12 Most Insulting Changes To Movie Remakes
Really Disney, did you have to do King Stefan dirty like that?
Movie remakes are more common in our increasingly nostalgia driven society than ever before, with companies like Disney having all their releases now being driven by the rebirth of cherished relics of the past.
It gives them the chance to not only tell a tale with modern technology, but fix any glaring issues the original had to, theoretically, make the perfect film. It can also allow someone with a bold new vision to re-imagine a narrative or concept and portray it differently, allowing audiences to fall in love with two versions of their favorite flick.
There are of course the utterly pointless shot-for-shot remakes, like the terrible Psycho remake starring Vince Vaughn and the recent Lion King disaster, but this is a list of remakes that dared to do something different and ended up making the worst choices they could have.
They aren't just a weaker direction or minor change, these are changes seemingly designed to cause at much hate towards the remake as possible. An insulting breach of trust with directors mishandling a beloved retelling in order to be different when they should have left well enough alone.
The following 12 movies decided that they just couldn't hold back, and said yes to some incredibly misguided choices to try and spice up their respective imaginings.
Warning: Full spoilers ahead.
12. The Karate Kid (2010) - The Kid Doesn't Learn Karate
The Karate Kid is a prime slice of 80's nostalgia that has held up well enough with great performances, classic soundtrack and a sincere warm tone. The legendary performance of Mr. Miyagi even earned Pat Morita an Academy Award nomination, and it is held dear to fans hearts even today.
The idea of remaking it seemed blasphemous at the time, and there was a swarm of negative reception to the film pre-release. Even an icon like Jackie Chan as the new teacher Mr. Han couldn't help quell fans distaste for this kids new training.
When it was released, however, it turned out to be an above average offering that took viewers to Asia for a change of scenery, and a more balanced focus on Dre and Mr. Han's lives over the original narrative's focus on Daniel fighting his bullies for a love interest.
Except for one simple thing - the title is a big fat lie and karate is nowhere to be found in this film literally titled The KARATE Kid.
In an extremely puzzling move, instead of karate being taught to our young protagonist, he is taught Kung Fu. He also learns it in China, the birthplace of Kung Fu, and not Japan that invented the titular martial art.
It was clearly labelled The Karate Kid to rope in fans of the original while doing its own thing. It was titled the Kung Fu Wonder in Asia, so the refusal to change it here for the sake of the almighty dollar was just insulting.