Walt Disney Animation Studios warned via press release that unless audience and critic reactions to the studio’s recent films thaw, the company will be forced to produce a spate of animated adaptations of such live-action classics as Beauty and the Beast (2017), The Lion King (2019), and Pinocchio (2022).
“Don’t get the wrong idea,” Disney CEO Bob Iger clarified in a followup interview. “These are not going to just be the original animated versions. It should go without saying that we’re talking about CGi, not hand-drawn, but it goes beyond that.
“Obviously we’re not going to make another Aladdin and cast someone other than Will Smith as the genie. We would never put the songs back into Mulan. Priority number one is remaining faithful to our 21st century creative sensibilities,” Iger continued. “Let’s see what you smug nerds have to say about The Little Mermaid’s color grading when we make it look exactly like Frozen.”
Indicative of the company’s commitment to preserving the vision of its past decade of live action films, filmmakers associated with several of the remakes reported that they have already been tapped to return for the re-remakes.
“I’m not gonna lie, I’m just redoing mine shot for shot,” said Tim Burton, director of Dumbo (2019). “You think Iger’s gonna notice? Nobody even watched that thing the first time. The biggest challenge comes from the studio demanding I make the elephant even uglier this time.
It’s like, how? I didn’t hold anything back. Have you seen what Dumbo looks like in the live-action version? N… no? Not even in, like, a poster? No. Yeah. That makes sense. No, don’t worry about it, it’s fine.”
Fan reactions to the announcement were understandably mixed, but noted “Disney adult” TikToker Kate Pauley expressed optimism.
“Look, I don’t like it when people feel the need to dump on Disney all the time, but this could be a perfect opportunity to keep expanding on some of the great lore the live-action versions added to the originals.
“Maybe the Lion King re-remake will flesh out Shenzi even more,” Pauley speculated, referring to the female hyena who played a comic relief role in the original The Lion King but was presented as a major, intimidating antagonist in 2019’s live-action remake.
“I just hope they don’t play it too safe. A new animated version of movies like Pinocchio or Lady and the Tramp would be a great venue for Disney to introduce a new first gay character.”
Disney confirmed in a subsequent announcement that an animated remake of the upcoming 2025 remake of Moana has entered pre-pre-production.
