I Took My Daughter To See Snow White, And I Finally Understand Why Disney Live-Action Remakes Are A Thing

For basically as long as Disney has been remaking its animated classics into live-action movies, many fans have asked the simple question: Why? Many of those animated Disney films are considered classics, and remaking a classic seems sure to be a fool’s errand. Some of the movies have been box office hits, but I’m not sure anybody would claim that a single one of them is as good as the movie it copied.

I wrote recently about why I thought that Snow White could benefit from the remake treatment. However, having now seen the film under a specific set of conditions, I have come to the realization that the point of these remakes, if there is one, isn’t in re-creating a story; it’s in recreating an experience.

Taking My Daughter To See Snow White Brought Me Full Circle

As of this writing, I have seen the new live-action Snow White movie twice. I went to see one of the first screenings when the show opened on Thursday evening because, as CinemaBlend’s resident Disney nerd, it’s basically my job. While critics did not fall in love with Snow White overall, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I’ve never loved the original Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, but the new film, which basically gave the original a modern musical facefilft, worked for me.

I enjoyed it so much and thought other members of my family would as well, that a couple of days later, I went to see it again, this time bringing my wife and seven-year-old daughter with me. She swore she had seen the original film on Disney+, but the only time I remember showing it to her, I turned it off because she got scared. She’s older now, however, and I thought the new film would be less scary.

My daughter, who is already an amateur film critic, did love the movie. However, while I was looking forward to seeing it again, what I found myself most focused on was the theatrical experiences and taking my daughter to see a Disney classic, as my parents had done so many years ago.

My job now puts me in a movie theater about once a week, but I’ve never tired of the theatrical experience. I didn’t go to the movies a lot as a kid, but that made the times we did go special. And, seeing a Disney movie in theaters was always a truly special occasion.

Before Live-Action There Was Another Way To See Disney Classics In Theaters

Way back, a million years ago, before streaming, before Blu-ray and DVD, and even before VHS, a big part of Disney’s theatrical movie revenue came from re-releasing its popular animated films in theaters. For a long time, the only way to see a favorite again was when it got “released from the Disney vault,” as there was simply no other way to see it.

The re-releases were important for Disney. During World War II, when European markets were closed off, Disney’s new films weren’t making much money. Re-releases were a way to bring in revenue without having to spend a great deal on a new film. It also gave movies that had trouble finding an audience the first time, like Fantasia, another shot at connecting with people.

Of course, Disney had a reason to reintroduce these classic stories to new generations beyond the box office. It had a lot invested in these characters, from merchandise to theme park attractions. But it's also what made these stories so timeless. Every generation saw them as "new."

I suppose I’m from the last generation who got to see Disney’s animated classics as part of the structured re-release plan. The company was very much against releasing its movies on VHS back when the format was taking off, specifically because theatrical re-releases were so important to the company’s bottom line. Eventually, it took the plunge, and VHS sales were so incredibly popular that they became a major part of the company, and the re-releases faded away.

The first time I saw many Disney classics was as a kid in the theater with my brothers and my mom. I don’t remember seeing Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs specifically, but I’m sure I did. I do remember seeing Bambi and Fantasia in theaters when they were re-released. These experiences are a big part of why I fell in love with movies, and with Disney movies more specifically.

Remakes Pick Up Where The Re-releases Left Off

Is Disney doing these remakes as a way to make sometimes massive amounts of money? Of course they are, but they also fill in a gap that was left when the re-releases fell out of fashion. The occasional classic still gets re-released theatrically now and then, but it simply never draws the crowd that it once did. Between physical media and streaming, we’ve certainly moved on. When Pixar released its pandemic movies in theaters, nobody came.

I was just able to take my daughter to see Snow White, though. It was a moment I wouldn't have been able to have without this movie or something like it existing. An experience that I had about four decades ago has now been passed on to her. For her, it was just a special day at the movies, just as it was for me then. I don’t know if she’ll even remember that day, but it wasn't for her; it was for me. But now I know how my parents felt taking me to see a movie that they first saw in theaters when they were a kid with their parents.

I love that I have a Disney+ subscription and with that, I can watch almost any Disney movie ever at any time. I look forward to sharing all those original films with my kids, too. But there was something truly special about taking my daughter to see Snow White in the theaters. The fact that it was that specific movie, even if it was a remake, made it extra special.

That doesn’t mean that every Disney live-action remake is automatically a good film. It also doesn’t mean I’ll be taking my kids to see all of them. I’m not even sure anybody at Disney has ever consciously drawn the connection between animated re-releases and live-action remakes, but that doesn't mean the connection isn’t there. From now on, I’ll look at these remakes a bit differently. Maybe they don’t need to exist, but they do have a purpose.