Speaking of the Seven Dwarfs...Here Are 4 Other Films Disney Would Have To Seriously Retool To Remake - And 3 They Should Never Change
Disney and their remakes have been a hot topic in the news this week - from trepedation over the upcoming live-action reboot of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, to the release of Netflix's new trailer for Pinocchio (featuring Sebastian J. Cricket rather than Disney's Jiminy.) This chatter only adds to the larger conversation around reboot culture in general - which arguably began in 2015 when Disney released their live-action Cinderella remake starring Lily James and Richard Madden.
We're not here to comment on reboot culture and whether it's good or bad today - because at this point, it's plain to see that it's not going anywhere. If anything, it seems Disney may now be using this as an opportunity to right some of the wrongs of the past - much like Spider-Man: No Way Home did for the previous Spider-Man movies. When they remake an old movie, every purposeful change they make can become a comment on the original, which can be an extremely powerful thing.
You know what they say: If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Here's are four movies we think Disney should use to capitalize on this opportunity - movies that need major changes made to be palatable again - and three that should be remade more or less exactly as they are.
FIX IT UP: Peter Pan
Everyone loves Peter Pan. It's such a classic that its characters have gone beyond the story and screen and come to represent Disney as a whole - Tinkerbell is everywhere, and Peter Pan's mantra "never grow up" is so in line with the company's brand that it would be hard NOT to use him as a spokesman.
However, if they ever re-make this one in live action - which, by the way, would be incredible and something we are totally here for - they would definitely have to do some serious work on literally any part of the story that includes the Native Americans. Starting with cutting the song "What Makes The Red Man Red," because...yikes.
But Tiger Lily COULD be a great character. (And if Disney wants to do a love triangle, fleshing her out would be a much better option than making one with Wendy and Tinkerbell, which always felt a little strange.)
NEVER CHANGE: Atlantis
Not only would Disney have to change NOTHING to make a live-action Atlantis an un-problematic fave, they basically already have their cast handed to them on a silver platter. Fans obsessed with the 2001 animated film (that we maintain only performed poorly because it wasn't being marketed to the right people) have more or less arrived on a consensus on who should play most of the main characters:
Andrew Garfield as Milo, Zoe Saldana as Kida, Morgan Freeman as the King, Jack Nicholson as Commander Rourke, Terry Crews as Dr. Sweet, Jack Black (or Danny DeVito) as Mole...the stuff writes itself.
If Disney wants to make an inclusive movie without having to deal with the inevitable media fallout around changing a beloved character, Atlantis is a no-brainer. Come on guys. Get on it already.
FIX IT UP: Sleeping Beauty
We know they kinda already did the whole Sleeping Beauty remake thing with Maleficent...but in our opinion, that doesn't really fix the issue with Sleeping Beauty - namely, that the title character doesn't really do anything.
With this upcoming Snow White remake, Aurora now stands to be the least fleshed-out character in Disney's Princess Pantheon - and the only of the original three not to get her own live-action film. Three princesses in line after her got remakes before she did - Belle got one, Jasmine got expanded characterization despite the movie being called Aladdin, and Ariel's movie is due to come out in 2023.
What if being asleep didn't mean that Aurora had to be out of the picture? Alice in Wonderland, after all, is set entirely inside a dream - what if the spell put on Aurora is kind of like what Wanda is Wandavision, where she's sucking people in without even being aware of it, and the Prince has to find a way in to save her while coordinating with Flora, Fauna, and Meriweather from the outside?
The song "Once Upon a Dream" is already there. Take it from the beginning, put it at the end, and have it be the first time they meet in real life after a whole movie of Aurora thinking he's a figment of her imagination like everything else.
NEVER CHANGE: Bedknobs and Broomsticks
You may have forgotten about (or just never seen) this 1971 Disney Live Action classic, about a trio of children shipped away from London during the blitz period in WWII (the part where Nazis were just bombing the whole city every other night) to stay with a kindly woman in a different city. Unbeknownst to them, she is learning witchcraft (in order to help with the war effort), but she ends up having to take the children on a long mission to find the final spell that will complete her education.
They wouldn't have to change a thing about this story structurally - all they would have to do for a modern remake is modernize it, and set it in the American foster care system instead of during WWII in England. Aside from the war (which isn't really an essential part of the story anyway, barring a couple of Nazis, which we unfortunately still have around regardless.)
It'd be a more serious story than most of the ones we listed here - but so was the original Bedknobs and Broomsticks.
FIX IT UP: Pocahontas
Realistically, Disney should probably just never touch this property again. Much like Hercules, the story, while sweet, is a huge bastardization of the material it's based on. Unlike Hercules, it is bastardizing real people who are still marginalized to this day, and perpetuates harmful tropes and stereotypes. (In the real version of the Pocahontas story, the marriage is either more of a political alliance or a straight-up kidnapping. Oh, also, Pocahontas is twelve.) It is a shame, because the music is incredible, but that doesn't outweigh the...everything else.
That said - if Disney DID ever decide to try their hand at a live-action Pocahontas, and they got the right creative team and consultants from the descendants of the Powhatan tribe, the movie would probably no longer be for kids, but it COULD serve as a powerful account of the injustices done to Native Americans by colonialism.
NEVER CHANGE: Lilo and Stitch
If you love the Experimental Era's most surprising success Lilo and Stitch (you know, like most sane people) then you'll be happy to know that Disney HAS in fact decided to remake this one in live action. You might also be very nervous, however, because (as has been much-discussed in the past couple of days) you never know what they're going to change when they do that.
The fact that the movie is headed straight to Disney+ is also not the most encouraging thing in the world, though with production for the film (which was supposed to begin in 2020) upended by Covid-19, it was bound to end up taking a hit somewhere.
This one is basically the opposite of the rest of this list: We don't want them to make it so that they can fix something, we KNOW they're making it, and we're PRAYING they don't try to fix too much.
Luckily, with original writer, director, and voice of Stitch Chris Sanders returning, that is unlikely. If anything, the changes will hopefully provide a richer experience of Hawaiian culture and issues through the eyes of Lilo and Nani.
FIX IT UP: The Sword in The Stone
We think this underrated classic is ripe for a remake. It didn't perform particularly well when it was released, sure - the unusual plot structure full of digressions and lectures left many feeling lukewarm - which kind of means it's perfect.
There's so much potential for humor in Merlin as a character - his confused time-travel sensibilities would only be funnier since more time has passed, and would make a great opportunity to tribute to the original film. (Jeff Goldblum. Imagine Jeff Goldblum as Merlin.)
They could also update the life lessons taught by the songs and tableaus in the film to more nuanced ones, keeping in step with modern sensibilities.
This film is, at its core, about not simply dismissing things you don't understand, but instead taking the time to listen and learn about them - about leading through wisdom, rather than simply by force. For this reason, Arthur (or Wart, depending on what part of the movie it is) would be a great candidate to fit that mold of the kid who is perceived as weak and different, who ends up teaching everybody what true strength is - and that's a story everybody is primed to hear right now. (Just look at Encanto!)
