Disney’s next remake is facing criticism before audiences have seen a single scene.
Live-action adaptations have become one of the studio’s defining theatrical strategies over the past decade. Beginning with Cinderella (2015), Disney has revisited many of its biggest animated classics, including The Jungle Book (2016), Beauty and the Beast (2017), Aladdin (2019), The Lion King (2019), Mulan (2020), The Little Mermaid (2023), Snow White (2025), and Lilo & Stitch (2025).
Some have become major box office successes. Others have struggled to win over audiences, with debate often centering on the same question: should Disney recreate the original or reinvent it?
That conversation has resurfaced with Tangled, even though filming only began weeks ago.
Disney’s New ‘Tangled’ Look Divides Fans
Released in 2010, Tangled tells the story of Rapunzel, a princess raised in isolation by Mother Gothel, who discovers the outside world after meeting thief Flynn Rider.
Disney has cast Teagan Croft as Rapunzel, Milo Manheim as Flynn Rider, and Kathryn Hahn as Mother Gothel. The Greatest Showman director Michael Gracey is directing from a screenplay by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson.
Production is underway in Spain after the project was briefly paused following the box office disappointment of Snow White. Disney has not announced a release date.
Recent set photos have become the first major talking point.
The royal banners displayed around Corona appear to swap the animated film’s familiar purple and gold color scheme for blue and yellow.
šØ| NEW LOOK inside of the castle set of the live-action ‘TANGLED’ in Spain!
The sun tapestries in the kingdom have seemingly been changed from purple to blue.
Filming started late last month and is ongoing.
šØ| NEW LOOK inside of the castle set of the live-action 'TANGLED' in Spain!
The sun tapestries in the kingdom have seemingly been changed from purple to blue.
Filming started late last month and is ongoing. pic.twitter.com/Q4rGxaxtMl
— Tangled Updates (@TangledUpdates) July 7, 2026
Filming started late last month and is ongoing.
The reaction reflects how closely Disney’s remakes are now watched throughout production. Small design decisions regularly become flashpoints among fans concerned about larger creative changes.
Others have pointed to Cinderella as the standard Disney should follow.
“What I want to see in the Tangled Live Action is the same formula in the Cinderella Live Action,” one fan wrote on Reddit. “A mix between the OG storyline, the OG animated, and adding new elements to the story without straying away of what makes ‘Cinderella’ special.”
Why So Much Is Riding on ‘Tangled’
The timing is difficult for Disney.
The studio’s newest remake, Moana (2026), is projected by Deadline to open with between $40 million and $45 million domestically this weekend. That would put it in the same range as Snow White, which debuted to $43 million before ending its theatrical run with just over $205 million worldwide.
While Catherine Laga’aia has received praise as Moana alongside returning star Dwayne Johnson as Maui, the remake has also been criticized for staying too close to the 2016 animated film.
That leaves Tangled in a different position.
Rather than being accused of copying the original, Disney’s latest adaptation is already being criticized for changing it. Even a revised color palette has prompted concerns about how much else could be different.
Tangled is the only live-action Disney remake currently filming. Although Hercules remains in development, there have been few updates.Ā Previously announced remakes, includingĀ The Sword in the Stone,Ā Robin Hood,Ā The Aristocats, andĀ The Hunchback of Notre Dame, have all been dropped.
Disney is moving ahead with Lilo & Stitch 2, but the sequel is expected to tell an original story instead of adapting Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch (2005).
The studio has also reached a point where most of its best-known animated classics have already received live-action adaptations.
If Moana continues to struggle and Tangled fails to perform, Disney could be left with fewer recognizable titles to revisit and less evidence that audiences still want live-action remakes of its animated library.
Do you think Disney should continue making live-action remakes, or is it time for the studio to move on?
