Disney’s live actions have sparked controversy among students due to the mistranslation from animation to reality. The discrepancy between animated characters and real life actors has led to a divide within the Marriotts Ridge community. Previous live action movies, such as Mulan and The Lion King, have been received negatively. Contrarily, titles like Cinderella and Aladdin were received in a more positive light.
Scenes that were previously animated had to be transformed into live action scenes, causing audiences to view the experiences differently. Due to its flexible and fluid nature, animation often provides a unique insight on the story at hand. For example, in The Lion King, a vital point in the movie was the scene where Scar pushes Mufasa off a cliff. The original animation was able to build anticipation and suspense due to the use of vivid expression and color. In the live action adaptation, the tone shifted, and the same scene suddenly set a different, darker mood.
In the case of Mulan, some students expressed that the message of the animated Mulan conflicted with its live action counterpart. The animated version was able to empower young girls to follow the path in life, which they wanted to pursue. In doing so, Mulan challenged traditional gender roles, motivating young women to fight for equality, in gender and other social standings.
“Girls have strength and can do anything a guy can do, and they don’t need to be special to prove that. But in the live action that whole purpose was defeated,” sophomore Mahika Juneja expressed.
Mulan was commonly disputed for a number of reasons. The general opposition stems from the shallow portrayal of the plot’s deeper message compared to the movie, and prominently the absence of loved characters such as Mushu, the great stone dragon and guardian of the Fa family.
Despite its disadvantages, Disney’s live actions offer things that animation is unable to provide. In light of this, real-life adaptations also garner positive attention from other fans.
Sophomore Emily Kim stated that a core advantage live actions have over animated film is that they, “makes people feel like they’re in the story themselves.”
Live actions foster a personal connection between viewers and the characters when seeing a story unfold in real time. As such, they can be easier to relate to, especially when fan-favorite settings and characters are brought into reality. Regardless of their inadequacies, they still manage to weave the magic of animation into real life performances.
“They bring the characters to life,” sophomore Gwen Montgomery said.
Watching these new live adaptations, allows older viewers to reminisce about childhood memories by watching the modern adaption of old movies they used to love.
Disney’s live actions face contention and support from students at Marriotts Ridge. While they are scrutinized for their lack of congruence with previously animated depictions, they are also valued for their unique ability to bring magic into real-life adaptations. Students hope to follow Disney’s future in storytelling, whether it be animation or live action.