LIVE ACTIONTON Disney has officially boarded the live-action remake train with recent releases like Maleficent and Cinderella. Several more movies are in the pipeline and Megan Marsden Christensen gave us a great little write-up of what live-action adaptations we can look forward to.
Personally Im looking forward to The Jungle Book and Mulan. Afraid I cant say the same about Dumbo.
Turning classic animated films into live-action theater fare isnt new for Disney, but theyve really put the development of them into high gear lately.
Earlier adaptations include 101 Dalmatians and Alice in Wonderland.
With all these films being remade, we cant help but think what classics wed like to see brought to life on the big screen once again.
Weve compiled a list of some of the animated classics wed like to see get the live-action treatment. As we looked at the list we decided to go with movies that wouldnt have to rely solely on CGI and had mainly humans in them. Thats why theres no The Great Mouse Detective on the list. I know, broke my heart too.
Peter Pan
There have been several incarnations of Peter Pan over the years, but Disney still hasnt jumped on board.
This summers Peter Pan origin story Pan starring Hugh Jackman looks like it could be a lot of fun, but wed love to see what the magicians at Disney could do with a live-action version of the iconic character.
Disney would add some fun twists to the well-known story and we already know they can do the swashbuckling action thanks to Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.
Notice I did not mention any of the sequels.
Robin Hood
The 1991 Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves starring Kevin Costner was fun, but not really the epic we were looking for, and the 2010 Robin Hood starring Russell Crowe was mainly a snooze fest. That means the best one to date may be Disneys 1973 animated feature.
This classic tale would be a fun adventure with the Disney touch. For this Robin wouldnt be a fox and Little John likely wouldn't be a bear, but you can still have a great time at the theater with people playing those parts.
Its time we had a big-screen Robin Hood that we can all get behind once again.
The Black Cauldron
Now, hear me out on this one. The 1985 animated feature The Black Cauldron may not be anyones favorite Disney movie and at the time it was lambasted as being too dark for an animated film.
If you havent seen it for a while, take another gander. Its not the best of the lot, but its a medieval adventure with magic, swordplay and a diabolical villain. Not only that, but its tame compared to todays movies.
There would need to be tweaks, but the action and adventure would be a huge hit with young boys, and little girls will like the magic and mystery as well.
The Sword in the Stone
This one seems so obvious that its surprising Disney hasnt announced it as an upcoming project.
The Sword in the Stone is one of the most fun animated classics, and wed love to see a live-action version. The origin story of King Arthur would not only be a blast at the theater, but it also opens it up to so many sequels that Disney executives could buy another private island with all the cash theyd make.
The biggest thing missing from The Sword and the Stone right now is lack of a strong female character, but that could be easily remedied. Those Disney writers tend to be pretty clever.
Aladdin
This one is actually tough. Its a beloved classic, but I was really hesitant to put it on the list.
Granted, Aladdin has something for everyone, adventure, comedy, romance and action, but the problem is the fact that one of the main characters would be totally computer generated.
The Genie makes Aladdin such a classic, and seeing him as a CGI character for nearly two hours with real people all around him may get a bit too distracting. With that said, however, the computer graphics teams are pretty phenomenal these days and they may be able to pull it off seamlessly.
Another difficulty here is finding someone who can bring the same energy and fun that Robin Williams did to the original, but to see Aladdins story on the big screen may be worth the risk.
What Disney classics would you like to see get the live-action treatment? Or maybe you just wish theyd stop already. Let us know on the comment boards and on social media.
Personally Im looking forward to The Jungle Book and Mulan. Afraid I cant say the same about Dumbo.
Turning classic animated films into live-action theater fare isnt new for Disney, but theyve really put the development of them into high gear lately.
Earlier adaptations include 101 Dalmatians and Alice in Wonderland.
With all these films being remade, we cant help but think what classics wed like to see brought to life on the big screen once again.
Weve compiled a list of some of the animated classics wed like to see get the live-action treatment. As we looked at the list we decided to go with movies that wouldnt have to rely solely on CGI and had mainly humans in them. Thats why theres no The Great Mouse Detective on the list. I know, broke my heart too.
Peter Pan
There have been several incarnations of Peter Pan over the years, but Disney still hasnt jumped on board.
This summers Peter Pan origin story Pan starring Hugh Jackman looks like it could be a lot of fun, but wed love to see what the magicians at Disney could do with a live-action version of the iconic character.
Disney would add some fun twists to the well-known story and we already know they can do the swashbuckling action thanks to Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.
Notice I did not mention any of the sequels.
Robin Hood
The 1991 Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves starring Kevin Costner was fun, but not really the epic we were looking for, and the 2010 Robin Hood starring Russell Crowe was mainly a snooze fest. That means the best one to date may be Disneys 1973 animated feature.
This classic tale would be a fun adventure with the Disney touch. For this Robin wouldnt be a fox and Little John likely wouldn't be a bear, but you can still have a great time at the theater with people playing those parts.
Its time we had a big-screen Robin Hood that we can all get behind once again.
The Black Cauldron
Now, hear me out on this one. The 1985 animated feature The Black Cauldron may not be anyones favorite Disney movie and at the time it was lambasted as being too dark for an animated film.
If you havent seen it for a while, take another gander. Its not the best of the lot, but its a medieval adventure with magic, swordplay and a diabolical villain. Not only that, but its tame compared to todays movies.
There would need to be tweaks, but the action and adventure would be a huge hit with young boys, and little girls will like the magic and mystery as well.
The Sword in the Stone
This one seems so obvious that its surprising Disney hasnt announced it as an upcoming project.
The Sword in the Stone is one of the most fun animated classics, and wed love to see a live-action version. The origin story of King Arthur would not only be a blast at the theater, but it also opens it up to so many sequels that Disney executives could buy another private island with all the cash theyd make.
The biggest thing missing from The Sword and the Stone right now is lack of a strong female character, but that could be easily remedied. Those Disney writers tend to be pretty clever.
Aladdin
This one is actually tough. Its a beloved classic, but I was really hesitant to put it on the list.
Granted, Aladdin has something for everyone, adventure, comedy, romance and action, but the problem is the fact that one of the main characters would be totally computer generated.
The Genie makes Aladdin such a classic, and seeing him as a CGI character for nearly two hours with real people all around him may get a bit too distracting. With that said, however, the computer graphics teams are pretty phenomenal these days and they may be able to pull it off seamlessly.
Another difficulty here is finding someone who can bring the same energy and fun that Robin Williams did to the original, but to see Aladdins story on the big screen may be worth the risk.
What Disney classics would you like to see get the live-action treatment? Or maybe you just wish theyd stop already. Let us know on the comment boards and on social media.
