19 Disney classics making live-action magic on screen

In 2010, Alice went to Wonderland and kicked off Disney’s recent crop of live-action revivals of the studio’s classic films. Based on Lewis Carroll’s fantasy novels and inspired by 1951’s animated Alice in Wonderland, the Tim Burton-directed film starred Mia Wasikowska as Alice alongside a star-studded cast of Wonderland characters (Johnny Depp as the Mad Matter, Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen, Anne Hathaway as the White Queen, and the voices of Alan Rickman, Michael Sheen, and more). Alice was a box office smash, earning more than $1 billion worldwide, and a sequel, Alice Through the Looking Glass, arrived in theaters on May 27, 2016. 

Keep clicking for more live-action retellings of beloved Disney classics. 

The horn-headdressed, baby-cursing sorceress from Disney’s 1959 animated classic Sleeping Beauty got a film of her own in 2014 with Maleficent. Starring Angelina Jolie in the title role, the film delved into the iconic villain’s origin story and her relationship with Princess Aurora (Elle Fanning). Maleficent took in more than $758 million at the worldwide box office, and Jolie and Fanning are returning for a 2019 sequel titled Maleficent: Mistress of Evil. 

Lily James stepped into Cinderella’s iconic glass slippers in 2015 for a live-action retelling of Disney’s 1950 film, with Game of Thrones’ Richard Madden as her charming prince, Helena Bonham Carter as the fairy godmother, and Cate Blanchett as her wicked stepmother. Directed by Kenneth Branagh from a screenplay by Chris Weitz (who also wrote Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), the film cast a spell on filmgoers and brought in $543.5 million at the global box office.  

Welcome (back) to the jungle — Disney’s 1967 animated film came back to the big screen in 2016 with a live-action retelling helmed by director Jon Favreau. The Jungle Book starred Neel Sethi as the man-cub Mowgli alongside a deep roster of A-list stars as the voices of his animal friends and enemies, including Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Idris Elba, Ben Kingsley, Lupita Nyong’o, and Christopher Walken. The film raked in an impressive $103 million in its opening weekend in theaters and Disney has already greenlit a sequel with Favreau returning to direct. (A separate Jungle Book movie, directed by Andy Serkis, debuted on Netflix in 2018.) 

The 1977 live-action/cartoon hybrid about an orphaned boy named Pete and his best friend — an occasionally visible dragon named Elliot — got new life in a big-screen adaptation that opened in theaters on Aug. 12, 2016. Directed by David Lowery (Ain’t Them Bodies Saints), the film reimagines the story for modern times and stars Oakes Fegley as Pete, Bryce Dallas Howard as the park ranger who finds the boy living “alone” in the forest, and Robert Redford as her character’s father. 

The tale as old as time got a new chapter in 2017, when the 1991 classic — the first animated movie to ever get an Oscar nomination for Best Picture — returned to theaters as a live-action musical starring Emma Watson as Belle and Dan Stevens as the Beast. Beauty and the Beast‘s cast also includes Luke Evans as Gaston, Josh Gad as Le Fou, Ian McKellen as Cogsworth, Ewan McGregor as Lumiere, Emma Thompson as Mrs. Potts, Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Plumette, Stanley Tucci as Cadenza, Kevin Kline as Maurice, and Audra McDonald as Garderobe. The new Beauty shattered box office records when it debuted, raking in more than $357 million globally.

Classic Pooh voice actor Jim Cummings returned to once again voice everyone’s favorite yellow bear in Christopher Robin — which follows an all-grown-up Christopher (Ewan McGregor) as he learns how to reconnect with his childhood.

The practically perfect nanny returned to Cherry Tree Lane in December 2018. Emily Blunt plays Mary Poppins in Rob Marshall’s sequel, which picks up about 30 years after the events of the Julie Andrews original. 

Tim Burton already brought his fantastical style to the 2010 live-action Alice in Wonderland, and in 2019, he headed to the circus with a new take on Dumbo. Colin Farrell stars as a former horse showman who returns from World War I to work at a circus on the verge of financial ruin (run by Danny DeVito). There, he and his two children cross paths with the titular flying elephant. 

After the success of Jon Favreau’s live-action The Jungle Book, Disney announced it was letting him run wild with another of its beloved animated movies. The studio announced in 2016 that it’s working with Favreau on a new “reimagining” of The Lion King, dated for July 2019. The star-studded cast includes Donald Glover as Simba, Beyoncé as Nala, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Scar, Billy Eichner as Timon, Seth Rogen as Pumbaa, and John Oliver as Zazu — as well as the return of James Earl Jones as Mufasa. 

Did somebody find a lamp and wish for a live-action Aladdin? In October 2016, it emerged that a new take on the 1992 animated classic is in the works, with Guy Ritchie on board to direct. The original Aladdin, which featured Robin Williams as the now-iconic Genie, grossed $217.4 million domestically and $504.1 million worldwide, making it that year’s top-grossing film. The new film stars Mena Massoud as Aladdin, Naomi Scott as Jasmine, and Will Smith as the Genie, and it’ll hit theaters May 24, 2019.

One of Disney’s greatest heroines will soon be returning to theaters. Liu Yifei stars as the beloved female warrior Hua Mulan, who disguises herself as a man and enlists in the Chinese Imperial Army to save her ailing father. Niki Caro (Whale Rider) is directing, and the cast includes Donnie Yen, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Jason Scott Lee, Yoson An, and Jet Li. It’s set to hit theaters in March 2020.

If Emma Stone doesn’t scare you, no evil thing will. Glenn Close may have played the dog-napping Cruella De Vil in the 1996 live-action 101 Dalmatians, but Stone is set to star as the villainess in the new Cruella, which will explore her origin story in a script penned by Kelly Marcel.

Original Little Mermaid composer Alan Menken is heading back under the sea — with Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda diving right in after him. The two composers are teaming up for a live-action version of The Little Mermaid, and Miranda is set to produce alongside Marc Platt. Menken won two of his eight Oscars for Disney’s original 1989 Little Mermaid, and Miranda has been a longtime superfan of the composer. (He even named his son Sebastian. Yes, like the crab.) 

For another live-action adaptation, Disney is going all the way back to its first-ever animated movie: 1937’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. In October 2016, news broke that the studio was planning a new live-action musical about the fairest of them all, with Girl on the Train writer Erin Cressida Wilson in negotiations to write the script. The plan is to expand upon the original story and music from the 1937 film, with La La Land lyricists Benj Pasek and Justin Paul on board to write the movie’s new songs.

The doggone Disney classic is getting a new refresh. The LEGO Ninjago Movie’s Charlie Bean is directing the new take on Lady and the Tramp, with Tessa Thompson and Justin Theroux taking the lead canine roles. The film is expected to debut on Disney’s new streaming service, Disney+, in November 2019.

Paddington director Paul King is on board to direct a live-action version of Pinocchio, the classic tale of a puppet who dreams of becoming a real boy. In November 2018, Tom Hanks was in talks to play the master puppet-maker Geppetto. 

Say aloha (again) to Lilo & Stitch: In October 2018, news broke that Disney was developing a live-action version of the 2001 film, chronicling the friendship between a young Hawaiian girl and a chaotic blue alien. 

Quasimodo returns! A live-action version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame is also in the works, inspired by the 1996 animated film and the original Victor Hugo novel. Tony winner David Henry Hwang is writing the script, with original composer Alan Menken and lyricist Stephen Schwartz back on board as well.