It’s movie night at home and you press play on Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast ” expecting the classic animation of Belle’s iconic golden dress that twirls around the ballroom. Instead, you are met with Emma Watson portraying the once 2D animated princess into a 3D real-life person. The magic of the animation is presented through CGI, but is it really the same?
Disney movies consumed almost all 2000s kids’ childhoods. From Cinderella to Belle, kids have looked up to these princesses and found comfort in rewatching the animated movies. Disney has created original movies with new and old characters for decades, but as a new generation of children become introduced to the world of Disney, they are making live-action versions of the same movies. But do the live-action remakes that have become popular in recent years provide the same level of comfort?
Of course, it’s interesting to see your favorite characters portrayed by real people. But when you compare the feeling you get watching the live-action version of “Beauty and the Beast” to watching the original, there’s a difference. Even throughout the artistic style changes, the Disney original creates a sense of comfort and magic that’s missing in the modern remake. In an original Disney movie, there’s a magical essence that is portrayed through colors and creatures that aren’t shown the same way through CGI. Along with magic and creatures the portrayal of the Disney characters in the live-action versions is occasionally completely different from how people typically view the characters’ personalities.
The Disney princess movies are nostalgic and memorable, with toy sections flooded with every Disney princess in doll form for young Disney lovers to play with. Cinderella stories flourish in every culture, such as the 2021 Camilla Cabello live-action movie, but none compare to the magic of watching the animated pumpkin turn into a carriage for the first time.
Disney announced in October 2016 plans in the works to make a live-action Snow White movie. The actress portraying Snow White, Rachel Zegler, has said that the plot will be completely different from the kindness-themed original.
For current teens, Snow White isn’t even in their top three favorites, but the original story has been passed through generations. In recent interviews with actress Rachel Zegler, it is implied the new Snow White will follow the pattern of retelling the story without the original plot.
Yes, being kissed awake by a prince you’ve never met is insane, but why change the entire plot to correct one scene from a fictional animated film? They could have instead made the prince and Snow White spend more time together. Making the shared kiss at the end make more sense in the fictional tale. Along with making the kiss sensible it also corrects the idea that a kiss from a prince fixes everything. A perfect example of this storyline is in “Tangled.” Flynn Rider, the male lead, got to know Rapunzel before marrying her. In the original story, of course, that didn’t happen, but Disney adapted it to depict a healthier relationship between the two characters instead of the live-action retelling having a completely different plot.
Regardless of the quality of the live-action version of a Disney film, the original cartoon always provides the proper Disney magic. Disney shouldn’t worry about creating live-action movies and should return to animated stories. The animated movies, despite the change in style, will always represent Disney.
