The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, The Lion King, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs — these were some of the most memorable movies from many childhoods. The stories of these characters and hundreds more were an integral part of many childhoods and now are making a comeback, being revamped in the form of live-action remakes.

The first classic movie to be remade in recent years was Maleficent in 2014. Following the success of that, a remake of Cinderella came out in 2015, followed by the newest version of the Jungle Book in 2016 and the very successful remake of Beauty and the Beast, starring Emma Watson, premiered in 2017.

“I think remaking Disney classics is a perfect idea for a new generation to be able to see classics come to life in a new way,” Freedom alum Paige Rizzi said.

Many people are starting to wonder why there has been a sudden increase in remakes. A tweet from November 2018 claimed that Walt Disney wanted the classics to be remade every 10 years in his will so that each generation could enjoy them. This tweet went viral across the internet and a lot of people took it to be the truth.

In actuality,Walt Disney never put this in his will; however, Disney often re-releases its classic films, which was something that Walt Disney was a part of. Because Disney still owns all of its rights to the classics, as well as rights to Marvel, Lucas Films and others, they have the ability to re-release or remake any film that they want. Some remakes will be almost identical to the original, except in live-action form, while others may contain some familiar characters but focus on a different story.

“I prefer both [classics and remakes] because you can see the original and be surprised with the new events of the remake and be introduced to a new world,” Rizzi said.

Either way, classic Disney movies are back for another round at the theaters. On March 29, the remake of Dumbo from the 1941 classic premiered in theaters. On May 24, the live-action remake of Aladdin will hit theaters and on July 19, one of Disney’s most popular films, The Lion King, will make its live-action debut. It has been teased that sometime in 2020, a sequel to the 2014 Maleficent film and the first live-action version of Mulan will debut. Peter Pan, Pinocchio, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Lady and the Tramp, The Little Mermaid and The Sword in the Stone are all currently in the works for the future, as well as a few spin-offs such as Cruella, the villain from 101 Dalmations, and Prince Charming who will be getting a movie of his own as well.

“I’m planning on seeing Dumbo and Aladdin and I’ve already seen Beauty and the Beast,” said Rizzi.

It seems as though the film industry is just entering the age of remakes with Disney at the helm. As it stands, the remakes seem to be immensely popular so there is no doubt more live-action remakes will continue to reach theaters for years to come.