5 Live-Action Movies That Would Have Worked Better as Animated Films

You know how there are those movies that really, really want to be visually interesting? The directors and producers always discuss how realistic and awesome it will look, and then when the movie comes out… It’s pretty meh? Or how a film concept sounds interesting but the producers are elite film purists who think that animation is below them?

Here’s a list of some of those live action films that should have been animated.

 

1. CATS

 

I saw this movie in theaters. I couldn’t believe they made Idris Elba look MORE naked as a cat than he would have had he’d been simply nude.  There was nothing cat-like about the cats in this film. And the cockroach scene will haunt my nightmares for years.

I also saw the version that still had human hands. I don’t know if that helped or hurt.

I truly don’t understand how Thomas Hooper thought any of this was a good idea, as I’m pretty sure Hooper has never actually interacted with a cat in real life. Lindsay Ellis has a really hilarious video about the production of this film… And it saddens me that at some point, CATS could have been animated…

She also addresses how the visual effects team should not be held responsible for the film, as they had only like three months to do the proper visuals. But even that doesn’t excuse the MANY higher ups who allowed this to go through as is.

This film would have worked so much better as a cartoon, which would have allowed for some far more interesting cat character designs and poses. And probably would have worked better with the film’s tone and atmosphere.

2. The Harry Potter franchise

When the books were first being made into movies, one of the adaptations in mind was combining the first three books into one movie – with Haley Joel Osment – as Harry Potter. Obviously, I am very happy we never got that.

But I do think the film could have worked wonderfully as a cartoon and would have allowed for some really interesting visuals, character designs, and overall I think probably could produce a more immersive environment with a more magical atmosphere.

I still do the films, but certainly some of the CGI is a little dated and as well all know good animation never goes out of style. 

 

3. The BFG

 

This adaptation of the Roald Dahl novel wasn’t bad, but it certainly wasn’t that memorable. It didn’t have the wonderful visuals of the first Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory fil (not the Johnny Depp version) nor the humor and quirky personalities of Matilda.

I think making it animated would have been great and would have meant they could have really done a lot of interesting things with the size difference between Sophie and the BFG. And this would have made the other giants’ character designs more distinct.

4. Sky High

Only because this would mean we likely would have gotten the full series films they had planned, and we would have allegedly seen Layla and Warren Peace end up as a couple. A nice consolation prize for not having Zutara. (Which I may discuss eventually in a post titled “I Was a Ten-Year Old Zutara Shipper.)

 

5. Life of Pi

 

Look, if your film is going to rely on a human character interacting with a menagerie of animals, maybe it’s a good idea if the animals and setting weren’t all computer generated… I get you might be worried that people might think it’s a kids’ movie… But that’s a different issue entirely.