[EDITORIAL] Recently THS reported on the announcement from Disney that they are making a “live-action” version of the beloved Robin Hood. This is my favorite Disney animated movie. Let me explain why this is a terrible idea.

For Fox Sake

For years Disney fans have been complaining that they have run out of ideas. The once fanciful company that took a risk and delighted generations has ceased to be. Walt will be ashamed of what has happened. You know when he comes back and all. Long gone are the days where the studio took other people’s tales and turned them into family-friendly fare. Now they simply mine their own past, update it with terrible results, and regurgitate it to the masses. Have they not seen Multiplicity? Do they not know you can’t clone a clone?

The latest example of this is the 2019 Lady and the Tramp remake. Anyone who has seen it can attest that while, yes the puppies look adorable, it lacks what made the original special. Somehow even the real actors were more two dimensional than the original animated human leads. Plus it’s missing that great song by those two cats.

Then we come to the biggest culprit of Disney’s greed: 2019’s The Lion King. Live-action? Live-action?!? How can they call this 100% CGI movie live-action? Does that make every Pixar movie live-action? Does it look pretty? Yes. Do they have a talented voice cast? Yes. But again, is it as good and heartwarming as the original? NO!

Why Remake Robin Hood?

There are certain movies such as Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast that it makes sense to do as live-action. These star humans that do not need CGI to appear onscreen. But unless everyone in this goddamn movie is going to be wearing furry suits, it is not live-action.

Another aspect that upsets me is the music. The original soundtrack for Robin Hood has such classics as “Oo-De-Lally”. These songs are still enjoyed the world around. Rerecording these songs will change them. As proven in the last few movies the heart will be missing from this film. The Oscar-nominated song “Love” that plays during the night time stroll Robin and Marian take is set perfectly to that scene.

This movie has inspired many people for decades. I took up archery because of this film. Many people attribute my interest to Hunger Games, Hawkeye in the MCU, and even Legolas in the Lord of the Rings movies. But they are all wrong. It is this masterpiece that should not be touched. Granted it also probably inspired a lot of furries out there, but hey to each their own.

No Risk, All Reward

Proving that they have no faith in this project, Disney has hired the best of the mediocre for this film. Director Carlos Lopez Estrada is best known for his 2018 film Blindspotting and Half.Alive’s music video Runaway. Anyone who has seen the 2020 film Summertime will know why Blindspotting is what the director is known for. Joining the music video director is the equally inexperienced Kari Granlund. Granlund has experience taking a classic Disney story and ruining revitalizing it for modern audiences with the above mentioned Lady and the Tramp.

The second of her three writing credits Granlund possesses is the co-writer of the upcoming Disney+ film Godmothered. Also an accomplice part of the “creative” team is Justin Springer. Springer was a producer on Tron Legacy as well as the recent live-action remake of Dumbo, which actually had live people in it. With no script, composer, lyricist or cast announced at this time this is sure to be a trainwreck: awful, but difficult to tear your eyes away.

I’d like to close with a picture of the studio execs who typically make these kinds of idiotic decisions.