The Attraction of Live Action Adaptations

Last week marked the premiere of the One Piece live-action adaptation on Netflix. This is the latest attempt to adapt an enormously popular anime series after many failed past works with series such as Death Note, Cowboy Beebop, and more. I am hesitant to give this series a watch despite the mostly positive reception thus far. Additionally, it seems as though more live-action adaptations are announced every other day within today’s media landscape.

Disney continues their trend of remaking every previous animated property. Meanwhile, other studios like Nickelodeon have given us such travesties as The Last Airbender film, and the bland Ninja Turtles films produced by Michael Bay. Of course, Bay first kicked off the trend with his Transformers live-action universe. This had me thinking, why is this concept so attractive to entertainment studios? Why can’t we allow animated properties to stand on their own?

Now there are a few simple answers to this question. The first is simply laziness and money. Original shows and films are difficult to write and are high-risk properties. There’s a chance your idea may not resonate with people and garner little attention compared to well-established brands. As a result, you’ve now wasted time and resources without receiving return on investment.

In contrast, when you create something based on a pre-existing IP, you already know from the beginning that you will have a guaranteed audience who will consume and discuss your creation. Even if the response is largely negative, you have already made money off of fans who tuned into your adaptation hoping to see something they expected to enjoy.

Now while profit margins are probably the most likely reason, I also believe there are other factors that contribute to this trend. The first is the outdated and frankly silly cultural perception of animation in the West. If you grew up in America, then you’ve certainly encountered those who believe animation is strictly for children.

Even though this perception has changed over the years (mainly as a direct result of the influence of anime) it’s still something older generations abide by. Thus, many studios believe the only way to appeal to this audience is to change the medium into one that is accepted by “all ages.”

A more positive reason for this trend could simply be the human desire to experience fantasy firsthand. Animation, (while creative and beautiful) is still separated from what the real world looks like most of the time. By translating these properties into a form that takes place within our own reality, we satisfy our own yearning to be a part of that world.

In addition to greater immersion, live action helps enhance feelings of association between the characters and viewers. When the characters look just like you it’s easier to imagine yourself in their shoes or form attachments to them. Not everyone will have this reaction, but it is a key aspect of marketing merchandise relating to the property.

I have always disliked live-action remakes of previously animated works. I feel they attempt to devalue the work of the original artists who poured their lives into crafting stories for our enjoyment. The greatest thing about animation is that it allows for imaginative worlds and narratives to be explored with a relatively low-profit margin and push the boundaries of reality. When we support live-action remakes we subtly declare that the original piece isn’t good enough to stand on its own.

If a live-action remake ever manages to supersede the original material in popularity, it could further enforce this concept. As a storyteller myself it feels lazy to me to use your creativity to reproduce someone else’s work. Even if what you produce is somewhat transformative it then runs the risk of being something else entirely, rather than an adaptation. This is why some of the most successful translations of books are often “in name only” and instead utilize the concepts or setting to tell a completely new story with different themes or plot elements.

The extreme consequence of this scenario could be a world where the default option for an adaptation is a huge-budget blockbuster, leaving little room for more niche stories to thrive. Obviously, this is simply a speculation but it’s one I hope to never see become reality. Whatever your stance is on the live-action remake, I think at the end of the day we can all agree that in order for it to exist in any capacity it should strive to be of similar quality to the original. Nothing is worse than seeing something you love dragged through the dirt by a studio that cares more about making quick cash.