We Ranked Disney’s Live-Action Remakes From Worst To Best

After the release of Moana in theaters, we take a look at the top new live-action versions produced by the studio in recent years.

19. Lady and the Tramp (2019)by Charlie Bean

With Justin Theroux and Tessa Thomson in the hair of the mutts in love. Certainly the least ambitious of all the remakes produced so far by the studio. Released directly on Disney+ – in full confinement – this already forgotten remake is based on very real dogs… dubbed by CGI. Visually, it’s horrible and basically, it’s particularly boring. Seeking at all costs to preserve the tenderness of the original story, the film becomes terribly mawkish and soporific.

18. Pinocchio (2022), by Robert Zemeckis

With Tom Hank as Gepetto. Possibly one of Robert Zemeckis’ worst films, which never manages to justify the existence of this remake. The staging is lazy and the digital effects too poor. The puppet who dreams of becoming a real little boy comes to life in live-action in a tasteless way. The film fails to innovate or move people. And suffers the comparison with the Pinocchio by Guillermo del Toro released the same year, stop motion version for Netflix., which was able to free itself from Carlo Collodi’s original classic in a spectacular way.

17. Vaiana: The Legend of the End of the World (2026), by Thomas Kail

In the category of remakes that struggle to justify their existence. The adventure unfolds in a luxurious setting: the ocean is sublime, the landscapes are full of details and Disney unfurls its entire digital armada. Dwayne Johnson, as enthusiastic as ever, is having fun like a child under Maui’s tattoos. But behind this visual debauchery, it is difficult to find the magic of the animated film. Too smooth, too digital, too dependent on its special effects, this Moana impresses more than it moves.

16. Maleficent: The Power of Evil (2019), by Joachim Rønning

With Angelina Jolie as a not very good fairy. A sequel that we could have done without, without a doubt, and which finds its reason for being in the 750 million dollars in revenue from the first opus. At least, the Norwegian director (who had made Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge) was able to go beyond the framework of Sleeping Beauty to try to shake up the imagination of fairy tales… without ever really succeeding. A nicely done tale, but without much interest.

15. The Little Mermaid (2023), by Rob Marshall

With Halle Bailey as Ariel. The bet was risky: the seabed forms a universe difficult to adapt to live shots, not conducive to emotion and human movement. Contrary to Cinderella Or Mulanwhose stories are more naturally anchored in reality or epic, Ariel’s world seems to resist photorealism. If his young star actress, brilliant and inhabited, saves the film from sinking with a soft and luminous interpretation, Marshall fails to breathe life into the story. Its featureless staging makes the musical sequences strangely frozen, almost asphyxiated. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s unreleased songs fall flat, and the costumes – notably a laughable Javier Bardem as King Triton – don’t help matters.

14. Snow White (2025), by Marc Webb

With Rachel Zegler as Snow White and Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen. The predicted catastrophe did not occur. Carried by good songs and a good duo of actresses, this modernized version takes certain visuals from the 1937 classic (the dress), assumes the fantasy of the original (the horde of digital animals, the haunted forest) and gently updates the film to its time without too much pain. The main good idea is to have hired the duo Justin Paul/Benj Pasek – who knitted the hits of La La Land and The Greatest Showman – to compose the new songs for the film. Even if it is true that the Dwarves – sorry: the “magical creatures” – could be a big repellent for the public.

13. Peter Pan & Wendy (2023), by David Lowery

With Jude Law as Captain Hook. Between two daring arty films, the director is tackling a new live action remake for Disney, after the successful Peter and Elliott the Dragon (read below). He signs a sober rereading of the 1953 classic. Far from a simple food project, the film is a continuation of his work. But if the reflection is there, the magic is sorely lacking. The staging is dull, the young actors (Milla Jovovich’s daughter in the lead) struggle to convince, and the empty sets accentuate a feeling of permanent floating. A few songs try to brighten up the whole thing, without success. Without being bad, the film remains disconcertingly bland.

12. Maleficent (2014), by Robert Stromberg

With Elle Fanning as Princess Aurora. An impressive rereading of the tale of Sleeping Beautyreplayed from the villain’s point of view, where Angelina Jolie delivers one of her most astonishing performances, sharp, acute, salient. All he needs is three expressions and a well-intentioned approach to succeed in giving depth and credibility to a character who was only an iconic bogeyman without depth. If the overly cautious scenario stalls between tragedy, romance and tale of emancipation, this remake emerges through its great visual and aesthetic success.

11. The Lion King (2019), by Jon Favreau

With Donald Glover as Simba and Beyoncé as Nala. With $1.7 billion in worldwide box office revenue, it is one of the biggest cinema hits of all time. However, this adaptation in photo-realistic mode is far from perfection. Too long, without any real narrative interest, this remake is worth first and foremost for its technical prowess. Never seen before. No animal is real. Simba, Sfar, Mufasa and Nala are created in computer graphics. And the excellence of the special effects is just breathtaking. We are amazed by the way in which the film manages to endow animals with emotion. But it never goes any further.

10. Aladdin (2019), by Guy Ritchie

With Will Smith as Genie. Carried by its superstar full of energy, the whole film sparkles in a festive atmosphere, riding on the emblematic songs. If it is difficult to find the Ritchie touch in this big colorful entertainment that looks like a 2h10 clip, this remake remains one of the most entertaining on the list. A pure musical comedy with a nod to Bollywood.

9. Alice in Wonderland (2010), by Tim Burton

With Johnny Depp under the hat of the Mad Hatter. More an indirect sequel to the original tale than a remake of the 1951 classic, this version shows an adult Alice returning to Wonderland. The gothic director injects his universe and his nightmarish cartoon aesthetic into this uneven kaleidoscopic fresco, but which has the merit of carrying within it a good big grain of madness. Certainly, there are too many effects, and perhaps not enough magic. The adaptation here is more baroque than poetic. But Burton wows us and delights us by succeeding in reinventing an adventure that has already been adapted a thousand times.

8. Lilo & Stitch (2025), by Dean Fleischer Camp

A real nice surprise from the Disney batch. Where so many live-action remakes are content to repaint their classics identically, the director of Marcel the shell finds the right balance: respecting the spirit of the 2002 film while infusing it with real personality. More than just a showcase of special effects, this Lilo & Stitch finds this unique blend of tenderness, humor and melancholy which was the charm of the cartoon. A story of a damaged family, of improbable friendship and of endearing little monsters which has a soul, a real one.

7. Dumbo (2019), by Tim Burton

With Danny DeVito as a circus boss. The filmmaker signs one of his most personal remakes. Rather than copying the 1941 animated classic, he reinvents its essence by refocusing the story on a broken family who takes in the baby elephant with big ears. Exit the talking mouse, make way for Holt and his children, also orphans. Emotion, melancholy and Burtonian grace operate through fluid animation, respectful of the animality of Dumbo. Visually mastered, the film also offers a delightful meta discourse: a giant amusement park run by a cynical tycoon (Michael Keaton) symbolizes a dehumanized entertainment industry, which Burton denounces with biting irony… at Disney.

6. Mulan (2020), by Niki Caro

With Donnie Yen as Commander Tung. Perhaps the most realistic of the Disney remakes. Moving away from the animated film and its fanciful elements, this warlike version – unfairly unnoticed due to Covid – has the audacity to follow through on its idea, a modern fable imbued with assertive feminism. A 200 million dollar blockbuster that also knows how to impress, with its sumptuous, skillfully filmed choreographies, which place this live-action version in the vein of a Tiger and Dragon.

5. Beauty and the Beast (2017), by Bill Condon

With Emma Watson as Belle and Dan Stevens as Beast. Impossible to surpass his model. But this remake tries with class, assuming an almost shot-for-shot fidelity to the 1991 cartoon. The new songs and new elements enrich a film that attempts to accomplish the impossible: to enchant reality, to bring animated dreams to life in the flesh. The result is as enjoyable as a Disney musical on stage, in real life, where actors cosplay with talent and energy.

4. Cinderella (2015), by Kenneth Branagh

With Cate Blanchett as a horrible stepmother. The tale – many times passed through the Hollywood mill – puts Lily James in the pumpkin transformed into a carriage. The Oscar-winning director delivers here an elegant and faithful version of the tale, without taking too many risks but with a lot of class. The sumptuous sets and costumes by Sandy Powell contribute greatly to the success of this remake which embraces its classicism and fairy tale side, thus finding real emotion in this sincerity.

3. Peter and Elliott the Dragon (2016), by David Lowery

With Robert Redford as a storyteller grandfather. The gifted director ofLovers of Texas and of A Ghost Story distances itself from the original version. Thought of as a reinvention that connects to the Amblin style, its remake only kept the basic idea: a little boy is friends with a big dragon. Less flamboyant than other Disney productions, the film surprises with its warmth, sincerity and gentleness, underlined by a sober staging. The relationship between Pete and his dragon becomes truly touching. Because Lowery injects humanity into every scene, with a rare balance between magic and realism.

2. Cruella (2021), by Craig Gillespie

With Emma Stone as Estella De Vil. More of a prequel than a remake! Before she becomes the famous evil puppy killer, she is played to perfection by the Oscar-winning actress, who delivers an irresistible composition as an anti-heroine bewitched by fashion and revenge. In line with the exciting Me, TonyaGillespie enjoyed staging this colorful Cruella in an explosive tale. His enthusiasm crosses the screen thanks to a crazy artistic direction and a punk rock atmosphere in London of the 70s, which knew how to shake up the codes of the Disney classic.

1. The Jungle Book (2016), by Jon Favreau

With Bill Murray doing Baloo. Simply stunning. An exciting remake both visually and emotionally. Before making his Lion KingFavreau successfully tested the technique in this impressive fusion of CGI and classic storytelling. Even more than the others, his live version of Mowgli succeeds in capturing the magic of the original while offering a new and totally immersive visual experience. The realistic staging gives a true majesty to the jungle and the film manages to breathe new life into Kipling’s tale without betraying its legacy. Perhaps the biggest proof that these live action remakes can have soul.