Disney Has Moana And More Live-Action Remakes On The Way, But One Just Got Cancelled That I’m Frankly Glad About
Though Disney tried its hand at live-action remakes/re-imaginings within the Nineties, the studio’s been releasing a gradual stream of those sorts of flicks since Maleficent put a brand new spin on Sleeping Magnificence. This system has labored most of the time for the Mouse Home, with each Snow White and Lilo & Sew being launched on the 2025 motion pictures schedule, and Moana, Hercules and varied others lined up for the approaching years. Nevertheless, the live-action model of The Aristocats is now not on that checklist, although I can’t say I’m disenchanted by this.
Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, who’d been tapped to direct the remake in 2023, shared this info throughout his look on the Rating: The Podcast., and Variety confirmed its cancellation. Per Questlove, who most lately directed the documentary Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) (which will be streamed with each a Hulu subscription and Disney+ subscription), administration shuffles had been the reason for The Aristocats being taken off the checklist of upcoming Disney motion pictures, identical to Tangled was again in April. It will definitely received to a degree the place Questlove was uninterested in ready round and wished to work on different tasks. In his phrases:
I might have cherished to have finished that mission, however there’s like 20 others that I can get to. What I don’t do is I don’t make bulletins till it’s prepared, however there’s actually 4 different movies. I’ll be working ’til 2029-2030. So, simply wasn’t meant to occur. Perhaps it is going to occur sooner or later.
Whereas it’s a disgrace that Questlove didn’t get to make The Aristocats as he envisioned, I’m truthfully glad that this specific live-action remake isn’t transferring ahead. I bear in mind having fun with the 1970 authentic once I was a child, so this isn’t me critiquing that film’s high quality. Moderately, I’m simply not a fan of Disney giving its motion pictures that largely, if not solely function animals as the primary characters the live-action remedy.
I say live-action, nevertheless it’s actually photorealistic CGI. Thus far we’ve predominantly seen this with 2016’s The Jungle Ebook, The Lion King, Woman and the Tramp, in addition to final yr’s Musfasa: The Lion King, which was a simultaneous prequel and sequel to its 2019 predecessor (let’s additionally throw in The Little Mermaid, albeit to a smaller diploma). Now I’ll admit, I used to be an enormous fan of The Jungle Ebook, however most of the time, there’s a scarcity of appeal when Disney makes these animals appear to be they do in the true world. Sarcastically, I’d argue they find yourself trying extra lifeless in comparison with the emotiveness we get from characters in an animated product.
That actually would have occurred with The Aristocats. Like Woman and the Tramp, there are some human characters in. Nevertheless, with the story revolving round a bunch of cats in 1910 Paris who inherit their rich proprietor’s fortune, a lot to the dismay of her butler, these cute felines take up the vast majority of display screen time. So though there is part of me that’s intrigued by what Questlove would have finished with The Aristocats, that curiosity is outweighed by my disinterest in seeing this story retold with realistic-looking cats.
My fingers are crossed that the live-action Bambi can be shelved, as that’s a narrative that ought to strictly stay within the animated realm. As for the Disney remakes starring largely human characters, the following one up is Moana, which comes out on July 10, 2026.
