Disney’s “Snow White” premiered on March 21 to mixed reviews. Earning a 43% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, many critics were let down by some of the movie’s changes, while others praised Rachel Zegler’s performance. The decision to create CGI dwarfs  instead of hiring actors with dwarfism did not land favorably with some of the audience when watching this film. With live action adaptations of “Lilo and Stitch” and “How to Train Your Dragon” also set for release later this year, it has me thinking—they’re not gonna stop producing remakes, are they?

I dislike remakes. I advocate for more original movies, but if remakes are inevitable, why not change the way they are done?

The upcoming “How to Train Your Dragon” remake is going to be very similar to the original film with very little changes. Why? The original came out in 2010 which was only fifteen years ago, and it also doesn’t seem necessary to remake a film that includes shots from the first movie. 

If we are going to make remakes, especially of animated films, why not choose stories that would work better in live-action? Take “Pete’s Dragon,” one of Disney’s first live-action remakes. While the original didn’t perform well critically or financially, the remake performed much better, as it dropped the musical elements and focused more on character development. Watching both versions back to back would feel like experiencing two entirely different movies.  

So, following the standards set by the “Pete’s Dragon” remake, Disney should remake “The Black Cauldron.” “The Black Cauldron” went through so much time in development hell and I think it could be interesting to see this film like this be remade with a better timeline and a sense of the direction of where the story was going. This movie is often considered one of the weaker Disney films critically and financially in the animated Disney lineup, but it has potential. 

“The Black Cauldron” didn’t end up being the best because the footage was cut for the movie, or changed due to CEO of Disney Animation Jeffrey Katzenberg thinking the movie was too dark for young audiences. Of all the films Disney Animation has made, this is the closest we have come to a horror movie. Imagine a live-action remake with proper footage, making it Disney’s first horror movie; this cool and unique concept would put a different spin on remake culture, one that centers innovation and new ideas, rather than recycling the old. 

If we are going to remake movies, why don’t studios try to fix their past mistakes and remake some films that didn’t do well critically? I think most people would rather watch an innovative Disney horror movie based on “The Black Cauldron” rather than a live-action  “Lilo and Stitch” remake. We have already had a “Lilo and Stitch” show and multiple movies. We don’t need a remake. 

This isn’t the only factor that could be changed to improve remakes—why not tell stories we all know, but from a new perspective. The closest real-life examples we have are “Wicked” and “Cobra Kai,” which are sequels and prequels that offer fresh viewpoints rather than the same story. 

Imagine “Titanic” from Cal Hockley’s perspective, someone privileged and used to having everything he wanted, or “The Thing” from the Thing’s perspective, as aliens adapt to a hostile environment. These adaptations would be much more entertaining than remaking the story again.  If they ever choose to remake “Toy Story”—which, please don’t—why not focus on Sid’s story as a neighborhood bully? Why did he choose to torture the Toys? Where is he now? Both the “Pete’s Dragon” remake and this idea have the same goal, remaking movies and doing them a different way. 

Am I saying the Disney Remakes movies are some of the worst movies made? No, but a lot of them would be better if they changed the aspects and/or focused on a different character rather than just live action. 

We absolutely need to make original movies, and while I do hope the Hollywood remakes slow down, they won’t. If they must continue, they should at least change the story a little bit or change the way they tell it. Watching the same movie over and over again is not entertaining.