One of the most commonplace additions to Disney's movie releases in recent history has been to adapt some classic films into live-action, allowing the franchise to provide a new way for audiences to experience specific stories that can capitalize on the popularity of previous installments.
However, the releases that come under the category have been the subject of a wide range of different receptions in the past decade or so, and have eked out some notable dissent from even many Disney fans as a result of how they can often handle the original source material. This is already the case with the concern around what one of the set photos for the live-action Tangled may reveal for the movie, which also serves to exemplify the unique challenges that these adaptations face.
Tangled's Live-Action Changes Controversy Shows The Dual-Edged Challenge With Live-Action Adaptations
The upcoming release of Tangled's live-action adaptation has come under some fire recently, due to details fans have spotted in some of the new set photos of the film. While the kingdom of Corona has a purple and gold color scheme in the animated movie, the set of what appears to be the live-action iteration of Corona seems to use a different color scheme instead, with blue and yellow replacing purple and gold.
This has drawn some considerable ire from fans, with complaints citing the change being at odds with the movie's overall color scheme (which uses purple frequently throughout), and further complaints discussing how they believe that the decision, if permanent, seems to be for the sake of changing something in the live-action adaptation rather than for any more immediately understandable reason.
The nature of this controversy highlights a dual issue that has commonly cropped up with live-action adaptations of previously animated Disney movies. Changing details of such a film compared to the original is a move that will naturally draw confusion and criticism, since these adaptations happen because the prior film was so beloved - but changing nothing raises its own critiques too, since a live-action adaptation of especially a more recent animated release that makes no effort to try and make the story its own does feel somewhat more needless.
The Dual Challenges With Adapting Beloved Animated Movies Into Live-Action Explain Why The Genre Is So Divisive
While several live-action Disney adaptations such as Lilo & Stitch, Cinderella, and The Jungle Book have all been big box office wins, these adaptations as a whole have a more divisive reputation due to how they're perceived by the public.
Plenty of people resonate with efforts to bring a classic and beloved story to life in a new way, but the call to revitalize these stories by simply putting them into live-action has drawn its fair share of detractors, particularly because much of the magic of the original releases comes in the style and detail of the art and animation used to make them.
The fact Tangled has drawn the criticism it has for seemingly changing how the kingdom Rapunzel originally comes looks shows how this matter even is even more complex in the long run too. Even those who want live-action adaptations to make changes with the film's creative direction or story generally don't want the things they loved most or recognized best with the original to be altered, which then makes the matter of what changes can feasibly be pulled off and garner a more universally positive reception even trickier to nail down.
Release Date
November 24, 2010
English (US) ·