15 Live-Action Remakes & My Thoughts
Chip & Company sent out a list of upcoming 15 Disney live-action remakes today & I figured I'd share my thoughts on each of them. Most of these are expected, but there's a few surprises & a couple thay may just leave you scratching your head. So with no further ado, I give you:
- The Lion King: We've talked about this one recently with rumors that director, Jon Favreau eyeing Beyonce for Nala. She would join already casted Donald Glover & James Earl Jones. Yeah, ain't it great that the only replacement for James Earl Jones isJames Earl Jones. I'm excited for this. Jon Favreau did great with Jungle Book, giving me very little to worry about on this one.
- Mulan: To also be a subject later. We got writers Lauren Hynek & Elizabeth Martin along with director Niki Caro who can't make up her mind on if or where music has a place in this film. (More on that later.) I'm actually looking mord forward to this than I ever was the animated version. I love martial arts epics, & that sounds like what we'll be getting with this.
- Aladdin: One of, if not my favorite of the classics. We've got a team of directors in Guy Ritchie & John August, & I'm not sure if this worries or excites me. Though it seems a strange pick, I've got a bigger list of Guy Ritchie films I've enjoyed than I haven't. So that being said I'm more than intrigued.
- Jungle Book 2: Jon Favreau's directing is all we know about this one & this is one of the head scratchers for me. With Disney's track record for sequels you would figure this slot would br open for a different remake. So basically, I want to see this still, I'm just hoping I want to see it again afterward.
- Maleficent 2: Screenwriter Linda Woolverton & main title role Angelina Jolie are coming back on for who cares? I mean really, the first one went out of it's way to destroy one of the greatest on screen villians of all time. How? By making her not a villian. Otherwise played perfectly, this film took the evil out of a villian so hateful she wished death upon a baby just for not being invited to a party. So on this sequel, I'll pass.
- Mary Poppins Returns: This one's not a remake, but a sequel. It's currently has Emily Blunt as the main character, Lin-manuel Miranda, and Dick Van Dyke returning to his role. I found a love for Mary Poppins late in life and that's probably one of the reasons that I am secretly looking very much forward to the sequel.
- Snow White: Now this one's a little iffy for me. Mainly because it seems like it's been done a lot recently. However I will give it a chance, as it's one of my favorite stories, and nobody does stories like Disney does stories. Anyway, we have Priscilla Wilson as a writer and Justin Paul and Benj Pasek will be writing new original music for the film.
- Rose Red: I don't know much of what to say about this one, and it's mainly because I don't know what this one's about. Apparently Snow White and Rose Red is about two sisters that encounter an enchanted bear. It's also rumored that this film is not going to follow that storyline anyway. So it looks like anyone who does know about this one, well, they might not really know about it either.
- The Little Mermaid: I tell you this, we know the music's going to be amazing. Lin-manuel Miranda is teaming up with the original songwriter Alan Menken to write a new music to go along with the pre-existing songs in the film. This especially gets my attention as new music sounds like new scenes, and new scenes sound like the expanding a story that I've always loved. Even if I thought was a little short to begin with.
- Peter Pan: Another one the list we don't know too much about other than it's directed by David Lowery and written by Lowery and Toby Halbrooks. I personally can't wait for another Peter Pan as many people have tried this since the animated version, and Hook has been the closest thing to get it right. Which doesn't really count as it's a sequel.
- Oliver & Company: Tommy Kail is on board to direct this remake that was about a cat that got taken in by a bunch of street smart dogs. One of the best things about this was the music and hopefully we can recapture that. As a kid this burned into me that Billy Joel was the man. This was another one of my childhood favorites.
- James & the Giant Peach: This was announced last year to be written by Nick Hornby and directed by Sam Mendes. It'll be a live-action remake of the '96 stop-action film. While James and the Giant Peach never really stood out for me, I am very curious to see how someone would pull off something so ambitious to try to create in live-action.
- Winnie the Pooh: I love this silly old bear. The film is supposed to be directed by Marc Forster and written by Alex Ross Perry and there's a rumor that it could be titled Christopher Robin. I've heard many theories on this live-action movie and all of them sound just as great as the next.
- Dumbo: Oh Dumbo. Written by Ehren Krueger, directed by Tim Burtonm with Colin Farrell and Danny DeVito in talks to star I just don't know really what to think about this one. With talk of a family from Kentucky, a big ring circus taking over a small ring circus, and no talk of flying elephants I'm not sure what we're even going to get with this one.
- Cruella: With Emma Stone set to star in the title role I don't know whether to be excited or reserved on this actually happening, and I think most of that lands on Maleficent. Thankfully, I don't see any way even Disney could turn someone who wants to kill a bunch of puppies for a coat, into any shade of a good person. So, if that's the case, this might finally be the villain picture I was looking for.
So there you go there's my thoughts on the big 15 coming out sooner or later. What do you think? Do you agree, do you disagree? Do you have some altogether different insights? I would love to hear it, let me know in the comments, and don't forget to like and share.