I’m very excited about this year in movies, both what I’ve already seen and what’s to come, but I wanted to indulge in a little negativity before I get to the good stuff.

One of the most upsetting cinematic trends of the past 15 years is the Disney live-action remake, wherein the Mouse House picks over the bones of its beloved animated classics and turns them into soulless cash grabs devoid of artistic merit.

As anybody who followed my Disney Animation Marathon knows, I am a big fan of the studio’s animated work. I wouldn’t have spent the better part of a year watching all 64 of them otherwise.

Having gone through that exercise, I know some are much better than others. But even the worst Disney animated film has more artistic integrity than any of these live-action cringefests.

OK, I’ll admit a soft spot for Kenneth Branagh’s 2015 Cinderella, a movie that felt more like a creative venture than an attempt to solidify the bottom line. I think that movie worked because the source material was so light on plot that the filmmakers could flesh out the story and characters.

Remakes of more recent films, however, simply regurgitate every plot point and line of dialogue, and often the camerawork and editing, too. These are carbon copies with none of the visual flair of the originals — gorgeous animation replaced with dingy cinematography and half-assed visual effects.

The trailer for the latest Disney live-action abomination just dropped, and this one is particularly galling. Moana is my favorite animated film and one of my favorite films, period. It’s a perfect movie, full of breathtaking visuals, meaningful themes, and profound emotion. From the looks of the live-action Moana trailer, Disney has turned a masterpiece into a monstrosity.

Online reaction has been vicious, so my hope is that this movie bombs so hard it scares the studio away from making more of these films. I know Tangled and Hercules are in the works and it’s unlikely those will be halted even if this one is a disaster. But maybe, just maybe, they’ll come to their senses before they turn their attention to The Princess and the Frog or Frozen. Is that too much to ask?

Of course, it will probably make a billion dollars. Box office receipts for these live-action remakes tend to track with the success of the original film, and Moana was a huge moneymaker. Most viewers don’t seem to care about quality, just a way to divert their kids for 90 minutes. Sigh.