Live action not intended to replace
The stunning live action set of “Beauty and the Beast.” Live action can be visually stunning when done right, but shouldn’t be competing with animated films in terms of audience appreciation.
January 23, 2019
Technological advancements have made it easier to blend special effects seamlessly into live action movies. Many filmmakers like to flaunt these skills with dramatic scenes and increased amount of on screen time taken up by computer generated graphics. Some succeed while other fail, but every day graphics are being improved upon. But is live action really better than cartoons?
Disney is a huge culprit of turning from cartoons to live action. For years, Disney has been known for its animated movies. By watching Disney movies viewers can watch the evolution of computer graphics.
In recent years, however, they have made several live action remakes of classic movies such as “Cinderella” in 2015, “Beauty and the Beast” in 2017 and several upcoming movies such as “The Lion King,” “Aladdin,” and “Dumbo.”
One could argue that companies like Disney are just doing it for money, and they would be correct. It’s actually a brilliant marketing plan, and I’d even go so far as to argue that these remakes are for the better. Older generations will pay money for the wave of nostalgia that is sure to come along with a viewing of the movies they grew up loving.
t’s actually a brilliant marketing plan, and I’d even go so far as to argue that these remakes are for the better.
— Staff Writer Sophia Bender
Younger generations can also come and watch the movies to experience the story the way their parents or grandparents might have. Everyone gets to enjoy movies and corporations make money off of it. It’s a win-win situation.
Animated movies aren’t even affected by the success of live action films. Disney is still making animated movies such as “Moana” and “Coco” that everyone can enjoy and being integrated into live action with movies such as “Mary Poppins Returns.”
In fact, plenty of other cartoons are being made. Pixar and Dreamworks still animate most, if not all, of their movies, and “Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse” proved that animation is actually pretty cool because there are so many different effects animators can do to enhance the movie watching experience.
Live action, especially live action remakes, seems to have no downsides. They are being created with more skill and precision than ever and are able to bring in loads of different audiences with the amazing graphics.
They aren’t taking away from how successful or aesthetically appealing animated movies are. If you prefer one over the other, no one is forcing you to watch what you don’t like. Both can coexist peacefully, because they are both visually stunning.
