These Disney live-action movies are surprisingly okay: Watch them now
Disney live-action movies, the phrase sends fans cringing away. Disney live-action movies? No thanks. They don’t even do anything interesting, especially when they try to remake their animated films. But are Disney live-action movies really as bad as people say? Aren’t there some hidden gems in there, waiting to be seen? Because they can’t all be bad right?
Right! This means it’s time to dive into the surprisingly okay live-action movies from Disney- many of which you can check out on Disney+. If you’re ready to dive in, then prepare to relive some serious childhood nostalgia because these are the Disney live-action movies that will make you say, “Huh, that’s a pretty dece.”
The Jungle Book (2016)
Jon Favreau (Iron Man) directs this live-action version of the 1967 film, The Jungle Book. Out of all the Disney live-action movies based on their animated properties, The Jungle Book remains the gold standard. The cast? Great. The CGI? Excellent. The story? A+ work, people. It holds a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes and is usually the exception when disparaging Disney live-action movies.
Mainly because The Jungle Book balances respect for the source material while also pushing boundaries of what we saw in the original film. It’s a good balance. Better than a shot for shot remake, you know? It proved popular enough that a sequel for The Jungle Book is currently in development. Though, with COVID & Favreau’s busy schedule, we don’t know when that will happen.
Enchanted (2007)
This beloved live-action Disney movie is a satire on Disney movies. An animated princess (Amy Adams) ends up in real world NYC in order to learn some lessons and bring some magic to a single-father raising his young daughter. Enchanted has grown a big fanbase, who remember the film fondly. More importantly, Enchanted brought Amy Adams to the A-list in a big way.
A sequel to the film, Disenchanted, is currently in the works for Disney+. It will see the cast of the original movie return, which, given that it’s been about 15 years since the film premiered? Means that it’s clearly time to make some serious bank on nostalgia. We’re so here for it.
Pete’s Dragon (2016)
Basically, what we’re saying is that maybe we should avoid making live-action version of the Disney Princess movies. Instead, we should focus all our energy into making live-action Disney movies of, for lack of a better term, lesser known Disney movies. The 2016 remake of Pete’s Dragon is pretty amazing. The look of the dragon is awesome. The human characters actually do things.
It will also emotionally destroy you, but what’s life without a little emotional devastation. It’s good for the constitution. Either way, Pete’s Dragon and The Jungle Book prove that maybe we should make live-action Disney movies on, like, Treasure Planet or Atlantis: The Lost Empire.
Wow. An Atlantis movie would be awesome, right?
Freaky Friday
We’re not giving a year for this one because, basically, either Freaky Friday remake is good for different reasons. So pick one and dive in because this classic story of a mother and daughter swapping bodies for the day and gaining new appreciation for each is great in our book. Though, for nostalgia reasons, we’ll give the edge of the 2003 one with Lindsay Lohan & Jamie Lee Curtis.
But, the original also has baby Jodie Foster. So, really, take your pick here. You won’t be disappointed. We certainly aren’t. There was a DCOM remake as well in 2018, which we’re sure was just as fine. Though we can admit to not watching that. But three’s enough to have a day of watching Freaky Friday if that’s just something you want to bring into the world.
