Live-Action versions of Disney's animated movies????

[tsom]

I'm just wondering what you all think.

If there were live-action remakes of Disney's animated classics, such as "Cinderella," "Beauty and the Beast," "The Little Mermaid," "Aladdin," Snow White and the Seven Dwarves," etc, and they were done really well, would you all watch them? And, how well do you all think they would do in the Box Office?

[skyler888]

I actually would really love to see a live-action beauty and the beast.
Based more on the broadway show then they movie.
I think it could be really amazing, especially if they made it more realistic and maybe darker then the animated version.

[blackcauldron85]

I feel that making live-action movies of animated films is unnecessary. Sure, I enjoy the live action "101 Dalmatians", and, although I haven't seen it since I was about 9 or 10, I was at least somewhat entertained with the live action "The Jungle Book". But, just like a remake of a live action film is unnecesary in my book, if I liked the theme & story the first time around, chances are that I'll like the remake. But it's just unnecessary...I'd rather have Disney come up with either brand new stories or stories that Disney has never made a movie from before.

[lord-of-sith]

It would be cool to see films like "Sleeping Beauty" "Snow White" and "The Little Mermaid" re-made by Disney in live-action, but kind of unnecessary. If they were made well, I'd certainly go and see them, but I would live on just fine if they were not made at all.

[Super Aurora]

I founded the Jungle Book live action movie to be very entertaining. I guess it dependes on what movie you're doing.

[Mason_Ireton]

My niece watched the Live Jungle Book and enjoyed it, lil scary for her (3rd grade) then she saw me playing with my ipod and asked if I had Jungle Book, "Well which Jungle Book do you like? the cartoon or the Human?" she thougt real hard bout her answer......."Both" again I was surpised that the Live Jungle Book was indeed darker than the Cartoon but still enjoyable to a 3rd grader. It's best for films like Jungle Book and 101 to be remade in live action cause that's how the property started out (I.E Jungle Book, Peter Pan) I believe animated films like Cinderella, Snow White, Pinocchio and Alice In Wonderland (possibly) could work as an Disney Channel movie (if done right and stay true to Walt's visions) Some of Walt's films are best left alone. I know for a fact that if Song Of The South or Jungle Book or Pinocchio were re-released in theathers with the Harry Potter series, Superhero Movies, etc....They have a 70/654 chance of being extremely successful in their animated forms.

[nomad2010]

This was a big topic on a board i belong to. Should Disney get five or six big name directors and allow them to take their biggest most memorable animated classics into live action movies? Not for the sake of remaking the classics but giving the stories new life as a reinvisioning? Now I'm saying maybe Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Little Mermaid, Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast. Your thoughts?

[Disney Duster]

Wow, all my favorites. Well, I really want to make Disney's Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and The Little Mermaid into live-action revisionings. Based on, inspired by, but not just remakes. Like a different perspective, but with the same sets and characters and story. Bringing out different parts, expanding on certain things.

101 Dalmatians was done. But that had a lot of comedy and degraded Cruella some. My films would aspire to be...more serious.

Would I ever become a director they'd hire? A dream is a wish your hearts makes. I'll keep on believing.

[Prince Edward]

I think that that would have been a great idea! These projects would have to be movies based on the animated Disney-classics and not remakes just like Disney Duster has pointed out.

Movies I think would have been cool to witness come to life as live-action films (I have only included films where the main characters are humans);
Movies made under Walt Disney:
Snow White
Pinocchio
Cinderella
Alice in Wonderland
Peter Pan
Sleeping Beauty

Post Walt Disney-movies:
The Little Mermaid
Beauty and the Beast
Aladdin
Pocahontas
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Hercules
Mulan
Tarzan

14 movies are to many, the smartest choice would off course be to choose the most popular/classical/iconical ones. I also think that the films mentioned in the first post are the best choices, and they are also among my favorite Disney-movies:
Snow White
Cinderella
Sleeping Beauty
The Little Mermaid
Beauty and the Beast
Aladdin

I remember to have read something about ABC developing The Hunchback of Notre Dame as a live-action musical, but that this project got cancelled after Eisner got fired (he was apparantly a big fan of Hunchback)...

[Disney Duster]

I agree with a lot of that, Prince Edward.

You know, Hunchback was made into a darker, more serious musical in Germany. It was very good from what I can tell, though I don't know what the most critical music theater lovers would think. I love what I've heard and seen, though.

There are rumours it is coming to Broadway in New York City, here in the U.S. But the whole darkness and more adultness may not give them the family audiences that usually power their shows. BUT if the show is really good, they don't need to win over kids and families! And if it was successful, maybe Disney would make it a film!

Anyway, bringing this up, the musical is a more serious, expanded, different perspective of the film, as the many other musicals on Broadway based on the animated films are. So, the movies I would want to make would be sort of like that. If I made Beauty and the Beast, which I would like, I would definately try to use some things from the Broadway show.

[jeremy88]

I would LOVE a live action Aladdin(is there still talks of a live action one?)or even Beauty and the Beast. I Love Peter Pan but I wouldn't want a live action version because I feel there are too many of those and are in ways too similar. The Little Mermaid would be really good too, but it would be kind of hard to pull off the underwater aspect of it all.

If they were live action though. I wouldn't want them to be like their animated musicals. I think to make them musicals would be too repetetive and plus how would they compare to the classic muscial masterpieces? Maybe a couple nods to the musical numbers, but I'm sure audiences would want to see something more fresh then just the classic Disney movies in live action. The serious aspect would need to be amped up more to these movie. So they go from G to PG...or even PG-13

Oh by the way, I thought The New World with Collin Farrel and Q'orianka(is that her name?) Kilcher was a very nice adaptation of the Pocahontas story.

[disneyfella]

Several ideas have been tossed around the studios where an animated film would be "re-invisioned" in live-action. A 'Sword in the Stone' live-action picture in the vein of Harry Potter, and even a live-action musical version of 'Beauty and the Beast' (basically a re-interpretation of the Broadway musical) have come awful close in the past to being greenlit.

I'm not against revisiting old Disney stories, but I'm not sure that any of the Disney animated films (especially their famous fairy tale ones) really need a new life outside of a reissue. I think they have proven themselves strong enough time and again.

"Rudyard Kipling's: The Jungle Book" is a live-action re-envisioning of the animated tale that stays more true to the book than the animated film. Honestly, I enjoy both of them. I think the remake was a successful attempt. It goes to prove that it can be done successfully. However, "Beverly Hills Family Robinson" doesn't really do much for the Disney classic "Swiss Family Robinson", which only proves that it can also fail miserably.

I suppose my vote would be to only do it if the story is fresh and is not being done simply to breath new life into established classics.

[drfsupercenter]

Why not just film the musicals of The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, and The Little Mermaid?

Not to mention that Peter Pan is more or less based on a musical...

It would be cool but I don't think it's realistic. I would love to see a musical version of Aladdin though.

[tsom]

Honestly (and I know I'm probaby in the minority), I love the idea of remaking the animated classics into live-action films, but adding more to them. Stretch the story from 75-90 mintues to a two hours or more film.

I also don't understand why people say The Little Mermaid will be hard. If Narnia, Harry Potter, and every other CGI filled movie out there can be made, why can't TLM?

[jeremy88]

I also don't understand why people say The Little Mermaid will be hard. If Narnia, Harry Potter, and every other CGI filled movie out there can be made, why can't TLM?

Well what I mean is if it were live action how would the actors act underwater? I think it would look kinda dorky if you had all the underwater scenes in CGI and then the on land scenes live-action. Unless they didn't it extremely realistic like.

[tsom]

I also don't understand why people say The Little Mermaid will be hard. If Narnia, Harry Potter, and every other CGI filled movie out there can be made, why can't TLM?

Well what I mean is if it were live action how would the actors act underwater? I think it would look kinda dorky if you had all the underwater scenes in CGI and then the on land scenes live-action. Unless they didn't it extremely realistic like.

I guess I can see what you mean. I'm sure it can be done. Two ways I'm thinking of are:

1. Film the dialogue, singing, and dancing underwater scenes in CGI, with really good actors. Then have the swimming-only scenes in real underwater. Then have Atlantica look very realistic.

or

2. Have all the underwater scenes filmed in CGI, and make Atlantica look unrealistic, contrasting it to the realistic world above.

[JDCB1986]

The Little Mermaid would look great with the motion capture thing they are doing on Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland...
They would just need to animate the hair to make it flow in the water...

Cinderella is my favourite DAC, but do we REALLY need ANOTHER live action Cinderella movie ? There are TONS of them already.

Aladdin would be great to see, but there have been talks about that being done for a few years now... Maybe if Alice In Wonderland is a hit, they will decide to continue with Aladdin.

Hercules could be fun to see too ! But seeing as we can't even get a proper DVD of it, I highly doubt a live action remake will EVER happen.

[Prince Edward]

I agree with a lot of that, Prince Edward.

You know, Hunchback was made into a darker, more serious musical in Germany. It was very good from what I can tell, though I don't know what the most critical music theater lovers would think. I love what I've heard and seen, though.

There are rumours it is coming to Broadway in New York City, here in the U.S. But the whole darkness and more adultness may not give them the family audiences that usually power their shows. BUT if the show is really good, they don't need to win over kids and families! And if it was successful, maybe Disney would make it a film!

Anyway, bringing this up, the musical is a more serious, expanded, different perspective of the film, as the many other musicals on Broadway based on the animated films are. So, the movies I would want to make would be sort of like that. If I made Beauty and the Beast, which I would like, I would definately try to use some things from the Broadway show.

I was planning to mention the Disney-musicals on Broadway and that Disney could draw inspiration from them as well as from the original animated films, and now I discovered that you and many others allready have done that - cool! I have all the Disney "Broadway-musicals" (including the German version of Hunchback) on CD and have watched clips from and read about the productions of Beauty and the Beast, King David (allthough not adapted from a Disney-movie), The Lion King, Der Glockner von Notre Dame, Aida (allthough not adapted from a Disney-movie), Mary Poppins and The Little Mermaid, and I am hoping that Alan Menken may adapt Aladdin, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Hercules into Broadway-shows as well.

Yes, the live-action versions of the animated Disney-classics would have to be perhaps a little "darker" and more "serious" - but on the other hand, they would have to preserve the magic and the humour from the originals as well. I was thinking about movies that could be inspirational for these live-action adaptions, and the following movies crossed my mind:

- Enchanted (Disney-magic in live-action!), Pirates of the Caribbean and The Chronicles of Narnia also shows that Disney can make quality live action-movies
- Batman Begins/The Dark Knight (treated the dark Batman-sources seriously and with respect)
- Stardust (a fairy-tale for adults)
- Harry Potter (humour and serious issues combined)
- Little Shop of Horrors, Hairspray, Sweeney Todd (it is possible to make popular and good live-action musicals)
- the Tim Burton/Johnny Depp adaption of Alice in Wonderland that is beeing filmed for Disney would sure be a movie to draw inspiration from

With big budgets, special effects and great scripts, locations, directors/producers and actors, I believe that these movies would have been magical experiences.

[yamiiguy]

Live-action The Black Cauldron with CGI undead army please...

[Disney Duster]

Cinderella is my favourite DAC, but do we REALLY need ANOTHER live action Cinderella movie ? There are TONS of them already.

Wow, I had no idea! It's my favorite too, and I've found it's a rare thing for it to be someone's favorite DAC. Well, the film would actually be based on Disney's version. I mean, it would have the mice and the magic and the characters and the settings and costumes and the songs, and not too many films have aspired to be really serious or grown-up with the tale, which I would (I think the film's serious at times).

REALLY good list and ideas, Prince Edward.