Ash's Top Live Action Disney Picks (Top 5)
Honorable Mention Picks
5. Beauty & The Beast
God bless some of my friends for putting up with me...let me open with that. I dragged a friend from Chicago to see the opening of this film with me (hey MJ :-) and I think it was safe to say we were both equally excited to see this tale as old as time (see what I did there?). Be Our Guest was the biggest part of why I wanted to see this film and I mean Luke Evans was also a bit of a booster but knowing Emma Watson was playing Belle wasn't my first pick. I LOVE her as an actor but it has happened plenty of times when a great actor wouldn't be my first choice for some of the roles they've played in their career. I always envision a music theater (or vocalist) power-house to play roles like this and admittedly I found her a little bland as Belle. The movie itself however did not disappoint one bit and her acting levels beyond being bland was able to make a like-able Belle. All that being said the entire ensemble cast is what made this my #5 favorite Disney Live Action.
4. The Little Mermaid
Alright you know i'm always going to give my actual opinion and do my best to back up my argument. The Little Mermaid ended up #4 on my list for 2 important reasons: For the first time in Disney live action history, I got a princess that was an actual vocalist to sing the hell out of all the songs I loved. In other Disney live action films I got actors who looked the part but may not have sounded the part this is the first time I got both. That leads me to the obvious part 2: Yes Ariel was black (there elephant is out of the room and we can move on) are there times where black representation isn't always necessary? Well yes but that can go for any race. Would the internet burn down the world if Tiana or Black Panther were cast another race? Obviously. All that aside in THIS instance when Halle got casted like 2 or 3 years ago I looked at her soft facial structure (don't make that sound weird please) and thought "oh yes I absolutely see Ariel...if you were to paint this girl beige she would look just like her". Lucky enough she also has awesome acting chops to become the perfect Ariel in my eyes. The movie was fun, visually lovely, my nieces enjoyed/sang along and this film made me like the live action version more than the cartoon which the top 4 movies in this category can all take a bow for.
3. Mulan
Is it just me or does everyone else HATE when an epic movie like this gets brushed under the Disney couch? Man, Mulan was fantastic and like many Asian folklore/movies has an amazing story to tell. They made this version more serious than the cartoon version which to me is sometimes mandatory to tell a great story. Aladdin dipped and dabbled with the realism card but Mulan played it 100% (the same reason Iron Man worked so well). Asian tradition has always been sending the man of the house to fight in his fathers' legacy/footsteps but Mulan had a different view on that tradition. So much heart and bravery, fantastic fight scenes, visually beautiful and a near-flawless story-line Mulan could have been higher on this list but the first 2 films were just to Ashley-worthy not to gain those two titles.
2. Aladdin
Up until remembering the #1 movie about a week before I wrote this, Aladdin was actually going to be #1 in this category. Never had one of my favorite Disney films been so accurate and on-point since this film. Every single actor was properly cast, killed their role....and then there was Genie! Everyone was terrified to hear Will Smith got casted as Genie not because of any reason but Robin Williams was so flawless and painted in our minds for that role. It was absolutely going to take a comic and acting genius/legend to fill that spot and even that was risky (kudos to Williams for making such an iconic character). Watching Will play Genie was mesmerizing as he made the character his own and made everyones favorite Aladdin songs even better than we had remembered them which is an extremely hard thing to do for hardcore fans. Giving Jasmine a fierce role/story like Mulan made her an awesome heroine and Mena as Aladdin made this one of if not the best Live-Action film to date for me. Also side-note having actual middle-eastern elements along-side this film gave it the realism I always crave to see in certain films.
1. The Jungle Book
So full transparency, I had actually picked Aladdin as the #1 live-action film but then I remembered my experience watching Jungle Book and thought oh no I have to be more accurate here. I had no desire to see Jungle Book in all actuality but when I saw Jon Favareu was directing I thought I'd give it a shot. The Jungle Book was always my brother's favorite as a kid and I just liked the title song to be honest. When I saw the jungle book it exceeded my expectations in being THE best Live-Action film and the critics actually agreed (this to date has been the highest rated Live-Action film by critics and fans alike). This story did not include a princess but a clever and smart little boy with exceptional jungle instincts and fabulous acting chops if you ask me. Another film with realistic elements, awesome songs and plenty of memorable moments. The Jungle Book takes the award for best live action adaptation by a pretty large number.
