All the Disney live-action remakes that got absolutely dragged for changing key details

Another year, another Disney live-action remake that’s got people in an absolute chokehold, and not in a good way. This time it’s Lilo & Stitch. It started catching heat online as soon as it released its trailer. The original is one of Disney’s most beloved 2000s films — weird, emotional, funny, and kind of iconic for how much it didn’t follow the Disney princess formula. So when people noticed that the Disney live-action remake had quietly removed some iconic bits, it got dragged for it.

But this isn’t new. Disney’s been on this live-action mission for a decade now, and with every film, it tweaks just enough to annoy literally everyone. Whether it’s cutting key characters, making odd plot decisions, or going full uncanny valley with the CGI, the studio keeps stirring the pot, and people keep reacting.

So here’s a look at every live-action Disney remake that got dragged by the public for switching up too much.

Lilo & Stitch (2025)

Right, the new Lilo & Stitch remake annoyed a lot of people, mostly because Disney’s gone and changed one of the things that made the original so chaotic and fun. Pleakley, the alien agent who spends half the original movie in drag disguises, now seems to be fully dressed as a man. The director even said he “tried” to keep the dresses, but clearly it didn’t make it past the suits.

Add to that the fact that Captain Gantu, a major antagonist, doesn’t appear to be in the movie at all, and people are already annoyed that this remake feels more watered down than weird. And weird was the whole point of Lilo & Stitch.

Snow White (2025)

People were already wary of Snow White; the casting debates, the changes to the romance, the removal of the original songs, the controversies. But the final straw for many was the dwarfs. Instead of casting actors with dwarfism, Disney went with full CGI characters. The backlash was immediate, and came from both viewers and actors, who called the decision lazy and disappointing.

To be fair, Rachel Zegler’s performance wasn’t very good, but the rest of the film didn’t land either. Critics weren’t impressed, and online discourse never really died down. It’s another one in the long line of remakes that lost the plot, literally.

The Little Mermaid (2023)

Halle Bailey was brilliant, her voice, her presence, her performance, but even that couldn’t stop people from dragging the movie’s creative decisions. First up, Flounder and Sebastian were turned into deeply unsettling “realistic” fish, completely devoid of charm. Add in some visually dim underwater scenes and CGI that couldn’t match the colour or joy of the original, and people weren’t exactly rushing to rewatch it.

This one had some wins, but the design changes, especially the lifeless CGI animal faces, got memed hard.

Mulan (2020)

Mulan is one of the biggest departures from its animated version and audiences really noticed. Disney said they were going for a more grounded, serious war film. So they cut Mushu. Cut the songs. Gave her a magical phoenix for some reason. And introduced an entirely new villain.

Combine that with controversy over filming locations in Xinjiang and the lead actress’s comments on Hong Kong protests, and this movie had a rough release. The story just didn’t land for most people, and even people who loved the original felt like it was trying to be something else entirely.

The Lion King (2019)

On paper, this was meant to be massive. All the original songs, Beyoncé, and stunning visuals. But when it actually dropped, people had one big complaint: The animals can’t emote.

Disney’s choice to go hyper-realistic with CGI made it impossible to connect with characters. Scar didn’t look scary. Simba didn’t look sad. And worst of all, “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” was sung in the middle of the day.

It made over a billion dollars, but emotionally it was flat as a pancake.

Dumbo (2019)

Tim Burton did his Tim Burton thing. But that didn’t really work for Dumbo, which was suddenly a bleak anti-circus commentary with no singing crows and no talking animals.

People felt like the magic was gone. The new human characters didn’t add much. And while baby Dumbo himself was cute, the story just didn’t fly — pun intended.

Peter Pan & Wendy (2023)

This remake went in some bold directions, gender-swapping characters, adding new backstories, and downplaying the magic, and the public didn’t exactly love that.

While critics gave it a pass, audiences tanked it on Rotten Tomatoes. The vibes were off, the story felt heavy, and even Jude Law as Captain Hook couldn’t save it from being a bit of a downer.

Disney loves remaking their classics but apparently not without tweaking them in ways that get people mad online. And with more on the way (Moana and Hercules, we see you), the cycle’s not stopping anytime soon.

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