2025's long-awaited Disney's ever-increasing catalog of live-action remakes includes The Jungle Book (2016) and Dumbo (2019).

Disney's live-action remakes have had varying levels of success with critics and audiences, but many have become popular female characters from the Disney Princess franchise. While remakes such as Maleficent (2014) and Aladdin (2019) include live portrayals of Aurora and Jasmine, there have been several times across the years when a Disney Princess has been the star of a live-action movie, with different results of success.

5 Mulan (2020)

Directed by Niki Caro

A project that lingered in development hell for a decade, Mulan is one of the most critically divisive live-action remakes of any Disney animated movie. Starring Yifei Liu as the titular character, it depicts Hua Mulan, a young woman from Imperial China, who disguises herself as a man and enlists in the army, in place of her ailing father. She establishes herself as a strong warrior and eventually succeeds in defeating Böri Khan. The movie is both remade from the 1998 animated movie, Mulan, and adapted from the Chinese folklore legend, "The Ballad of Mulan."

The movie's production was impacted by several controversies, including Disney's decision to film Mulan near Chinese internment camps, for the removal of the character, Li Shang, who served as Mulan's love interest in the animated movie, and for not hiring a director of Asian descent. The director, Niki Caro, later defended the movie and her role as a non-Asian director in the production, stating, "there is another culture at play here, which is the culture of Disney, and that the director, whoever they were, needed to be able to handle both" (via The Hollywood Reporter).

Upon its release, the 2020 live-action Mulan couldn't compare to the success of the 1998 animated adaptation.

4 Snow White (2025)

Directed By Marc Webb

The live-action adaptation of Snow White comes more than eight decades after the release of Disney's first full-length animated movie, "fairest in the land." After escaping into the forest, Snow White teams up with seven dwarfs and a group of thieves, to overthrow the queen and take back her kingdom.

Similar to Mulan, Snow White also includes a strong soundtrack of classic and original songs that helps solidify the remake as a decent live-action Disney movie.

3 The Little Mermaid (2023)

Directed By Rob Marshall

Released in 2023, the live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid masterfully blended elements from the animated movie and believable modern updates to its classic story. Directed by Rob Marshall, The Little Mermaid follows the adventures of a curious mermaid, Ariel (Halle Bailey), and her desire to learn more about life above the sea, against the wishes of her father, King Triton (Javier Bardem). After rescuing a human prince, during a storm, Ariel strikes a deal with the cunning sea-witch, Ursula (Melissa McCarthy), to give up her voice in exchange for human legs.

The Little Mermaid's remake brilliantly expands on the original story, with praise going towards a strong soundtrack for The Little Mermaid, consisting of both new and updated songs from the animated classic.

Not only does Bailey honor the original Ariel throughout the movie, she also expands on her character, providing audiences with a new, likable, and relatable version of the popular Disney Princess, which helps rank The Little Mermaid as one of Disney's best live-action movies in recent times.

However, the movie's greatest asset is easily the performance of Halle Bailey as Ariel. She managed to overcome severe backlash over her casting in The Little Mermaid, to give a powerful and resourceful performance of the adventurous mermaid, reminiscent of Jodi Benson's voice acting in the 1989 movie. Not only does Bailey honor the original Ariel throughout the movie, she also expands on her character, providing audiences with a new, likable, and relatable version of the popular Disney Princess, which helps rank The Little Mermaid as one of Disney's best live-action movies in recent times.

2 Cinderella (2015)

Directed By Kenneth Branagh

The 1950 animated adaptation of Cinderella is ed as Walt Disney's favorite movie, which meant the 2015 live-action remake, directed by Kenneth Branagh, faced heavy pressure to reach the same height of success as the original. Cinderella focuses on the life of Ella (Lily James), who, after the death of her father, is forced to live as a maid in the home of her stepmother, Lady Tremaine (Cate Blanchett), and is given the cruel name, Cinderella. With the help of her fairy godmother (Helena Bonham Carter), Cinderella attends the prince's ball, which changes her life forever.

Kenneth Branagh's Cinderella proved itself to be a worthy remake of the 1950 animated classic and also successfully elevated the original story.

Kenneth Branagh's Cinderella proved itself to be a worthy remake of the 1950 animated classic and also successfully elevated the original story. The movie's critical success was, in large part, thanks to Lily James' breathtaking and emotional performance of the titular princess, and Cinderella has since been ranked as one of James' best movies. While the movie does omit the original's catchy soundtrack, Cinderella has a talented cast of different characters, beautiful costume designs, and the perfect blend of friendship, romance and self-belief that make it an excellent live-action adaptation of the world-renowned Charles Perrault fairy tale.

1 Beauty and the Beast (2017)

Directed By Bill Condon

The 1991 the first of only three animated movies to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. A live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast was long-anticipated before it was finally released in 2017. The movie depicts Belle (Emma Watson) taking her father's place as resident in the palace of the Beast (Dan Stevens), and as time es, a romance eventually blossoms between them.

Bill Condon's live-action adaptation has a strong cast including Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Emma Thompson, and Josh Gad, breathing new life into the original's celebrated characters. Through its inclusion of new, emotional songs such as "How Does A Moment Last Forever?" and "Evermore," the live-action movie created a powerful and detailed story that breathes new life into the beloved fairy tale. Emma Watson's performance as Belle was praised by critics for expanding on the character's independence and has been ranked as one of the best Beauty portrayals and solidified Beauty and the Beast as the best live-action Disney Princess movie.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter