5 Disney live-action remakes fans wish stayed animated, including the 2026 Moana

Let’s be honest, whenever Disney announce yet another live-action remake, the collective sigh from film fans is audible from space. But for every decent update on an old classic, there’s at least one that gets absolutely battered by the critics — and sometimes, rightly so.

With another round of live-action nostalgia bait just around the corner as Moana gets the treatment, I went through the Rotten Tomatoes scores to see which ones landed with the faintest thud. Some of these were just misjudged from the off, others completely missed the bit that made the originals special. If you’re bracing for Moana, here’s the five worst Disney live-action remakes as voted by critics — with all the messy details.

• 5) Dumbo (2019) – 45%
  Tim Burton taking on Dumbo sounded like a potential match, but his 2019 version sits at a limp 45% on the Tomatometer. Burton ditched the shot-for-shot remake idea and went heavy on a sub-plot about circus drama, and somehow put the world’s cutest elephant firmly in the backseat. Critics said it lost the heart and emotional punch of the 1941 original, and the stuff with humans wandering around took up far too much space. Still, a few people gave Burton credit for his visual flair, even if it couldn’t save the rest.
• 4) 101 Dalmatians (1996) – 39%
  Everyone remembers Glenn Close’s OTT Cruella de Vil — and rightly so, as she absolutely owns it. But even with that performance, the 1996 ‘101 Dalmatians’ limped to a 39% critical rating. It’s got its loyal fans, but back then critics tore into it for relying on slapstick gags that felt tired within ten minutes flat. The decision to have the Dalmatian leads not talk also proved divisive; some said it stripped the animals of what little personality they had in the animation. Still, it pulled in more than $320 million, so you can’t say Disney’s accountants were upset with it.
• 3) Snow White (2025) – 39%
  Here’s where things get properly bumpy. The 2025 Snow White couldn’t get out of its own way from the start — controversy during filming, backlash over some creative decisions, and online drama galore before anyone had even seen a finished scene. When it finally came out, the critical reception matched the build-up: 39% approval. From the get-go, reviewers moaned about the effects (the CGI dwarfs, especially, got rinsed), and called the narrative flat-out messy. The main bright spot? Rachel Zegler, apparently, whose performance and singing wired a bit of life into what many found a clumsy update. Gal Gadot’s in it too, but all the talk was about the baffling changes and a vibe that never quite landed.
• 2) Moana (2026) – 36%
  The paint isn’t even dry and critics are already unimpressed with Moana’s leap to live action — debuting at 36% on Rotten Tomatoes. Compared to the animated original, which burst off the screen, this one apparently comes across visually flat and lacking colour (not a complaint you hear much about Disney, to be honest). Dwayne Johnson, returning as Maui, hasn’t won many over; word is, he just can’t bring that cartoon energy this time round. By contrast, Catherine Laga‘aia, the film’s newcomer Moana, looks set to break out, with critics praising her work even as they groaned at the rest.
• 1) Pinocchio (2022) – 27%
  There’s bad, and then there’s 2022’s Pinocchio. Not even Tom Hanks could dodge this car crash, which racked up a woeful 27% on the Tomatometer. The original Pinocchio was a genuine classic — sitting at a perfect score — but this one? Described by critics as hollow and soulless, and not just because of the CGI. The uproar mainly centred on the baffling decision to change Pinocchio’s ending, which left a lot of viewers wondering if anyone involved had actually understood what his whole arc was about. It’s one of those rare flops that managed to annoy critics and audiences in equal measure.