Disney has been wowing films with their films for nearly a century, and recently it has all been about the remakes - but fans are divided about which live action films are the best, as well as the casting
08:00, 05 Apr 2025Updated 08:14, 05 Apr 2025
For nearly a century, Disney has enchanted people's hearts with their animated films.
But in modern times, the studio has made those characters even more real for audiences with their live-action Disney remakes - and everyone is saying the same thing about Lily James' performance as Cinderella as Disney marks the original's 75th anniversary this year.
Some people love the live action remakes, however others cannot get on board. While many of the reimagining have had outstanding box office success and have been received well, some remakes have left fans disappointed.
Lion King's live action film, Mufasa, has just launched on Disney Plus after making a whopping $700million (£540million) at the box office worldwide. Later this year we will be getting a Lilo & Stich remake, and a couple of weeks ago the live action remake of Disney's oldest film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, premiered in theatres. The new film is titled 'Disney's Snow White'. However the studio's remake has suffered on box office opening weekend.
This has got fans talking about their favourite live action remakes and which actresses portrayal of the iconic and beloved Disney princesses are the best.
In a Reddit post, one Disney mega fans whose username is r/disneyprincess, asked: "Which actress portrayed their princes as the best/worst?" The live action remakes include Lily James as Cinderella, Elle Fanning as Aurora, Emma Watson as Belle, Naomi Scott as Jasmine, Liu Yifei as Mulan, Halle Bailey as Ariel and Rachel Zegler as Snow White.
One individual said: "Lily James and Elle Fanning were absolutely delightful, they both brought such a depth and charm to their roles!" Another agreed, and said: "Agree completely, those are in my opinion are the best remakes. I definitely don't blame the other actresses, but I never really got the characters from them."
One other shared their take and said: "I think my favourite was Lily James as Cinderella. I felt she really embodied Cinderella’s strength as well as kindness. The only things I didn’t like was that she didn’t sing and the dress was a bit too blue (which were perhaps out of James’ control). Second favourite would probably be Elle Fanning as Aurora.
"My least favourite was probably Emma Watson as Belle. I wasn’t the biggest fan of her singing voice or what was added to the character."
Also speaking about the Cinderella remake, which starred Helena Bonham Carter as the fairy godmother, one other fan said: "I like that there were no songs from the movie in Cinderella. It would have cheapened it I think to do copy paste in the movie. I loved the Lavender Blue song and her small hints to the movie like humming Sweet Nightingale."
On TikTok, another said Lily James "was perfection" in the role. Another dubbed the film as "the only good Disney live action". One other said: "This is honestly the most accurate and best Cinderella there is."
One other agreed and said: "This is the best live action Disney princess movie ever made. I love Lily James, she was perfect for this role!"
Speaking about the Beauty and the Beast live action on the Reddit post, one wrote: "I liked Watson as Belle and liked the movie, but I'll still admit that they could have chosen better. I'm not sure who, but Watson is just sort of average in this role."
Some shared their thoughts on Naomi Scott as Aladdin, as one said: "This may be a very unpopular opinion, I think Naomi Scott played jasmine wonderfully but she didn’t hit the spot for me in regards to looks at all!"
Another agreed and wrote: "Yeah I liked Naomi’s performance but she didn't look like Jasmine at all and they really didn’t even try with her hair styling either."
One other said: "Aurora was my favourite, Belle was my least favourite. Maleficent was a great retelling of a classic fairy tale and Elle Fanning’s Aurora was full of whimsy the way Aurora should be. When Emma Watson was cast for Belle, though, they didn't want Belle, they wanted Hermione, and it shows."
Who do you think is the best live action remake princess? Comment below...