While fans of KPop Demon Hunters might be disappointed to learn there won’t be a live-action version – there are plenty of cartoons that have made the jump.
KPop Demon Hunters has been a phenomenon in 2025, overtaking Squid Game as the most watched title in Netflix history earlier this year, with more than 325 million views. The animated movie has also spawned pop hits, with the anthem Golden hitting number one around the world, including the US, UK and Iceland, among others.
The movie, which tells the story of a Kpop trio who play huge gigs around the world, with a side hustle in saving the world from evil, is even being tipped for Oscar success next year.
But, while live action versions of animated shows are popular – think Disney – the makers have said they have no plans to do this for the Demon Hunters, saying that there is more they can do in an animated format than live action.
However, there are plenty of animated shows that have converted to live action over the years – some more successful than others – and here are some of the most famous.
Scooby-Doo (2002)
One of the earlier, and more successful, cartoon-to-live-action conversions was Scooby-Doo. While the dog was CGI, the rest of the characters were real, including Sarah Michelle Gellar as Daphne Blake. Matthew Lillard was one of the stars as Scooby’s partner-in-crime-fighting Shaggy – so good was his performance that he ended up taking over as the voice of Shaggy in the animated world.
The Flintstones (1994)
Another early conversion was The Flintstones. The animated show was a huge hit in the 1960s, and re-runs were show for many years afterwards. When the time came to bring it to the big screen, there was much hype, especially as Dan Goodman and Rick Moranis were cast as Fred and Barney. The movie was successful and spawned a sequel, Viva Rock Vegas, which had none of the original main cast, and is best left forgotten.
Beauty and the Beast (2017)
Disney appears to be on a mission to recreate all its beloved animated movies in live action, with varying degrees of success. While the original animated movies are generally considered superior, one of the best regarded live-action versions is Beauty and the Beast, which starred Emma Watson, Dan Stevens and a scene-stealing Josh Gadd.
Detective Pikachu (2019)
Over more than 25 years, Pokémon has generated a huge volume of TV shows and movie spin-offs, but generally not live-action. With such a large and loyal fanbase, anything non-animated would have to be good. So, rather than just have a standard Pokémon story based around Ash Ketchum, the makers went left-field and focused on a different story. That it starred a Pikachu voiced by Ryan Reynolds helped matters but so did having a good story that didn’t require huge knowledge of Pokémon lore to enjoy.
Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)
While Sonic is primarily known as a video game character, there have been plenty of animated shows starring the blue blur over the past 35 years too. But when transitioning to the big screen, the makers went down the live action route (although Sonic is of course CGI) and found huge success – helped by a suitably camp and over-the-top performance by Jim Carrey as Sonic’s nemesis, Dr Eggman. There have been three movies so far, with a fourth instalment in the works.
Popeye (1980)
One for older readers, this. One of the first attempts to bring a popular cartoon to the big screen was 1980’s Popeye. Starring the then-rising star Robin Williams as the spinach-loving sailor, alongside Shelley Duvall as Olive Oyl, the movie tried to bring the spirit of the animation to the screen, but it didn’t quite work, and viewers criticised the perceived mumbled dialogue. It is worth watching as a curio of its time. Interestingly, the set for the film was left up after production ended and it remains a tourist attraction in Malta.
