Increase in live-action remakes: A loss of creativity?

Live Action remakes of our childhood films have taken the Hollywood film industry by storm.

Remaking the classic films we grew up watching into live-action films has become a rising trend over the last few years, taking nostalgia to new heights.

Although it seems like a cool concept and is fun watching them, the heavy focus on this category of films and a surprising increase in them makes it feel like nothing less than a cash grab and begs the question: is the Hollywood film industry running out of creativity and fresh material?

As cinemagoers it often feels like we’re being made to watch the same thing in different versions.

Film genres keep changing with the time — westerns, crime noir, slasher movies, and superhero films. However, now it feels like we are stuck in the era of remakes or sequels because the industry wants to seemingly take less risks and stick with things that worked well before.

Hollywood is seemingly depending on nostalgia to make avid movie watchers return to watch films on the big screen and get a bigger audience.

Filmmakers revisit stories that performed exceptionally well to keep their longtime fans and also bring in new audiences, so it doesn’t seem like they will be stopping anytime soon.

People are fond of the classics because they never get old and this gives filmmakers a chance to change them and reinvent them, putting a fresh and modern spin on them.

However, the huge surge in this category has met with controversies.

Many have argued that movie producers such as Disney have been constantly pushing remakes a lot and which makes it hard for new and fresh ideas to shine in the industry.

Although there are many Disney remakes out there, here are some of the popular classics as examples that had been turned into remakes:

The Lion King

The animated version of this film was released in 1994 and has maintained its popularity and is still in people's minds since.

The story revolves around a cub, Simba, who is forced to abandon his pride and home after his father Mufasa succumbs to his death after being betrayed by his wicked brother Scar.

Although people loved the 1994’s film, the 2019 live-action remake was met with some mixed reviews.

Many people presented their arguments stating that it felt like a cash grab, while expressing that the new modernised film lacked the sense of emotion the original had.

It in fact did feel slightly rushed and compared to its preceding film it didn’t live up to the expectations. The lack of emotion and facial expressions makes you not get so attached to the film or its characters.

The Little Mermaid

The Little Mermaid’s animated film came out 1989 and has been a fan favourite ever since.

It is about a mermaid named Ariel who longs to be a part of the human world but is forbidden by her father. After a stormy night she ends up saving a prince and falls in love with him. She ends up striking a deal with Ursula to make her a human but in return she loses the ability to speak and sing.

However, its 2023’s live-action — which cast Halle Bailey as Ariel — also faced backlash mainly over the appearance of the 25-year-old actress as it didn’t match the skin-tone of the cartoon.

It garnered some mixed reviews after hitting the big screens, with some praising Halle for her incredible performance and capturing the emotional authenticity, while others commented on its dullness and lack of originality and heavy reliance on the original’s formula.

So what does it mean for the film, was it supposed to stray away from the original storyline or did the makers made the right choice to follow its preceding film to the dot?

Snow White

Snow White is the most recent film that has faced a major blow after not just the release but also the announcement of the movie and promotions of the new remake.

This children's movie which originally came out in 1937 had won hearts, and as years went on people still continued to talk about it, but’s remake wasn’t met with the same love.

The 2025’s film, which stars Rachel Zegler as the princess, faced a lot of criticism for straying too far from the original film’s plot. People had once again expressed their disapproval regarding the casting and the way it was being promoted.

Snow White faced the issue of not following the original’s plot and formula and was slammed for being too "woke."

Remakes need to follow the original formula with a fun twist for the new era in order to stay true to its initial film and encapsulate the essence of it, all while also catering to the new audience.

However, having said that, Hollywood, especially Disney, needs to put more effort and money on creating more classics like it did years ago rather than just recycling the same movies in different forms because despite the live-action remakes serving as good entertainment at times, it does not evoke the same emotions as the animated versions.

Taking The Lion King for an example again, comparing the 1994’s version with 2019’s film the emotions that it needed to show from its characters were completely different, with many believing that the newer version’s emotions fell flat. 

This collage compares stills from both versions for the film, you be the judge of whether the reboot was able to match the sentiment of its original piece. 

Benefits of remaking classic movies

Apart from all the negatives of reinventing the classics to be more realistic, there are some benefits to it as well.

A major plus is being able to give those old favourites a modern twist and share them with an entirely new audience, while also catering to the nostalgia of older fans.

It also serves as an opportunity to acknowledge any shortcomings or limitations in its preceding film, (which if pondered upon, is what the makers of 2025’s Snow White reportedly unsuccessfully tried to do) and 'correct' them in the newer edition.

Reboot drawbacks

As discussed above remakes are often not met with positive reactions. There are quite a few disadvantages of filming them, one majorly being that it blurs the lines between originality and creativity.

There is always a risk of the reboot not performing well and not living up to the original and may even water down the impact of the preceding movie.

The makers would have to be prepared for the fans backlash and harsh criticism, which some have faced already.

Another downside is that these remakes often don’t bring anything new to the market. Even when they look more polished, they repeat the same storylines which can feel repetitive.

While the reboots can get more audiences to the cinema, it is pertinent to take into the consideration the benefits and drawbacks of them, and while having our childhood nostalgia given a realistic touch seems like a fun idea, it wouldn’t hurt for some fresh and original ideas to come to our screens.