With the recent release of a live-action Snow White and the Seven Dwarves remake and a  live-action Lilo and Stich remake, an animated movie that is just barely over two decades old,  and undoubtedly more to come, including a live-action Moana next years Disney seems set on remake and rereleasing their animated classic into live-action for time immemorial. While the quality and critical reception has been debatable the box-office success has not. There seems to be nothing to stop Disney from redoing their entire catalog which is probably a tempting proposition, but there are a couple movies that should be left alone along with one that could use more attention. Let’s start with the ones that shouldn’t be remade….

Robin Hood(1973)

There have been numerous adaptions of the Robin Hood story throughout the years from recent Russel Crowe to the Mel Brooks’ parody Men in Tight and everyone has their favorite. For many that favorite was Disney’s version featuring an anthropomorphic fox as Robin Hood. While Lion King and Jungle Book have been able to make talking CGI animals work I fear an attempt at a live-action take on Robin Hood using animals with human-like features may come off as off-putting. Why not take the Robin Hood approach to the King Arthur legend or a similar story instead or better yet an actual sequel as Robin Hood is one of the few Disney movies to not even get a direct-to-video follow-up.

The Fox and the Hound(1981)

One of Disney’s darker movies could possibly work in live action, although I don’t see the need to revisit the tale of the unlikely friendship between should-be enemies Todd the fox(Mickey Rooney) and Copper the hound(Kurt Russel). In particular I think the end scene where Todd and Copper fight a bear would be hard to translate to live-action and would lose some of its impact, especially if a CGI bear is used.  It already had a direct-to-video sequel in 2006 which involved Copper almost joining a band of stray singing dogs so maybe its best to let sleeping dogs(and foxes) lie.. That being said, bringing  in Kurt Russel who voiced Copper in the original to play Copper’s owner, the cranky Amos Slade(originally voiced by Jack Anderson) might just prove to be a stroke of casting genius

Honorable Mentions: The Great Mouse Detective and Rescuers(and Rescuers Down Under)

And now on to a movie that should get the remake treatment

The Black Cauldron(1985)

One of Disney’s darker and more under-appreciated animated movies Black Cauldron was the first PG-rated movies and followed the swineherder Taran(Grant Bardsley) as he fought against the evil Horned King(John Hurt). The movie received mixed reception upon release, but has since become a cult-classic after being rereleased on hom video. I feel a live-action remake could do it justice and the character of Gurgi, a dog-like creature who accompanies Taran on his quest could rival Stitch or even Grogu in terms of cuteness. The movie is actually based on a two book in a series called The Chronicles of Pyrdain by Lloyd Alexander which borrows from Welsh mythology. In 2016 Disney reacquired the rights to the series so there is potential to revisit. With plenty of fantasy elements and adventure The Black Cauldron could even turn into Disney’s rival to the Lord of the Rings Franchise. Maybe even take a page from the Lord of the Rings casting book itself and cast Hugo Weaving as the Horned King. Perhaps if Disney doesn’t think a theatrical release would be successful a Disney plus series might be worthwhile

What are you thoughts? What Disney live-action remake do you want to see and what don’t you want to see? Let us know in the comments