Disney Is Bringing All Your Favourite Classics To Life

Disney’s catalogue is epic beyond proportion, enchanting children and adults alike for years. Their animated offerings are beloved, from Toy Story to Finding Dory, each tale is a little slice of magic. Recently a flood of announcements clued us into a new turn for Disney, the live-action remake. We’ve seen Maleficent, Alice in Wonderland and Cinderella all make massive takes at the box office inspiring Disney to remake like never before. We’ve rounded up all the whispers, rumours and exciting announcements as Disney moves to live-action.

Beauty and The Beast (2017)

If Emma Watson’s turn as Belle is a sign of things to come from Disney, we’re about to be making a lot more trips to the cinema. Where furniture, curses and roses intertwine, Beauty and The Beast is a childhood classic. The character of Belle in the film is already delightfully progressive, denying Gaston for his brash and offensive behaviour to spend her time in books. Emma Watson, Ewan MacGregor, Sir Ian McKellan, Luke Evans, Stanley Tucci and Emma Thompson round out the stellar cast. 2017 is not soon enough.

Mulan (2018)

Another female hero well before her time, the story of Mulan had us wanting to explore. The remake scheduled for 2018 as yet has no cast or directors attached, but a draft script emerged earlier this week. The introduction of a white hero who saves Mulan has angered many fans and reeks of white-washing. The tale of Mulan has already been remade in Taiwan and China many a time; here’s hoping the Disney studio go authentic with this one and do it justice. There were rumours of Zhang Ziyi or Jamie Chung jumping on board.

Aladdin

Mystical middle eastern scapes, the foreign princess and the charming Genie made Aladdin an absolute classic. Although now we know the Middle East doesn’t look like that and the narrative itself is a little problematic, the remake is set to be much more real. Taking on the characters as a prequel, Guy Ritchie has signed on as director. Although we hope there’s no odd Jason Statham cameo, his film-making aesthetic is superb. Uncovering Aladdin’s childhood, under the guise of Mr Ritchie is sure to be a ride.

The Lion King

A live-action Lion King film? But how? For a story with no human characters a live action take is particularly intriguing. Disney Pixar will be working to achieve a CGI masterpiece based on the movements of real animals. Think the new Jungle Book movie. How the whimsical songs will translate we’re not sure, but real life baby lions and baby meerkats are enough to buy a ticket.

Cruella (101 Dalmatians)

The evil fur cloaked dog hating woman was a particular fear of many kids. The live action remake is set to feature loveable Emma Stone as the villain. Expanding her acting repertoire beyond adorable goofy woman and we love it. A darker take would scare the big kids (aka. you and I) as much as it did in the 90’s. And bonus there will be at least 101 dalmatians in the film, if not more. Hooray!

Peter Pan

This isn’t the first Peter Pan remake and you can bet it won’t be the last. But hopefully Disney will be able to pull off the boy’s character in live action where other films failed. There’s been Hook, Pan, Peter Pan and even Finding Neverland, so no doubt it will be tricky to make this one new and exciting. David Lowery who most recently made Peter’s Dragon with Disney is directing. First star from the right and straight on til morning.

Tinkerbell

The sassy little emerald fairy has been denied her own film for all too long. Reese Witherspoon is in talks to put on the wings and glow, which we’re all for. If Peter Pan makes a cameo great, but with Disney involved you can imagine it’ll be a prequel of sorts. Opening up the space for two or three more movies. Pixie dust in tow, let’s just hope Tinkerbell speaks in this film.

The Sword in the Stone

Medieval is really having a moment, so it’s only logical Disney would jump on board. Bryan Cogman is directing the live action arthurian tale, and you may not know his name but you’ll recognise his work. Cogman has worked extensively on Game of Thrones so expect a movie that’s a little more M rated than the animated offering. Swords will be snatched and heads will roll.

Pinnochio

The saddening story of the boy puppet and his inability to lie was a childhood favourite. Teaching kids the moral of lies show on your face more than you know, will we ever learn though? The live-action film is being written at the moment by the man behind What’s Eating Gilbert Grape and About A Boy, Tim Hedges. No strings attached, this one is going to be particularly wonderful.

The Little Mermaid

Mermaids have had a real moment as of late, but this remake is sure to amp that up even more. Chloe Moretz has signed on be the mermaid herself and we can’t wait to see how they bring the whole underwater gang together.  Sing alongs galore and you best believe the merch will be amazing. Sofia Coppola was originally directed and if that’s any indication for the direction it’s going in, it’ll be marvellous.

Dumbo

If you’re into the weird and whacky then this elephant remake will be at the top of your list. Tim Burton is directing so prepare your mind to wander down the rabbit hole. Alice in Wonderland with circus animals, sounds pretty good already.

Rose Red (Snow White)

Snow White seems to be the character du jour, but what about her sister Rose Red. The Disney remake is set to take a little detour to the siblings tale, while we don’t know much yet it’s good to see a little divergence. A mainstay in the Grimm’s original, Rose Red enters the Snow White narrative as the star falls dead asleep. Enter Rose Red, and on she goes with Grumpy on a quest to save Snow White. Something a little different, can’t wait.

Fantasia

The original in 1940 is still a symphony of colour and classical music that we remember fondly. Mickey weaves about the universe turning colours into sound and painting the world as he goes. The live action remake will hone in on the last sequence based on Night on Bald Mountain and Ave Maria. A dark fantasy tale that sees evil spirits and the undead dance about in the night until the sun pushes them back into hiding. With that soundtrack this one is sure to be eerily spectacular.

Image source: Business Insider.