The 10 Best Disney Live-Action Movies Of All-Time, According To IMDB

While most people think of animated movies when they look at Disney, the company has a long history of live-action movies as well, and not just under subsidiary studios. Disney is making full use of its name-brand right now with films based on classic animated films. However, it has been making live-action movies since its early days.

The one thing that Disney live-action movies have in common is the fact that they are almost always family fare. Whether these are movies that parents can enjoy with their kids or movies with uplifting stories made mostly for the grown-ups in the house, these are good quality movies with positive messages. With decades under its belt, here are the 10 best Disney live-action movies according to IMDB.

10 OLD YELLER (7.3)

For many years, Old Yeller was the one movie that most parents feared as it guaranteed every member of the family was crying by the end. The film is an adaptation of the 1956 children’s novel of the same name. It follows a young boy who takes in a dog, and it becomes a beloved and fiercely protective family pet.

Of course, the movie and novel are both known for the heartbreaking ending where Old Yeller develops hydrophobia after a wild hog bites him. The fact that young Travis is forced to put his dog down makes it even harder to watch. Despite the depressing ending, it remains one of Disney’s most beloved live-action movies based on IMDB over 60 years after its release.

9 ALADDIN (7.4)

While it seems almost hard to believe, the new live-action version of Aladdin, with Will Smith taking over as Genie, has an impressive 7.4 rating on IMDB with over 86,000 votes. The Guy Ritchie-directed film, based on the 1992 animated classic, brought in over $1 billion at the box office. This film proved to be one of Disney’s most popular live-action remakes.

In reviews, critics claimed it has the same spectacle of the original, with excellent direction by Ritchie, but lacks the splendor of the original film. Of course, the original animated film sits at an impressive 8.0 on IMDB, so that was a huge goal to attempt to reach.

8 QUEEN OF KATWE (7.4)

One of the lesser-known movies on this list, Queen of Katwe is a Disney movie from 2016 starring David Oyelowo (Selma) and Lupita Nyong’o (Black Panther). The film is about the life of a Ugandan girl living in the slums of Katwe who learns to play chess and becomes a Woman Candidate Master.

The film was co-produced by Disney Pictures and ESPN, an adaptation of an ESPN article and book about Phiona Mutesi, the film a biopic of her inspirational story. As with many Disney live-action films, this was an underdog story — a sports film based in the world of competitive chess.

7 POLLYANNA (7.4)

Based on the 1913 novel by Eleanor H. Porter, Disney Studios released Pollyanna in 1960 with child actress Hayley Mills in the starring role. The movie was a huge success and Mills, who was 14 at the time, won an Academy Juvenile Award at the Oscars in 1960 for her performance.

The film told the story of a 12-year-old orphan named Pollyanna who goes to live with her strict and wealthy aunt. Due to her positive outlook on life and optimism in the face of any odds, she makes everyone else’s life around her improve. When Pollyanna is injured, the entire town comes together to support the girl who helped them.

6 THE JUNGLE BOOK (7.4)

Released in 2016 and based on the original 1067 Disney Animation classic, The Jungle Book was Jon Favreau’s first attempt to bring a classic animated hit to life. It ended up very successful, while his second attempt (The Lion King) never reached the same levels of success.

This Disney live-action movie took the same storyline from the animated film. Raksha and her pack adopted a young boy named Mowgli after black panther Bagheera brought him to her. Mowgli then has to survive the deadly tiger Shere Khan, learn when to trust his bear friend Baloo, and escape the clutches of the greedy King Louie, before finally gaining acceptance from the human world.

5 SAVING MR. BANKS (7.5)

It should come as no surprise that one of the most beloved Disney live-action movies for IMDB users is one based on Walt Disney himself. Tom Hanks stars as Walt Disney in this movie and deals with his relationship with author P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson), the author of Mary Poppins.

Saving Mr. Banks, directed by John Lee Hancock, follows the two weeks of meetings in 1961, where Walt Disney tries to obtain the rights to the Mary Poppins novels. The past of Travers, and how it influenced her story, and Disney’s attempts to help her find the joy for fantasy missing from her life, leads the story to great heights.

4 MIRACLE (7.5)

Outside of animated movies, it seems the best of Disney’s live-action movies are sports films which are underdog stories at their core. Miracle came out in 2004, based on the true story of the U.S. men’s hockey team at the 1980 Winter Olympics that shocked the world and won the gold medal.

Released in 2004, Miracle stars Kurt Russell as the head coach of the University of Minnesota hockey team. The film shows changes he made to help the U.S. national team make their way through the tournament and beat the Soviet Union for the gold medal.

3 REMEMBER THE TITANS (7.8)

Released in 2000, Remember the Titans starred Denzel Washington as a high school football coach named Herman Boone who attempted to integrate the team at a Virginia school in 1971. The entire theme of the film is the school battling racism both in the small football town and within his program as well.

Officials conspired with board members of the school to rig a game to force the termination of Boone’s contract. This scheme led to his assistants with the most to gain taking the side of his coach, demanding a fair playing field. It is a feel-good story with social commentary that allows it to remain popular to this day.

2 MARY POPPINS (7.8)

It seems almost right that a film about the making of Mary Poppins sits just two spots below the film itself. Mary Poppins is one of the most beloved, whimsical movies in Disney live-action history. Julia Andrews stars as the nanny Mary Poppins who helps whip troublesome kids into shape and helps turn around the life of the disciplined George Banks.

While the performance of Dick Van Dyke as Bert is polarizing to many viewers, Andrews is charming and wins over audiences with her performance as Mary Poppins. The term “Spoonful of Sugar” and word “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” remains ingrained in popular culture over 50 years later.

1 PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL (8.0)

In a possible shock, the Disney live-action movie with the highest IMDB ranking is the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Based on the theme park ride, Disney took the idea of the old-school pirate movies and placed it in the world of the supernatural.

However, what made this movie so memorable and popular with fans was the performance of Johnny Depp as Capt. Jack Sparrow. The first film had Sparrow set out to regain his old ship, the Black Pearl while finding himself in a mission to save a blacksmith’s apprentice and the daughter of the local Governor.

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