Disney Is Losing Its Fans

There are rumors of further live-action Disney remakes on the way, but many fans seem unhappy with the idea of more classic cartoons being rebooted.

The rumors were sparked by Skyler Shuler, aka, The DisInsider. Posting on October 18, the Disney super fan claimed that the House of Mouse has several as yet unannounced re-imaginings in the works, including live-action versions of Tarzan (1999), The Princess and the Frog (2009), Tangled (2010) and Frozen (2013).

Although Disney has yet to confirm the projects, Shuler has a decent track-record when it comes to leaks. The animation giant already has a number of live-action remakes in development, including Bambi (1942), Lilo & Stitch (2002), Hercules (1997) and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), starring Rachel Zegler in the titular role.

Many fans were unimpressed by the prospect, with X user cookie wondering: "Are Disney out of ideas?"

"Not everything needs a live action remake," agreed Ella.

"Just make new stuff!" said @KamiAnimess.

"Four films that absolutely nobody asked for!" wrote Fake, while @EvilKeaton said: "They've all been worse than the originals so far."

However, some fans were excited by the potential projects, with Miss Dhely writing: "This should be a good watch."

"Cant wait," said CryptoDoc.

"This is the disney dream," commented Academy.

"This is great news," wrote krp.iso. "The kids are happy."

Although Disney's live-action remakes have received mixed reviews from critics and faced accusations of "wokeness," they've been a hit at the box office.

Despite controversy over the decision to cast Black actress Halle Bailey as Ariel, The Little Mermaid grossed more than $569 million worldwide upon its cinematic release in May.

It might only have a 57 percent rating on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, but the live-action version of Aladdin (2019) earned more than $500 million at the global box office, while Beauty and the Beast (2017) made $1.3 billion. In 2019, The Lion King racked up $1.6 billion worldwide, becoming the most successful Disney live-action remake ever.

However, this isn't the first time that Disney has attracted criticism for remaking its animated classics. An exclusive poll conducted by Redfield and Wilton Strategies on behalf of Newsweek found that many Americans are fed up with the studio's live-action retellings.

Of the 1,500 eligible U.S. voters surveyed, 36 percent believed that Disney should focus on creating new stories, compared with 20 percent who believed the studio should continue with its live-action reboots. Some 28 percent of participants said they'd like to see Disney work on a combination of new content and remakes.

Despite backlash from conservatives over casting choices and story amendments, it turns out Democrats are almost as annoyed as Republicans with the studio for rebooting its archive. In the poll, 40 percent of Donald Trump voters wanted Disney to focus on new ideas, along with 33 percent of Joe Biden voters.

Newsweek has reached out to Disney for comment via email.