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Hollywood's obsession with live-action remakes continues to disappoint! Join us as we explore the most regrettable adaptations of beloved animated characters. From soulless CGI animals to misunderstood iconic personalities, these transformations left fans wishing studios had just left well enough alone.
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo and today we're counting down our picks for the most regrettable live
00:13action versions of beloved animated movie characters.
00:17If you're looking for the Rolodex of Rage that is the TV version of this list, just
00:21scroll through our catalog and you should find it.
00:2910.
00:30Alice Kingsley – Alice in Wonderland The witty, inquisitive and spirited little girl
00:33from the original turns into a Victorian-era maiden burdened by society in Tim Burton's
00:38live action adaptation.
00:51This Alice is much older and disillusioned by the constraints of her reality.
00:55That said, it's not like she comes alive in the fantastical wonderland or rather underland.
01:00Mia Vashikowska's heroine remains cynical and quite unmoved for the most part.
01:04The chosen one trope is forced upon her but the character development expected of such a coming-of-age story is missing.
01:10The only way we know the journey has affected her in any way is because we're told so.
01:27The Alice who returns to the real world is the same as before, just a little more prone to
01:42talking back.
01:43My father told me he planned to expand his trade route to Sumatra and Borneo.
01:47But I don't think he was looking far enough.
01:49Why not go all the way to China?
01:52It's vast, the culture is rich and we have a foothold in Hong Kong.
01:579.
01:58The Dalmatians
02:01Since when has live action meant mandatory realism?
02:04One of the greatest strengths of the original 101 Dalmatians was the anthropomorphized puppies.
02:09They're endearing, easy to empathize with and root for.
02:201996's live action is a story well told, but not half as charming as the original.
02:26Dipstick
02:27Up
02:28Come on
02:29Don't get us wrong, the actual furballs in the movie are certainly adorable and evidently
02:42took direction surprisingly well.
02:44However, the rush of oxytocin that the animation supplied has no replacement.
02:49We have to get back to London somehow.
02:51What about the others?
02:53What'll they do?
02:54Buddy, we'll take them home with us.
02:58All of them.
02:59Admittedly, we imagine CGI animals would have been better, but other live action projects
03:04like Tim Burton's Dumbo proved that it might not always be a good idea.
03:11At least we got Glenn Close being an absolute diva as Cruella DeVille, which will take as
03:16a win.
03:17Oh, Anita, those dazzling dogs.
03:22And you must be Rufus.
03:24It's Roger, and it's a pleasure, Mr. Ville.
03:27What's a pleasure?
03:28Number eight, The Three Fairies, Maleficent.
03:30Oh, no.
03:31Is this it?
03:32Looks dreadful.
03:33Come on.
03:34Aurora is not the protagonist in the Angelina Jolie-led live action adaptation of Sleeping
03:42Beauty.
03:43It is Maleficent who was given a heroic turn in Robert Stromberg's film.
03:47Oh, dear.
03:48What an awkward situation.
03:51Perhaps because Maleficent's presence is so overpowering, the movie does away with
03:56the three good fairies from the original, Flora, Fauna, and Meriwether.
03:59They shower baby Aurora with blessings and protect her from the severity of Maleficent's
04:04curse in the animation.
04:05I'll turn her into a flower.
04:07Maleficent?
04:08Oh, no, dear.
04:09The princess.
04:10Oh, she'd make a lovely flower.
04:13However, their live action counterparts, Flittle, Notgrass, and Thistlewit, have little to no
04:19presence.
04:20As Aurora forges a deep emotional bond with Maleficent, there is little need for anyone
04:25else to protect her.
04:26So, it makes creative sense to reduce Flora, Fauna, and Meriwether to pointless pixies.
04:31But it's a pity, nonetheless.
04:32They were fan favorites, after all.
04:34After, after, after, after, after, after, after.
04:39Oh!
04:40Number 7.
04:41Peter Pan.
04:42Pan.
04:43Is this Canada?
04:45Nothing could be worse than one of the most celebrated emblems of boyhood being forced
04:57to grow up.
04:58I'm afraid of heights.
04:59The very essence of Peter Pan lies in his carefree, reckless, and free-spirited personality.
05:04Joe Wright's prequel to the original story attempts to make a man out of him.
05:08Naturally, that goes against everything we know about the character.
05:15He suddenly best pals with Captain Hook and is happy to take on the responsibility of saving
05:20Neverland.
05:21How such events could possibly be a backstory for JM Barrie's whimsical and impage pan we
05:25know and love is beyond us.
05:27We have a lot to talk about.
05:30Number 6.
05:31Mulan.
05:32Mulan.
05:33You lot stink.
05:34And I need a volunteer for night guard duty.
05:35Me!
05:36I mean, I volunteer, sir.
05:38It's worth wondering if the creators of this live-action film watched the same source
05:42material as we did.
05:43Cartoon Mulan starts as a young woman who risks her life for the sake of her family.
05:47Sorry you had to see that.
05:49But you know how it is when you get those manly urges and you just gotta kill something.
05:55Although she stumbles at first, she steadily masters combat skills while disguising herself
06:00as a man in the military.
06:01However, her cerebral prowess far exceeds her physical strength, making her a competent tactician
06:07for the army.
06:08On the contrary, live-action Mulan is blessed with superhuman might through her chi.
06:12Not only does the film misconstrue the concept of chi, but it also reduces our heroine to
06:17an overpowered Mary Sue lacking credibility.
06:20The Roran enemy is vast.
06:23They are ruthless and unpredictable.
06:27Yet, physical force need not be met with equal force.
06:31Overall, Yifei Liu's Mulan is far from relatable.
06:35Barely faces conflicts and is frankly quite uninspiring.
06:38You told me my journey was impossible.
06:44Yet, here I stand.
06:46Proof that there is a place for people like us.
06:495.
06:50Modoko Kusanagi Ghost in the Shell
06:51This is major.
06:53I'm on site.
06:54Awaiting instructions.
06:55Let's get the elephant in the room out of the way first.
06:58Scarlett Johansson as Modoko Kusanagi offers a compelling performance that was approved by
07:02the director of the original film, Mamoru Oshii.
07:05However, even if we look the other way regarding the whitewashing accusations, director Rupert
07:10Sanders' take on Modoko is not the cyberpunk serve he thought it would be.
07:14Everyone around me seems to fit.
07:17They seem connected to something, something I'm not.
07:22Live action Modoko steers clear of raising too many questions about consciousness and identity.
07:27The film impresses with spectacle instead.
07:29This leaves a glaring void where the cult classic original's philosophical examinations should have been.
07:39Ultimately, the major lacks depth and fails to be much more than a killer cyborg.
07:44I know who I am.
07:46And what I'm here to do.
07:49How's that?
07:54You can't look at it.
07:594.
08:04Simba, The Lion King
08:05Babysit?
08:06I'm gonna be the king of Pride Rock.
08:09My dad showed me the whole kingdom.
08:12Said I'm going to rule it all.
08:14Is that so?
08:15Think about it.
08:17When I'm king, I'll have to give you orders.
08:20Tell you what to do.
08:21Real lions in a National Geographic documentary show more emotion than the CGI characters of this remake.
08:27Ha!
08:28I laugh in the face of danger.
08:30Ha ha ha ha ha!
08:32The heart of the 1994 cartoon lies in Simba's journey from an inexperienced cub with no real understanding of power to the king of the jungle.
08:40As he learns to overcome his trauma, viewers are thoroughly invested, hoping to see his father's image in him.
08:46Unfortunately, the photorealism sucks out the immersion and we're not nearly convinced enough to care.
08:51Do you see him?
08:52I don't see anything.
08:54Look closer.
08:56You see?
08:57He lives in you.
08:58Even worse is when James Earl Jones fully realized voice as Mufasa meets the complete lack of feeling on the character's face.
09:04I guess even kings get scared.
09:05Huh.
09:06More than you could ever know.
09:07Even scar is stripped of his elegantly evil visage.
09:09So even though the remake remains loyal to the classic tale, it lacks flair and profundity.
09:11This is the way Mufasa looked back.
09:12You see?
09:13You see?
09:14He lives in you.
09:15Even worse is when James Earl Jones fully realized voice as Mufasa meets the complete lack of feeling on the character's face.
09:17I guess even kings get scared.
09:18Huh.
09:19More than you could ever know.
09:20Even scar is stripped of his elegantly evil visage.
09:23Even scar is stripped of his elegantly evil visage.
09:27So even though the remake remains loyal to the classic tale, it lacks flair and profundity.
09:32This is the way Mufasa looked before he died.
09:36I looked down, saw the fear in his eyes.
09:41And here's my little secret.
09:48I killed Mufasa.
09:523.
09:53The Seven Dwarfs
09:58Out of all the gripes fans have with Mark Webb's reinterpretation of the age-old fairy tale, one stands out as downright indefensible.
10:06The 2025 version of Snow White uses CGI for The Seven Dwarfs, only one of whom is voiced by an actor with dwarfism.
10:13To please critics who call The Seven Dwarfs backward, such as actor Peter Dinklage and pacify fans who never allowed the original characters to be tampered with,
10:21Disney went with CGI.
10:22We don't need to spell it out for anyone to recognize how problematic this is, especially for a film harping on being progressive.
10:34In fact, several actors with dwarfism protested the studio's employment of CGI over real actors.
10:48To make things worse, the animation was nightmare fuel.
10:51Everyone deserved better.
10:532.
10:54Pooh & Piggly
10:55Winnie the Pooh, Blood & Honey
11:00You can tell from the name of this movie alone that it's not a pretty little fable.
11:27Reese Frake Waterfield's dark reimagining of Pooh Bear and Piglet as oversized, murderous antagonist plotting against Christopher Robin for abandoning them is absurd to the extreme.
11:37It has all the hallmarks of a low-budget fear fest, like gratuitous gore and campy aesthetics.
11:46However, it is completely devoid of humor, which is particularly jarring given how hard it is to take this film seriously.
11:53If only it weren't related in any way to the charming 70s cartoon, it could have passed as a decent horror flick.
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12:18Disney's attempt at leveraging the sentimentality around the enchanting original animation with this remake comes across as a plain old cash grab.
12:38Every character, including Tom Hanks Geppetto, is a hollow shell spouting lifeless dialogue at an unamused audience.
12:46What does this mean? Pleasure Island. Pleasure Island? Is this where Pinocchio is?
12:53It tries to be quirkier than the 1940 version, but ends up falling on its face, leaving nothing but cringiness in its wake.
13:03Pinocchio is a goody-two-shoes from the get-go, leaving little room for any impactful art.
13:08I have to stay and find my father.
13:15Meanwhile, Geppetto fails to earn much of our sympathy, and Jiminy Cricket's unsolicited narration gets tiring.
13:21That cricket is your conscience?
13:24I sure am, and let me tell you, it's no easy job.
13:28Robert Zemeckis's bid for brownie points with new songs isn't impressive enough to add to the charm of the characters either.
13:35Clearly, the visual department and the cast did the heavy lifting here.
13:39Pinocchio, when you first came to me, I might have made you think I wanted somebody else, but it was you I was wishing for.
13:51When it comes to animated characters, are you team live action or team leave them alone?
13:56Sound off in the comments below.
13:58I might not spend 16 years in this miserable hovel with these two imbeciles so that shush so that you could ruin it on the last day.
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