Re-Make My Day

­­­­The Pinocchio live action remake went live recently, and it…hasn’t been well received. Tom Hanks is a superb actor, but there were a lot of story and design flaws that made it difficult to watch. Some people completely missed Pinocchio’s transformation at the end. And why did Monstro just take a nap after eating Pinocchio and Gapetto…? Now we’re getting announcements for the live action Little Mermaid, which is being met with unnecessarily mixed reviews regarding the actress’s race. It’s like they’ve all forgotten that the Little Mermaid animated series featured Gabriella, a mermaid who was not only POC, but also communicated through sign language because she was mute (based on a real person; go look it up).

Back in April of 2021, I wrote an editorial titled Going Live, where I talked about how making live action adaptations of past movies isn’t always the most creative of moves. That being said, I did list the live action Jungle Book as a more successful example. It’s certainly not impossible. I think one of the difficulties the “nostalgia trip” tactic faces is when they choose a more well-known property rather than one that deserves a little more love.

Today, we’re going to look at some of Disney’s lesser-known animations that I think should get a live action remake. Don’t get me wrong, these films do have fans. I just think making a live action remake would bring these franchises some much needed TLC. To be absolutely click-baity, you may have forgotten about the last movie on the list, further proving my point.

Atlantis: The Lost Empire

Because of the lower-than-expected returns on its release, Disney considered it a flop. However, this movie is downright amazing. It has great characters, beautiful scenery, and a surprise villain that has much better setup than most we’ve seen in recent Disney films. I related to Milo a lot because he was the bespectacled, skinny dude who didn’t stand out physically, but worked wonders within his personal niche. He’s probably one of the few Disney characters I could comfortably cosplay as. Also, Kida totally counts as a Disney princess. I will fight you on this.

Given the movie’s setting, backdrop, and themes, a live action version could be on par with James Cameron’s Avatar in scale. However, that would hinge on Disney being willing to put in the same budget as the 2009 blockbuster. I’d say we could get a John Carter budget and quality, but I feel like that’s a dangerous statement in and of itself. That being said, there were rumors back in 2020 that a live action may have been in development, with Disney eyeing Tom Holland to play Milo. Here’s to hoping that pans out!

Treasure Planet

Treasure Planet is a sci-fi retelling of the novel Treasure Island, following many of the same story beats, but in space. I loved this movie growing up. I still play it often for my students. Jim Hawkins is the reason I sport the boots-and-bomber jacket look, and why I grew a rattail back in college (I’m sure you can find photographic evidence of this on the internet if you look hard enough).

With Disney’s acquisition of Lucas Film, they most certainly have the capacity to give this space-faring epic a stellar live action adaptation. However, it’s biggest obstacle would be the same as Atlantis: budgeting.  

Oliver and Company

Much like Treasure Planet, Oliver and Company is an adaptation of another book: Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist. Oliver is an abandoned kitten roaming the streets of New York instead of an orphan boy in England. Chock full of colorful characters and catchy musical numbers, the original film was solid on its own.

Yes, this one has an animal protagonist like The Lion King. However, I don’t consider the Lion King remake a live action because all of the animals were CGI (much like the Disney movie Dinosaur from 2000). On the other hand, the Jungle Book remake does count as a live action because, even though the animals were primarily CGI, Mogli, the protagonist, was a live human. Better still was the 101 Dalmatians live action from 1996 and 102 Dalmatians from 2000. The main characters were the animals, both trained and CGI, and the human characters were real actors. Granted, the only animal that talked was the parrot it 102. If you want an animal-led movie with mostly live animals that talked, you could watch 2001’s Cats & Dogs.

Oliver and Company could go the Cats & Dogs route. Oliver, Dodger, and the rest of the animals would be CGI or a combination of CGI and live animals, and the supporting humans, like Fagin and Jenny, would be real actors. With a rescore of the classic Why Should I Worry and some new songs, a live action adaptation could totally work.

Gargoyles

Yes, this is an animated series, but you have to admit this would be awesome in live action!

Gargoyles aired for three seasons, from 1994-1996. Meant to be a dark fantasy rival to Warner Bros’ Batman, this series focused on a group of gargoyles from medieval times who find themselves in modern day New York. Gargoyles took the scene by storm. After all, it’s hard to go wrong when your lead character is voiced by the legendary Keith David. The first two seasons were spectacular, but because the third season did not receive high enough ratings, it was cancelled.

This show was my childhood, and it has immense potential for a live action movie. Even if it only covers major events from Season 1, this could breathe new life into the franchise. We already have more comics on the way. Why not a movie to bolster it? We may not be able to get Keith David to reprise his role as Goliath (though it’d be awesome if we did), but it would be a crime to overlook this beautiful blend of fantasy, sci-fi, and drama.

The Sword in the Stone

Finally, we have The Sword in the Stone. This fantasy film follows a young King Arthur and his mentor, the near-omniscient wizard Merlin. There were some fun moments in the film, such as the magic duel between Merlin and Madam Mim, but it all felt rather…pointless. There didn’t seem to be much direction in the plot. It was more like several short stories strung together with the same characters rather than a 3-act narrative. It had the makings of a slice-of-medieval-life sitcom, but not a cohesive story.

In my opinion, this is the Disney film that’s in most dire need of a live action adaptation. Sure, The Black Cauldron is older and has an actual plot, but that’s all the more reason why I’d give The Sword in the Stone precedence. A remake could give it a better narrative to follow. Instead of a bunch of disjointed events, Merlin could pull Arthur into an actual journey a la Gandalf and Bilbo. Perhaps their big MacGuffin is the titular sword of selection. Maybe Arthur pulling the sword is what starts the story, and now Merlin takes him under his wing to train him to be the king he’s meant to be. This holds so much possibility.  

These are my offerings for future Disney live action remakes. If you think you could write the screenplay for one of these ideas, go for it. I’ve got my own stories to focus on, but I’d love to see what you come up with!