The live-action Disney Princess remakes have been a mixed bag, with some performances hitting the mark and others falling flat. Here's a ranking of the live-action Disney Princesses, from the most successful to the least, with commentary and analysis.
Emma Watson as Belle in Beauty and the Beast (2017): Watson's performance as Belle is watchable, but it's constrained by the material, which is a familiar theme for live-action princesses. The desire to create a new character competes with the assignment to say lines memorably inflected by a voice actor first.
Liu Yifei as Mulan in Mulan (2020): Yifei's Mulan is a half-measure, not as cool as a proper martial arts epic but less adorable than the cartoon. The movie was released to streaming during the pandemic, which may have affected its reception.
Catherine Laga'aia as Moana in Moana (2026): Laga'aia has a nice presence and a lovely singing voice, but the live-action Moana lacks physicality and feels like a school play. The movie follows the same beats as the original, but lacks rhythm and physicality.
Elle Fanning as Aurora in Maleficent (2014) and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019): Fanning's performance as Aurora is interesting, but the movies don't give her anything rich or interesting. The main thing that's interesting about her is that she doesn't look or act exactly like the cartoon version.
Halle Bailey as Ariel in The Little Mermaid (2023): Bailey's performance as Ariel is the only real hint of human emotion within an entirely synthetic version of a story. The movie itself isn't much, but Bailey is pretty much the only reason to consider watching it.
Naomi Scott as Jasmine in Aladdin (2019): Scott's Jasmine is charismatic and pulls it off, but the movie is a redo of the original, and Jasmine is recast as a young woman who feels capable of taking over for her sultan father.
Rachel Zegler as Snow White in Snow White (2025): Zegler gives a charming movie-star performance, but the movie has some strange and ghastly elements, like the decision to make the dwarf characters entirely computer-generated.
Amy Adams as Giselle in Enchanted (2007) and Disenchanted (2022): Adams is one of the best actresses of her generation, throwing herself into Giselle with musical-theater energy while treating the role with an Oscar-worthy seriousness. However, the sequel Disenchanted kind of sucks.
Lily James as Cinderella in Cinderella (2015): James' Cinderella is a sincere and distinct person, not just a generic stand-in for friendliness to animals and occasional suffering. The movie provides a surprisingly strong showcase for her.
Catherine Laga'aia as Moana in Moana (2026): (Duplicate entry, already included in the ranking)
