Disney has released numerous animated movies following much-loved fairy tales and creating a world of fantasy and magic that has truly captured most childhoods across the globe. For this reason, Disney fans want nothing more than impeccable presentations when it comes to producing live-action remakes.
The task is difficult and the workload is extensive especially with recreating magical spells and mythical creatures but luckily for Disney fans, these projects continue to emerge. Some of these renditions do have a lot of success and popularity while others turn out to be less than expected and plummet into the low ranks. Take a look at what IMDb has to say about it.
Worst: Pete's Dragon 2016 - 6.7
Not scoring too badly but still low in the rankings is Pete's Dragon. The biggest disappointment that fans of the original have is that the dragon changed to being a massive dog-like creature that chases its tail and all of the fun charms, mysteries, and chaos from the original is gone. The remake changes the plot to being a half sad and half amusing crime story where loggers want to capture the dragon for unrealistic reasons and the boy struggles between staying with his pet dragon and re-integrating into human society. The movie did feature some good cast members including Bryce Howard from Jurassic World and Wes Bentley.
Best: Cinderella 2015 - 6.9
There have been numerous live-action remakes of the famed story of "the girl with the glass slipper." In 2015 Disney released Cinderella starring Cate Blanchett as Lady Tremaine, Richard Madden as Prince Charming, and Lily James as Cinderella.
The movie did very well upon release and is a favorite glass slipper rendition for many Disney fans. Most of its positive ranking is due to the magical ambiance that captured the audience into the world of Cinderella's life.
Worst: Alice In Wonderland 2010 - 6.4
With so many versions out there depicting Alice in Wonderland and the chaos of events and characters in the plot, it's a hard story to recreate. Tim Burton gives yet another attempt at a Disney live-remake and the result is a wondrous world of fantasy and creativity. Still, the 2010 Alice In Wonderland left viewers oddly confused and a bit disoriented about the story they were supposed to be following. There is a significant contrast between Tim Burton's version and the Disney animated version and many fans didn't take well to the splashy remake. With all of its interpretations and peculiar behaviors, this plot didn't make it to the best ranked.
Best: Aladdin 2019 - 7
This live-remake was an idea in the making for a long time. After much deliberation over who would get the role of the Genie, Will Smith stole the show with a great performance. On the list of great performances was Naomi Scott as the lovely princess Jasmine and Mena Massoud as Aladdin. The Disney flick Aladdin was much anticipated and gave audiences a lot to be excited about. Most critics agreed that it doesn't express the same feel as the 1992 animation but still turned out to be a great Disney rendition.
Worst: Dumbo 2019 - 6.3
Released in 2019, Dumbo was managed by renowned director, Tim burton. Most fans would agree that his movies are intruding and unique but unfortunately, Disney's live-remake of Dumbo did not make his top list. According to reviews, the child actors gave a stale performance, and the likability of the film wavered with each scene. One praise that was given to the film was the great work done on the CGI Dumbo that gave him a lot of facial expressions and personality in a dramatic way. The plot was changed a bit and new characters were introduced leading die-hard Disney fans to be disappointed in some of the alterations.
Best: Maleficent 2014 - 7
The movie Maleficent was much anticipated during its shooting mostly because the focus character was the villain as opposed to the victim or hero. The evil fairy was played by popular actress, Angelina Jolie who, according to viewers, gave an excellent performance.
The movie delves into the life of Maleficent and proves how she is not as evil as everyone thought she was. Of course, the Disney animated version of Sleeping Beauty is more focused on Aurora and her life but Maleficent gives a wonderful and unexpected rendition of the beloved story. Let's not forget Elle Fanning who gives an elegant performance that contributes greatly to the success of the film.
Worst: 101 Dalmatians 1996 - 5.7
In this 1996 Disney live-remake, Glenn Close plays as the frightfully cruel Cruella de Vil. The film had a large cast of both people and animals with extreme personalities. The movie 101 Dalmatians is creative and full of action but regardless, it did not fare well with critics and Disney movie fans. Most complaints centered around the overuse of childish comedy such as the puppies urinating on the picture of Cruella, everyone yelling at the top of their lungs, and the normal puppies being unbelievably intelligent. This movie did receive a lot of praise for the actor's performances even if the storyline dramatics were a bit on the cheesy side.
Best: Beauty And The Beast 2017 - 7.1
Here is one of the most loved Disney stories that finally got its modern live-remake. Beauty And The Beast takes the audience to another world and the fantasy of "Belle meets Beast". Playing the role of Belle is the talented actress Emma Watson who delivers an enchanting performance considering that she has to pretend there is a beast in front of her. The CGI beast turned out to be completely non-threatening looking to many viewer's dismay but still, the movie was a creative piece with great acting by a star cast which included Luke Evans as Gaston and Dan Stevens playing as the model and the representation of the prince.
Worst: Mulan 2020 - 5.4
The year 2020 brought much-needed entertainment and according to most critics, Mulan did not exactly deliver to meet people's expectations. Rather than a remake of the Disney Classic, this flick turned out to be more of a reinvented story with only the basics of the original tale. Still, the movie does have an impressive cast including Donnie Yen from the Ip Man franchise and Jet Li from The Expendables and Romeo Must Die. The film itself causes a lot of controversies and comments were made after the film by lead-star Yifei Liu causing ratings to go down as things got a bit political.
Best: The Jungle Book 2016 - 7.4
At the top of the ranking is the Disney remake The Jungle Book. Viewers were more than pleased with the CGI animals claiming that the animal characters had great appearances and appropriately matching voices to them by voice actors including Bill Murray as Baloo, Idris Elba as Shere Khan, Scarlett Johansson as Kaa, and Ben Kingsley as Bagheera. The original animated version of 1967 is much loved for its creativity as well as for the fact that it was Walt Disney's last production involvement before his death in 1966. The 2016 version gives the original justice with its great production value and visual quality.