After a series of flops, one would think that the Walt Disney Studios learned their lesson. Disney was expecting the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid (2023) to be a hit. While the returns were solid, the movie wasn’t the hit that Disney needed and expected. And now, Disney is dealing with the headache their live-action Snow White (2024) has become. Both films faced controversy online for their diverse casting, and Snow White’s Rachel Zegler has gone out and courted that controversy.
But with Disney Animation’s latest film, Wish (2023), it appears the company has learned its lesson. Thus far, audience reaction to the Wish trailer and first song has been incredibly positive among audiences. Wish captures the “old-school” Disney magic with a true villain and a classic Disney tale.
And so it appears that everything is right with the world. Disney will move away from live-action movies and instead focus on the animation formula that made them successful over the last 100 years. Right?
Not exactly. With less than a month until Wish hits theaters, rumors have started swirling that not only is Disney sticking with its live-action remake strategy, but they are doubling down and working on live-action remakes of some of its best movies of the past 20 years. As we have reported, Disney is working on live-action remakes of Tangled (2010) and Princess and the Frog (2009).
Related: Disney’s ‘Snow White’ Is Already in a $340 Million Hole, And It Hasn’t Even Been Released Yet
But now, Game Rant reports that Walt Disney Studios is also working on a live-action remake of Frozen (2013). Disney has announced that a second animated sequel to Frozen will come soon. Now that the Writers Guild of America strike is over, work can resume on the animated sequel.
This news left Disney fans wondering if the company was “out of ideas.” The release slate for Disney films over the next five years is chock-full of live-action remakes and not nearly as many new animated features fans seem to be clamoring for. After Snow White releases in 2024, Disney has already set release dates for the live-action Mufasa: The Lion King and Moana. Disney also has live-action remakes for Lilo & Stitch, Hercules, Bambi, The Sword in the Stone, Robin Hood, The Aristocrats, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame in development.
Add Frozen, Tangled, and The Princess and the Frog to that list. It appears that the vast majority of Disney films released for the remainder of the decade will be live-action remakes of its animated catalog.
Initially, turning an animated movie into a live-action film was a novelty to the Disney fan. The Lion King (2019), Beauty and the Beast (2017), Aladdin (2019), and Alice in Wonderland (2010) all grossed more than $1 billion at the box office, with The Jungle Book (2016) just missing out with $966 million.
But since the pandemic, the Disney remake has fallen short. Despite solid views on Disney Plus, The Little Mermaid only made $566 million at the box office.
The Walt Disney Company hopes its latest animated film will help return its box office numbers to greatness. Still, after that, Disney fans can expect a steady flow of live-action remakes over the next few years, whether we ask for them or not.
We will continue to update this story at Disney Fanatic.
