It’s happening. Disney’s 1970s classic The Aristocats will get a live-action remake sooner rather than later. New audiences will be treated to the adventures of Marie, Berlioz and Toulouse as they struggle to find their way home to 1910s Paris. With Disney’s growing trend of bringing back classic films with real actors, The Aristocats is a curious choice, as the ones that have been prioritized so far have mostly been those related to Disney’s Renaissance era, with some notable exceptions that weren’t necessarily well received by audiences, such as Dumbo or Pinocchio.
Still, the Walt Disney studio seems to be continuing to bring back older chapters from their hit book, and now it’s time for the French Jazz Cats to try and appeal to modern viewers. It’s hard to predict how this new remake will perform at this point, but there are a few lessons previous Disney learned about avoiding some of the mistakes that could make the movie flop or not. perform as they would expect.
Cartoonish style versus hyperrealism
With cats as the main characters of the upcoming movie, The Aristocats faces a very similar problem The Lion King’s live-action remake. Simba’s story was performed by CGI animals that closely resembled a National Geographic documentary. Viewers must have been initially amazed at the level of detail in which the animals were recreated, once again showing the power of Disney’s visual designers and animators. But as the film progresses, the hyper-realistic style takes its toll on the film’s storytelling.
As many may remember, the original The Lion King benefits from a more cartoonish atmosphere. This art style really comes to its peak in the film’s musical sequences. Songs like I just can’t wait to be king or Hakuna Matata packed with a colorful palette of psychedelic imagery that can only be achieved through more traditional animation. Probably the same approach to a CGI live-action would have resulted in a silly rendering, but the actual version lacked a certain life more suited to hand-drawn characters.
Likewise, the domestic elements of the mansion are in Beauty and the Beast were detailed as traditional premium furniture would, without the lovable side of Mrs. Potts, Lumiere and Cogsworth. Again, accuracy is impressive, but it doesn’t last long in a Disney movie.
The Aristocats face a similar dilemma. Disney will have to find a new balance between the realism of the characters and the flexibility of a more cartoonish artwork. Otherwise the movie could be like those late 80’s/early 90’s movies where real animals were dubbed to speak like humans, funny but old directing.
The culture behind the story
Disney has always shown a talent for talking about the culture behind the characters. Examples can be found in animated features such as Coco or Encantoto name a few recent hits. The Aristocats is set in Paris before both world wars – both the splendor of the city and the artistic movements of the early 20th century. While the original movie does provide a glimpse of this, there’s still a long way to go in that area, providing an interesting development for the story.
In this sense, the character of Madame Adelaide Bonfamille, the owner of the Duchess and her three kittens, has room for personal development. An elite woman from an old social structure in decline, her story could easily tell more about the Paris of 1910. This lady, a strong female protagonist, was already presented in a loving way and should be reworked to reinforce it.
This could be a win where other films fell short. Both Aladdin And Beauty and the Beast’s live-action remakes sought to expand on the culture behind it, with the former correcting some outdated social depictions of Arab culture that the original failed to adequately address. Yet neither did too much justice to the cultural background, although Aladdin did impress in terms of representation.
Unlike, The Aristocats remake should still be character-oriented. Paying too much attention to the cultural background can result in a less memorable feature. In this case, Mulan‘s remake was partly guilty of this. The film strives for historical accuracy and pays homage to the Chinese film tradition, which is very important, but should not compete with the storytelling and the arcs of the characters. In the end, while the movie was clearly a hit, it’s still hard to tell if it lives up to its original cut or if it will remain a classic for the reasons stated.
The Aristocats is a beloved Disney movie and the studios are making the right decision to revamp it for modern audiences. Still, it’s clear that live-action remakes raise some controversy, and the biggest risk is to fail die-hard fans of the classic and newcomers alike. A lot of water has come under the bridge since the first live-action movies emerged, and Disney has undoubtedly taken some notes about what makes for a good comeback with real actors. As new details on the movie surface, good voice casting will make all the difference, and hopefully the latest iteration will live up to the success of the classic.