The Best And Worst Disney Live-Action Remakes So Far
This is every Disney live-action remake ranked in order from best to worst, using viewer scores.
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Disney became fully entrenched into our lives with their animated classics. We fell in love with Bambi. We took that Neverland adventure with Peter Pan. We went under the sea with Ariel. But in a move that so far has turned out to be a financial success, Disney has started turning their animated classics into live-action remakes.
Reviews have been mixed, but what matters is what audiences think. Which live-action Disney remake do you think is best? You and your wallet are, after all, the driving force behind everything Disney does.
This is every Disney live-action remake ranked in order from best to worst, using viewer scores averaged together from both RT and IMDB.
1. Aladdin
- ORIGINAL RELEASE DATE: May 24, 2019
- AVERAGE VIEWER SCORE: 82% Positive
Who could possibly fill the role of everyone’s favorite manic genie voiced wonderfully by the late Robin Williams? When news broke indicating that Will Smith would become that person in a live-action remake outrage ensued. It only got worse when the first images of Smith as the genie appeared. But when audiences actually saw the live-action Aladdin, they had an entirely different reaction. Actual moviegoers rank Aladdin as the best live-action Disney remake.
Everyone knows the story. The thief Aladdin falls for Princess Jasmine and vice versa. The evil Jafar tries to get in the way but Aladdin, with the help of his blue friend the genie, triumph over evil. It’s a wonderful looking movie, complete with show-stopping musical numbers. Yes, it may not hit all the high notes that the animated original hit and no, Will Smith is NOT Robin Williams (no one is), but it was a solid effort. So it makes sense that it represents the highest scoring movie on this list.
2. The Jungle Book 2016
- ORIGINAL RELEASE DATE: April 15, 2016
- AVG. VIEWER SCORE: 80% Positive
Jon Favreau made his leap into Disney by helming this live-action remake. We know what you’re thinking, but GIANT FREAKIN ROBOT, what about Iron Man, Iron Man 2 or 3 for that matter? Yes, he was part of those but this was before Disney bought Marvel. The Jungle Book represents Favreau’s first directorial jobs for Disney and what a perfect entry for him.
This wonderful Disney live-action remake tells the familiar story of the man-cub Mowgli who is raised by wolves. The threat of Shere Kahn causes Bagheera to take Mowgli to the man-village. Along the way, Mowgli runs into ol papa bear Baloo and a “simple” adventure goes into overdrive as Mowgli decides he wants to remain in the jungle.
3. The Lion King
- ORIGINAL RELEASE DATE: July 19, 2019
- AVERAGE VIEWER SCORE: 79% Positive
This is Jon Favreau’s second live-action remake for the House of Mouse and another one fans loved. The question that has been brought up many times, though, is this truly a live-action remake? Not one living actor is in the movie, in fact not one living animal is in the movie. Maybe we’re splitting hairs here.
Simba is the little lion cub who just can’t wait to be king. After the extremely heartbreaking death of his father, Mufasa (again wonderfully voiced by James Earl Jones) his Uncle Scar scares him into running off and never come back to the pride. Simba does just that and along the way he meets favorites Timon and Pumbaa, growing into the lion his father always said he’d be. Now he just needs to go back and claim what rightfully is his.
4. Christopher Robin
- ORIGINAL RELEASE DATE: August 3, 2018
- AVERAGE VIEWER SCORE: 78% Positive
This Disney movie is not necessarily a classic animated remake but more of a classic collection remake. It doesn’t follow one particular Winnie the Pooh story, but more a general feeling of what Winnie the Pooh is all about.
Ewan MacGregor stars as the title character, all grown up without his silly old bear. Life, as it always seems to do once one hits adulthood, has a way of making us forget what it’s like to be a child. This is where Christopher Robin finds himself and something his pal Winnie the Pooh senses. So Pooh decides to find his Christopher and with the help of his friends (and Christopher’s family) show Christopher Robin that being an adult doesn’t mean you have to give up the child inside.
5. Beauty and the Beast
- ORIGINAL RELEASE DATE: March 17, 2017
- AVERAGE VIEWER SCORE: 76% Positive
The tale as old as time is brought forth once again, this time as the live-action fairy tale starring Emma Watson as Belle, Dan Stevens as the Beast, and Luke Evans portrays Gaston to the hilt. It is a faithful re-telling of Disney’s animated classic, complete with all the fun characters and wonderful songs.
6. Cinderella
- ORIGINAL RELEASE DATE: March 13, 2015
- AVERAGE VIEWER SCORE: 74% Positive
Kenneth Branagh (Murder On The Orient Express, Dead Again) brings Disney’s 1950 classic to life with a live-action remake that remains faithful but offers up enough change (She is called Ella) to keep it fresh. Lily James (Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, Baby Driver) stars as Ella with Cate Blanchett as the delightfully evil Stepmother.
7. Maleficent
- ORIGINAL RELEASE DATE: May 30, 2014
- AVERAGE VIEWER SCORE: 70% Positive
When Disney announced it was filming a live-action remake of Sleeping Beauty with a twist, fans were rightfully confused. See, this live-action story was to focus on Sleeping Beauty’s nemesis, Maleficent.
Angelina Jolie stars in her first go-around as the bad gal, whose story is told from her perspective, as we find out about the betrayal that turns her heart into stone. She places a curse on Aurora and as time goes on and the young Aurora grows, Maleficent realizes that Aurora may hold the key to peace across the land.
8. Alice in Wonderland
- ORIGINAL RELEASE DATE: March 5, 2010
- AVERAGE VIEWER SCORE: 60% Positive
The big news with this live-action remake was that Johnny Depp was returning to his Disney ways by starring as the Mad Hatter. This wasn’t really a shock in that Tim Burton was brought on as Director and the two have a great history working together. The concern was that the story would focus more on Depp’s Mad Hatter than Alice herself. And while it veered in that direction, Alice was still in the driver’s seat. Unfortunately, fans weren’t overly thrilled with the material.
10. The Jungle Book 1994
- ORIGINAL RELEASE DATE: December 25, 1994
- AVERAGE VIEWER SCORE: 58% Positive
This is the second time The Jungle Book is on this list but it is the first Disney live-action remake of the animated classic. The movie starred Jason Scott Lee (Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story) as an adult Mowgli and unfortunately, this is where the story went wrong. This one is about a grown-up Mowgli that includes characters not in the original animated classic. Yes, it does feature real-life animals, a bear named Baloo, a panther named Bagheera and of course a tiger named Shere Khan, but the animals don’t talk.
11. Lady and the Tramp
- ORIGINAL RELEASE DATE: November 12, 2019
- AVERAGE VIEWER SCORE: 58% Positive
The very first live-action feature released on the new streaming service Disney+ and it was far from a hit. The bottom line on this production, according to you the people, was there was too much change when it came to characters along with enough material left out from the original animated classic that perhaps Disney finally went too far with change. Give it a shot though, see what you think.
12. Dumbo
- ORIGINAL RELEASE DATE: March 29, 2019
- AVERAGE VIEWER SCORE: 56% Positive
The little elephant who could fly. Admittedly the CGI on this Disney live-action remake is amazing. The storyline leaves little to be desired. Granted filmmakers like Tim Burton, who helmed this project, like to put their stamp on these movies. Who can blame a filmmaker for wanting to change things up a bit?
Unfortunately, too much change can rankle an audience who are so invested in what came before it. This one brought in the real family element, a father (maimed in war), a son and daughter and while it had most of the Dumbo elements, it didn’t strike the right balance its fans saw in the animated classic.
13. Mulan
- ORIGINAL RELEASE DATE: September 4, 2020
- AVERAGE VIEWER SCORE: 50% Positive
Mulan was, from the beginning, a live-action remake made primarily for China. So it’s no surprise that it might not be liked by American audiences, and American audiences are the people determining these scores. Unfortunately, it also wasn’t liked by Chinese audiences, where the film was a gigantic flop.
The live-action version of Mulan follows much the same story as the animated version, with a few changes, and a few omissions. Most notable among those omissions was the character of Mushu who, incidentally, was the best thing about the animated version of Mulan. When you take out the best part of a movie and don’t replace it anything, it’s safe to assume your remake will never be as good as the original. In the case of this remake, it seems like audiences don’t think it was very good at all.
14. 101 Dalmatians
- ORIGINAL RELEASE DATE: November 27, 1996
- AVERAGE VIEWER SCORE: 49% Positive
One of the very first live-action remakes Disney ever did starred Glenn Close in an over-the-top performance as Cruella De Vil, the lady with a Dalmatian jones. She loves her furs and will stop at nothing to get her hands on Pongo and Perdita’s litter. The movie, unfortunately, left fans feeling flat and cheated, not what they were hoping for when compared to the classic.
