Top Ten Animated Movies That Should Be Live-Action Remakes

I know, I know. Everyone hates these.

With the release of How to Train Your Dragon, I figured now was a good time to look at one of the most annoying trends in Hollywood: live-action remakes of animated classics! Disney has been doing this for nearly twenty years now, and, with DreamWorks picking up on it, it's only a matter of time before more animated films get remade into live-action. I, like many, am not a fan of this trend, but I did think How to Train Your Dragon may have been the best live-action remake of an animated film ever, so I guess I have a little bit of hope for future remakes. For this list, I am looking at movies that either lend themselves to a great live-action remake or are not considered good animated movies and can be improved in live-action. I also have not seen every movie on this list, so keep that in mind. And I didn't include any movies that have been announced. Even Tangled, which was rumored to be canceled, cannot be included on this list. So also keep that in mind. Rules out of the way, here are the ten movies I want to see in live-action next (if I have to).

10. Atlantis: The Lost Empire

As I said in the little blurb before, I have not seen all of these movies, so just keep that in mind. Atlantis, however, seems to be a really good property to adapt to live-action. It's a sci-fi adventure about the lost city of Atlantis, and it's not one of Disney's most popular or well-known movies. In fact, the film has a very mixed reception. This is why I think it would be a great idea to remake it. Disney can improve the flawed source material that lends itself to live-action and give us a truly epic sci-fi adventure.

9. Anastasia

Again, I haven't seen Anastasia. I know the story a bit better than Atlantis, because it's kind of based on actual historical events, but I don't know it super well. Still, this seems like the perfect film to move into live-action. As I said, it's somewhat based on actual events (minus all of the sorcery and fantasy), so that automatically makes it an interesting film for live-action. It takes this tragic real-life event in history and transforms it into this Disney-esc princess film with magic and romance...it sounds like it would make for a sweeping live-action story, so I would be game if it was announced.

8. Up

This is one that I could see go either way. Up has one of the most iconic scenes in all of film, so it would receive automatic backlash if they were to remake it. However, I've always thought that the actual story of Up is significantly worse than the first ten minutes. I think it could serve well as a live-action remake, because they could really add some more layers and complexity to the Carl and Russell's actual adventure. I just don't know how adapting the "Married Life" sequence into live-action would go. If that wasn't a problem, this movie would be much higher on the list.

7. Shrek

Alright, alright: I haven't seen Shrek. I was always a Disney/Pixar kid growing up, and, for some reason, just never really watched DreamWorks movies. Yes, I'm disappointed in myself, but this movie is high on my watchlist. This, like Up, is another movie that I'm unsure about adapting into live-action. Of course, it's a classic, so that automatically runs the risk of frustrating people if it isn't faithful or misses the mark. Also, I'm not sure what a live-action Shrek would look like. Would he be CGI or practical? I don't know, but that could look really rough. Same with Donkey. However, Shrek was made as a subversion to all the tropes of Disney movies and classic fairy tale stories, so I think a live-action update of that with a bit of a Scream-esc commentary on turning animated classics into live-action would be really, really great if they could pull it off.

6. The Prince of Egypt

The Prince of Egypt would be another tough one to adapt, because the story of Exodus is inherently very dark. This works as an animated film because you can shy away from some of the harshness of slavery and the slaughtering of the firstborn, but that will feel a lot more visceral in live-action. I'd honestly expect this movie to be PG-13 if they were to adapt it into live-action. However, the story of Moses is one of the most well-known from the Bible, so a live-action adaptation of the children's version of it would probably be good. You'd have to get the right creative team to make sure that it doesn't get too dark or too offensive, but I think if they struck the right balance, this would make for one of the most mature and powerful live-action remakes.

5. Frozen

Since Lilo & Stitch is doing so well and we are getting Moana next year, I think it's only a matter of time before Disney starts adapting all of their recent classics: The Princess and the Frog, Wreck-it-Ralph, Tangled (which I know was supposedly canceled after Snow White but I don't think that will stick). My prediction? The first of these is going to be Frozen. Frozen was the biggest animated movie of all time when it came out. It was a smash hit for a reason, and I do think it would work in live-action. Olaf aside, these characters and this story would just make for some really fun and exciting moments with real people and environments. Let it Go in live-action would just be awesome. This movie is going to happen. I wouldn't be surprised if we get the announcement this year. And I will be excited for it, because I grew up with this film.

4. Despicable Me

Alright, alright. I actually debated putting this at number one, because this is the movie that I think can improve it's original the most. Despicable Me is an iconic movie because of Gru and the Minions and all the pop culture surrounding it...but it isn't great. It's a very immature film with a lot of fart jokes and not a lot of story. But the makings of a great, Pixar-esc story is there. A supervillain who plans to steal the moon has to put his plans on hold to become an adoptive father. That could make for some really touching, emotional moments, and I think, if they were to adapt this into live-action, they could really lean into that a little bit more. I have no idea how the Minions would look. This movie in general could absolutely not work in live-action. But I think Despicable Me has the ingredients for a great film, and if we were to get a live-action remake, I hope they would use those ingredients and give us a better movie.

3. The Incredibles

The most popular genre of the last twenty years is superhero movies. Now, the whole reason The Incredibles works is because it's such a unique spin on superhero films with this retro-60s vibe and this story being about Mr. Incredible having a mid-life crisis...but neither of those things need to be exclusive to animation. This movie would work great in live-action. There's obviously no way it would bypass the original, but, like, c'mon. The Incredibles is, in my opinion, the most obvious movie from Disney's catalog to adapt that they haven't already. If you are going to continue on with this trend, let's just get going on a live-action Incredibles. Have Brad Bird return to direct, even. Then it could really just be an awesome love letter to this movie and the superhero genre.

2. The Iron Giant

Speaking of Brad Bird, this feels like another movie that would just do really well in live-action. The Iron Giant isn't a very popular film. Like, it's beloved, yeah, but you don't hear it talked about in the same way that Disney or DreamWorks classics are discussed. The way to bring it into those conversations is to give us a live-action remake. This E.T.-esc story would just be a very powerful experience with real people. Cast the right kid and make sure the Iron Giant looks good as the inevitable CGI creation that it will be and maybe, just maybe, you could re-introduce the magic of this film to modern-day audiences.

1. Coraline

Look. I would be hesitant if they announced this. I would be hesitant if they announced all the movies on this list. But Coraline would be awesome in live-action. Sure, one of the reasons that the existing film works is because it's such a unique animated experience with the stop-motion, but you could translate that to live-action and make it a unique movie in that medium. This is one of my favorite films of all time, and I think it would just be awesome as this PG-13, dark fantasy horror film for kids that can get scary but also be a good introduction into darker, more mature movies for younger audiences. Get Tim Burton as a producer, get the right director, make sure that the Other Mother won't traumatize everyone who watches it, and you could have a great, iconic live-action remake.