing how critical the original creators were to the timeless classics they're remaking.

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Source: Collider

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