Whenever you hear the term “Disney Live Action Remake” you usually hear one of two reactions; Either love or hate. Ever since 2010’s remake of Alice in Wonderland made over $1. Billion at the box office Disney has been cranking these remakes out like there’s no tomorrow. But did you know what Disney actually made a few remakes in the 1990s? Remakes that almost everyone forgets even happened?
Let’s take a look at them.Â
First we have The Jungle Book from 1994. Starring Jason Scott Lee (Known for Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story), Cary Elwes (Know for The Princess Bride), Lena Headey (Known for Game of Thrones) and Sam Neil (Known for Jurassic Park).
The story follows Mowgli as a young adult as British explorers are searching for a lost treasure. The film has an action spin and clearly takes some inspiration from the 1991 The Mummy. The film made $70 Million on a $30 Million Budget.
Next we have 101 Dalmatians from 1996. Starring Glenn Close (Known for Hamlet), Jeff Daniels (Known for Dumb and Dumber), Hugh Laurie (Known for House) and Joley Richardson (Known for Event Horizon).
The film’s plot does follow the original but the biggest difference is that the dog’s don’t talk at all in the film. Instead the dog acting is all visual and using body language with trained dogs while much of the dialogue is through the humans instead. Quite an interesting take.
The film made $320 Million on a $67 Million budget. The film would later receive a sequel, 102 Dalmatians, in 2000. That film made $183.6 Million on an $85 Million budget.
Lastly we have Cinderella from 1997. Starring Brandy, Whitney Houston, Jason Alexander (Known for Seinfeld) and Whoopi Goldberg (Known for The Color Purple).
The film more closely follows the Rodgers and Hammerstein Cinderella musical more so than the 1950 Disney classic. The made-for-television film premiered on ABC as part of The Wonderful World of Disney.Â
What do you think of these earlier remakes? Are they better than the more recent ones? Should Disney keep remaking their classic films or should they move on and make new original films?
Pirates & Princesses (PNP) is an independent, opinionated fan-powered news blog that covers Disney and Universal Theme Parks, Themed Entertainment and related Pop Culture from a consumer's point of view. Opinions expressed by our contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of PNP, its editors, affiliates, sponsors or advertisers. PNP is an unofficial news source and has no connection to The Walt Disney Company, NBCUniversal or any other company that we may cover.