So lately there has been a repetitive sequence of events that seems to carry on until some kind of death- of the story, of the company, or of the genre for a few years or so:
1. Disney remakes a classic fairytale or animated feature (live action/3D/etc)
2. The story, cast, setting, or character focus have been drastically changed from the original
3. The public hates the new iteration for some or all of the changes
4. Disney defends itself by accusing the audiences of some sort of bigotry or “not understanding the art” or what have you
5. New iteration flops or is fully stillborn
6. Rinse-repeat
There is talk that the newest live action Disney version of Snow White will be the death knell to this endeavor, to bring it full circle from 1937 (if I'm not mistaken, I'm too lazy to check right now).
This may happen, or may not. Disney has suffered low tides before, and then went into a creative renaissance. But what we're watching is not proof that reimagining stories is bad. In my opinion, what we're watching is that reimagining stories badly has a certain recipe.
See, the original, beloved classic animations of Disney fairytales are already reimagined stories. So much so that anyone familiar with the original fairytales would be right in saying pretty much everything Disney is being accused of doing with this new batch of new films: bending the story out of shape, taking out important characters, deleting powerful scenes, not understanding the theme or the tone of the material, and so on.
Because let's be real, Cinderella as an original is more at home with splatter movies than with girly glittery pink fairytales:
This:
Rather than this:
But that doesn't matter. The Disney version, though thoroughly sanitized and bedazzled, is a classic and beloved, while the original version is also there for the lovers of the grim.
And that's because the story itself works. The setting meshes well with the characters and the plot feels cohesive with both the former elements. It has nothing to do with whether the main character is passive or active, but rather how the setup of the story builds this character to exist and move forward within the plot and the setting.
That's why there's different Cinderellas that all work within their story iterations: 
But for that to happen, elements have to mesh well together. And sometimes, you can be making an iteration of the Cinderella story, or Snow White, and not call it that exactly because you're putting such a unique spin on it, that it would limit you as a storyteller to have that title:
Those who have watched The K2, know which scene this is
I'm mentioning the kdrama The K2 because it's unabashedly a Snow White story, complete with evil queen/stepmother and a magic mirror. And yet it's so removed from the traditional Snow White as a plot and a setup, that naming it “Snow White But with Mobsters” would be a hilarious disservice.
Anyway, the general point of this is that every story is some kind of iteration of an earlier premise, plot, or official story (Romeo and Juliet, Damon and Pythias, Eros and Psyche, Faust, you name it). And that is absolutely FINE.
What isn't fine is to try and shove what you want to do in a setting that's so constricted that you end up with this:
Have you retold a classic story in any way? Would you do it if not, and how?
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Reimagining Stories
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, July 22, 2023
8 likes!
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kawaiidaigakusei at 9:11AM, July 26, 2023
I would like to see how they “Re-Imagine” the seven dwarves in the new version. Seven times the chance it is going to be hilarious.
Ozoneocean at 6:52PM, July 24, 2023
I like reinterpretations that don't involve the Disney versions.
artofzinn at 12:15AM, July 24, 2023
Personally I think it all comes down to intent . The old classic disney stuff was made to entertain a broad audience , the new disney stuff was made to appease a specific small audience . Entertainment stops being entertaining when its objective is to tell the audience why they are wrong and need to think like the creators want them to think . Everything is politics now , and really great stories , though they may have a "moral" to them are escapist entertainment with subtle messages . Now theybeat you over the head with the message and have little if any entertaining value at all ....
ksteak at 5:14AM, July 23, 2023
disnified is a verb in our vernacular for a reason i suppose.
TheJagged at 11:28AM, July 22, 2023
Anyway, i like that Snow White version with Sigourney Weaver. Probably most in tone to the actual tale. Just a straight up horror story set in medieval fantasy times. Jim Henson's Storyteller shorts are also a great example of properly re-imaging an old tale, while sticking very true to the source material's tone & intention.
TheJagged at 11:23AM, July 22, 2023
Ah yes, Disney "re-imaging" stories. Aka take safe, established franchise and SQUEEEEEEZE it to the last drop. Don't forget to buy your 15th Frozen T-Shirt on the way out! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjB8XXw9y70
J_Scarbrough at 8:44AM, July 22, 2023
I once wrote a pilot that was based very, very of the story from the Book of Genesis of lazy bum, ner-do-well Jacob suddenly working like a dog for years to prove himself worthy to marry beautiful shepherdess Rachel, only for her father Laban to switch her for her near-sighted sister Leah on the eve of their wedding instead. It was reimagined as a post-modern romcom fairy tale. I still have a backup of the script somewhere in my cloud, who knows, maybe one day I'll blow the dust off it and actually produce it at some point . . . I'm sure Paul would enjoy it for Steve D'Monster in the role of a Kermit the Frog-esque storyteller alone. ;)
Jason Moon at 6:10AM, July 22, 2023
Old Disney was fun to follow as a child and the animated films inspired me to want to learn to draw myself. (I really loved the old Jungle Book and Little Mermaid.) But modern day Disney is very ugly in my opinion, looking to cater to new day extremist groups to reel in their money from products. Turn your back on the working man/woman to stand behind whiny woke influencers. Destroying Marvel like they did Power Rangers in the 90's.
marcorossi at 5:29AM, July 22, 2023
I think when the original disney movies came out there were in fact some people who were pissed off that these materials were not faithful to the originals, it's just that the argument was much less popular and diffused (perhaps because people were less literate at the time). Both the Grimm and Andersen IIRC were german nationalist/folklorists who were trying to preserve what they perceived as their ethnical culture, whereas Cinderella and the Beauty and the beast came to us from Perrault who lived one century earlier and had no idea of cultural heritages, so the original stories have much different level of originality.
marcorossi at 5:29AM, July 22, 2023
I think when the original disney movies came out there were in fact some people who were pissed off that these materials were not faithful to the originals, it's just that the argument was much less popular and diffused (perhaps because people were less literate at the time). Both the Grimm and Andersen IIRC were german nationalist/folklorists who were trying to preserve what they perceived as their ethnical culture, whereas Cinderella and the Beauty and the beast came to us from Perrault who lived one century earlier and had no idea of cultural heritages, so the original stories have much different level of originality.
InkyMoondrop at 3:02AM, July 22, 2023
as well, because the animated one was probably the very first movie I watched in a cinema, at 3 and a half or 4 years old. The nostalgia will hit hard. And I, for one, do think that the skin color of Ariel does not say anything about the overall quality. Representation doesn't hurt a film. I do however think that there is an underlying message in the push could be problematic: that in order for you to be able to identify with a character it has to look like you. If a character's personality doesn't make you click with it, appearances will probably not do a long-term magic spell on it either. Still, I welcome diversity in casting and recasting, but I loathe that it's not about originality and quality as well and as far as I remember, with only a handful of notable exceptions, Disney live actions I've came across the past decades that weren't related to their animated successes or franchise they bought up are more often than not: mediocre, at best.
InkyMoondrop at 3:02AM, July 22, 2023
Can't say I've retold, I took Faust's legend (and made a character out of the real-life person that inspired it) to imagine a more modern story with similar themes, + I was inspired by the myth of Prometheus to draw parallels in themes and elements about another character's storyline. But I can safely say even aside these, I didn't invent anything new and I build on what inspires me. For example I'm a fan of LOST's WTF twists, so I applied one or two moments no one saw coming in some chapter finales. And yes, Disney retelling stories in different ways is nothing new, take for example The Hunchback of Notre Dame, where the original material they adapted is one of the most grim tales I've read, absolutely no happy end, even a slap in the face with who survives. Disney is shamelessly recirculating "their" fairy tales to grab more cash and is doing so in a manner that makes it appeal to some, but is controversial for a reason. I will watch The Little Mermaid and I'll probably like it