Every time a production company – usually Disney – announces a remake of one of its animated films, a shudder runs through our columns due to the inherent fear that said adaptation will “destroy our memory.”
The desire to have a past intact and intact, as we remember it – sweet or not – is natural, but it is also natural for studios to want to cash in on works from several years or decades ago; And they have the rights, so it’s time to swallow them.
Many adaptations become flops, not only for those who see them as adults, but even for their target audience, children. However, others are saved.
Today, on Hobby Consolas’ Hobby Cine, we’re looking at some of those cartoon adaptations that avoided disaster by getting to live action.
Masters of the universe
The success of the TV series designed for Mattel Selling more characters for one of its most profitable intellectual properties, it was decided to release a live-action film.
Dolph Lundgren I have become a cruel man, Fran Langella in Skeleton The film itself is considered a classic, although it was widely panned by critics.
And this is it Masters of the universe It’s a film intended for a very clear target audience: fans of the franchise.
It’s not the best adaptation you’ll find on our list, but it survives change with dignity, and its cult classic status proves it.
Naughty Daniel
This will be the most personal entry on the list, among other things, because the person writing this article burned a VHS disc of watching the first cut of Naughty Daniel.
In 1993, Impact Home Alone Still continues, and John Hughes He is responsible for the script adaptation Naughty DanielSo everything was going smoothly. As a gift, you have stars like Christopher Lloyd Like a villain or a very young girl Natasha Lyonne.
Fast racer
In 2008, The Wakosukee Sisters They capitalized on their star player with a hat-trick Matrix The popular animated series Fast racer (Meteor) in the United States to release a live-action film.
We all know that exceptions, whether in cinemas or series, for manga and anime adaptations are very few, and even more so if they are produced in Hollywood.
to Fast racer It happens like that Masters of the universe: She took a hit when she came out, but has gained a large following over the years.
Therefore, its status as a cult classic earns it a spot on the list. In this list we can also include movies like Scooby DooIt’s not a pear either, but it has a very loyal following.
101 Dalmatians
Long before Disney got into the craze of turning animated classics into live-action films, the Mouse House was released 101 Dalmatians.
The film is not only an endearing and entertaining production for youngsters, but also… Glenn Close as Cruella It is a marvel that deserves praise whenever this film is mentioned. spot.
George Jungle
George Jungle It was kind of a parody Tarzan That children can enjoy in this series Rocky and Bullwinkleback in the sixties.
This series contains many modifications, such as Boris and Natasha Or the two titular stars themselves. However, only George of the Jungle can say that he triumphs when he makes the leap to real action.
This may be because Brendan Fraser He embraced the pure essence of the original character in that moment, as he did the rest of the film.
George of the Jungle isn’t the best anime-inspired live-action film, but it’s worth surviving the change.
beauty and the beast
The Mouse House has had its lights and shadows with the jump from animated classics to live action, however beauty and the beast He was saved with great dignity.
Bill Condon He succeeded in directing the film adaptation in 2017, with Emma Watson, Dan Stevens and Luke Evans ahead. Mind you, they could have been flagged DumboSo we preferred things to go this way.
Flintstones
To adapt Flintstones Since 1994, it has received a lot of hate from critics, even though it faced the difficult task of adapting a timeless series with so much iconography engraved in its fans.
Classic of Hanna Barbera Came to life thanks John Goodman, Rick Moranis, Halle Berry, Rosie O’Donnell, Elizabeth Perkins And a whole host of celebrities who, no doubt, grew up with adventures Pedro Flintstone and Pablo Marmol in Peradura.
Is it the best possible adaptation? Not so, but we’re talking about 1994, when it wasn’t the best idea in the world to spend a huge Jurassic Park-style sum on a movie focused on the young ones at home.
However, Flintstones It succeeds in recreating the events of the series with more dignity than other adaptations that have wowed critics.
Aladdin
Another brilliant member of the pantheon of Disney film adaptations that often causes a stir with its creative decisions.
Aladdin It’s not the best thing the Mouse House has done in recent years, but the cast gives it their all in live action and of course we have to highlight Will Smith’s turn as the Genie, which is a great effort to fill a void. to Robin Williams.
Kasper
In the nineties, Kasper He has been very popular in his various animated series, where he has starred since the 1960s.
the film In live action, he makes very good use of the tropes that turned the Ghost into a likable character.
By the way, the star Christina Ricci He was on the rise among goths thanks to his role as Wednesday in The Addams Family And its sequel, so getting it was another success.
As a bonus, put Dan Aykroyd in Casper for a cameo Ray Stantz to Ghostbusters It was the icing on the cake.
The Lion King and The Jungle Book
We’ll put a very big asterisk here because though The jungle book He has part of the real picture, both in the 2016 movie and in The lion king, Jon Favreau The remake was made using photo-realistic CGI.
Under other circumstances, we would have ruled out both films, but it would be impossible to do them right in this day and age without giving the real animals a hard time, and in fact, they probably wouldn’t have turned out quite the same.
Christopher Robin
Disney
Another film that was able to divide critics in 2018 was Christopher Robina loving adaptation of AA Milne’s characters.
Ewan McGregor Brings the titular character to life in an entertaining film for all audiences. Winnie the Pooh has had another live-action adaptation, not to mention a “family friendly” one, of course, but we wouldn’t touch it with a laser pointer.
Paddington
Paddington It was a big risk in 2014, since the film’s fantastic protagonist Paul King It was not particularly well known outside the UK.
But it soon happened: The film received mostly positive feedback, spawning a sequel and another film on the way.
Going from cartoons to live action (or live-action animation) is complicated by having to deal with not only doing a good job, but with how people will receive the film while thinking about their childhood.
What other adaptations do you think have been able to achieve their goal of satisfying those who expected a good transition to live action?
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