Editorial: 10 Disney remakes I would actually go and see

 

With the whole Mulan debacle happening, I think it's safe to say that many of us do not want to support Disney's endless overmilking of their nostalgic properties while ignoring stuff we might actually want to see. However, given that Disney has an extensive catalog of releases, even before taking into account all the stuff they have acquired over the years, it's safe to say that they will be remaking their movies basically until we stop giving them money to support them. Some Disney remakes however, I did choose to see in theatres, Dumbo looked like it would be pretty good (It wasn't), Aladdin was a movie I was bad mouthing on social media so I thought I'd give it a fair shake (It wasn't... awful) and The Lion King was an animated movie so I had to see it regardless. However, this got me thinking, what Disney movies would I go see their remakes in theatres?

Let's be honest, it's not that Disney is remaking their old movies that is the problem, it's the implication of their views of animation coupled with the fact that they seem to heavily be banking on the nostalgia of these movies rather than focusing on giving some movies a second chance. Also, Disney's attempt at a monopoly on entertainment, but everyone brings that up. So, if Disney were to remake some movies, yeah I'd totally go see them in theatres, and here are a few that I would see just on concept alone.

Keep in mind, these are movies I would see if they were remade into animation or live-action, so no Song of the South or Who Framed Roger Rabbit, as those movies need to have some characters and segments animated. Also, I'm not saying that all of these would be good ideas, just that I would see them and pay the fifteen or so dollars for the ticket. This is not a top ten list, this is just a list, and I'm not saying these remakes will happen, honestly I'm hoping they don't happen, but if they do, I wouldn't mind seeing them. With that said, let's begin and restate the fact that these don't have to be good ideas for me to check them out...

10. The Fox and the Hound

Case in point, The Fox and the Hound from 1981. Remaking this movie into live action would be a terrible idea, as it would just be The Lion King all over again, animated characters on a live-action setting. So, why is it on this list if I wouldn't like a live action remake, as per my own rules? Well, I want to remind you this is a list of Disney remakes I would see and... Well, I would kind of have an obligation to see a remake of this one, The Fox and the Hound is in my top three favourite of the Disney animated canon.

One part of me just wants to see how much it could be inferior to the original, but at the same time, I agree that the original movie could have been a lot stronger, and a remake would be a perfect opportunity to make the movie stronger. Of course, I don't think the movie would look as good in 3D animation, but even then, I'd still see it. I'd love to cry at how much they messed up one of my favourites.

9. Alice in Wonderland

I know that Disney already did a remake of Alice in Wonderland, in fact many will point to the 2010 film as the start of the "Live-Action Remake Trend", but is it really fair to say that was a remake? It was more akin to a sequel, and it took more from the second book, which left me confused when they announced the sequel to the sequel/remake... my head hurts.

Anyway, the point is, I think we can discount the already existing remake, I mean, Disney already did with The Jungle Book, which they did in 1994. Besides, there is so much you can do with Alice in Wonderland, I think Disney can have another go at this story, maybe make it closer to the book, or maybe have it be a feature length Fantasia segment, or do something in between. I really think that we can let the existing remake slide if another remake ends up being pretty good.

8. The Reluctant Dragon

Yeah, here's a classic Disney film right? Honestly, I'm really thinking that Disney could really make this one a proper full length feature film, like, just nix all the stuff about making a cartoon and the studio tour and just have the movie be about a dragon that's really kind and the knight who has to prove the dragon's innocence. This is the kind of movie that Disney should be remaking, as it's old enough to warrant it and has the potential to reestablish the characters to newer audiences.

7. Hercules

Hercules is one of the most visually interesting movies Disney has ever done. The visual style is a neat mix of traditional Disney art, along side Gerald Scarfe as the production designer, it is a very interesting movie in the visual sense, I'd be very interested in seeing what they could do with the visual style in 3D animation or even Live-Action.

Barring that however, the tales of Hercules are always good ones to retell, I mean, check out Overly Sarcastic Productions' video on Hercules for a good example. If Disney could do a proper retelling of Hercules, that would also be quite welcomed. This is a remake I'd see on two accounts, either the movie will be just as, or even more visually interesting, or the movie will be a more faithful telling of the Hercules legends, and I'd enjoy either honestly. Even if they don't get James Woods to do Hades again.

6. The Emperor's New Groove

Now, when I say "The Emperor's New Groove", I'm not actually talking about the early 2000s movie that I reviewed previously on this blog. You see, the movie we got is a far cry from the movie that it was intended to be. Originally planned as "Kingdom of the Sun" and more inline with "The Prince and the Pauper", the original movie seems like it would make for an interesting movie, and even one in line with the Disney Renaissance, but sadly the film had production issues and was completely overhauled into the end result which, while not bad and is really funny, not the film that could have been.

After I heard about "Kingdom of the Sun", I thought that at the very least, it would have made for an interesting stage show, but no, it seems that all we're left with is stories of what could have been, and a movie that marked the end of the Renaissance.

5. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

It's odd, you would think that the film to start it all would have been an immediate pick for remaking. I know this pick may seem a bit blasphemous, but when you hear the cut content from the original pitch, you'll see my point. Apparently, there was a big subplot about the Prince that was cut from the movie, and it explains how he knew where to find Snow White and the Dwarfs. It would be pretty cool to see this in film and not just in comic, and if you want more information about what was cut from the film, I recommend this video by Colin LooksBack.

According to the Disney Wiki, a large part as to why this movie doesn't have sequels or remakes is because Bob Iger considers this movie untouchable, so this one may or may not happen, but if it does, I would happily see it.

4. Chicken Little

This movie has a nasty reputation, many calling it the worst movie, not just animated movie, that Disney has ever put out. It's been a long time since I last saw this movie, so I can't say for myself, but I can say, you can make this movie good Disney, just try again!

3. Meet the Robinsons

Personally, I think the Disney company should really consider the theme of this movie a lot more.

That really is a large part as to why I think this movie should be remade, the theme and message are just so good and very important to learn. "Keep Moving Forward" was one of Disney's philosophies, and it took him far, sadly, the company now has seemed to forget the sentiment and are churning out blatant cash grabs pandering to nostalgia... no, the irony is not lost on me.

Still though, with a movie with a good message, and a really creative setting, I think many would be willing to give this movie a second chance if it were remade.

2. Treasure Planet

Treasure Planet is a film that a lot of people my age grew up with and have a fondness for. It's a movie that has garnered a well deserved cult following since release and I think Disney would be foolish not to tap into this fanbase at least once.

I mean, it is 17th century aesthetics in a futuristic setting, immediately an interesting combination. Plus, some really good character relationships, and some pretty great action scenes, if they fixed up a few points they might have a really great movie on their hands, and that's saying something because this movie is already pretty great. Plus, if it does well, we might get to see that sequel that got shelved... wink!

1. Atlantis: The Lost Empire

Come on, you knew this would be number one. Of all the movies Disney has made, it seems the one that everybody would like to see, or at least would understand being remade is this one, and for good reason, like Treasure Planet, it is a movie a lot of people have a fondness for, but also didn't do so well financially or critically. It is almost a crime that Disney hasn't considered remaking this movie, or even trying again with the concept. It seems like many people would be okay with this movie being remade, both to get the original some more attention, but also to have a second go and make the movie more than the original.

I think that is a large part as to why a movie should be remade, if it didn't do so hot or wasn't the best, it can be given a second chance. Maybe it just needed a few more rewrites, or maybe the cast wasn't well chosen, or the characters were too weak. I brought up the same point in my First Impressions of "Animal Crackers", I could see something good, but it just needed another rewrite, and that's why I hate Disney's refusal to remake anything other than movies like "Cinderella", "The Lion King" or "Beauty and the Beast", these films were well received, financial successes and are still loved to this day, they didn't need another rewrite, and yeah, not all of these movies need that rewrite either, but if they were remade, I'd still go see them, whether or not I would anticipate them is another story, but that wasn't what this post was about, this was just a small selection of movies that, if they happened to be remade, I'd watch and see how they turned out.

I don't expect many to agree with me, so I'd love to hear what you think, what Disney movie would you see in theatres if it got a remake? Feel free to leave a comment below, this has been The Entity of Darkness, and I'll see you next time at my humble Odeon.

Gulliver's Travels (1939) - A movie that feels like a theatrical short

The history of animation in cinema is almost as long as the history of cinema itself. However, to simplify matters, the first animated film that we know about dates back to the late 1800s, but the earliest surviving film dates back to 1900, it was a stop motion film titled "Humourous Phases of Funny Faces" and it's a really fascinating short. Following that, the story is pretty known by many people, Winsor McCay and Gertie the Dinosaur, Otto Messmer and Felix the Cat and in 1917 in Argentina the first ever animated movie was released titled "El Apostol", sadly it has become lost to time, and the oldest surviving animated feature dates ahead to 1926 with "The Adventures of Prince Achmed". Most of the films from this time have been lost, but a handful do survive, including one film from 1937 titled "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", a major success for Disney and an inspiration for animation in the future, in fact, one studio known as Fleischer Studios was hoping to duplicate the success of Snow White by making their own feature in 1939, a movie simply known as "Gulliver's Travels".

This is probably the oldest non-Disney animated movie in my collection, so I was interested in seeing this one. A lot of people throw heaps of praise onto Snow White, and fairly so it is a wonderful movie, and people are starting to know more about Lotte Reiniger and her movie "The Adventures of Prince Achmed", but it seems nobody acknowledges this movie. Is that fair? Yes... No... Maybe... Well, let's take a look.

Plotwise, it's a telling of the sailor Gulliver and his time in the land of Lilliput. I've never really read the full Gulliver story, so I'd have to assume this is mostly accurate. The plot doesn't have any major plot holes or massive glaring issues, but I do have to wonder, this whole conflict was started because the king's could not decide on what song to sing at the wedding of the prince and princess, why didn't either of them think to sing them both, or a medley of the two, I thought of that before Gulliver woke up. Actually that is a bit of another thing, the opening of this movie is just so padded. First we see Gulliver wash up on the shore, then we see a Lilliputian walk up to him, but we see his whole walk and get a song number. We also get a dumb bit of comedy where they walk onto Gulliver and take time finding out that they're standing on the giant they we're meant to be looking for. We also get to see every last detail of how they tie Gulliver up, load him onto a cart and pull him into the city. I guess the latter could be necessary to show, it does show how these characters solve this problem, but it's just not fun to watch. Honestly that is a big problem with this movie, a lot of the scenes just aren't fun to watch.

I almost hate to do this, since I don't think this is really fair to do, but in Snow White there is a scene which serves little to the plot. It's when the dwarfs are playing music and dancing with Snow White. It leads into the song "Someday My Prince Will Come", but other than that it could be cut, but we'd miss it because it's a really entertaining scene. I don't want to compare this movie to Snow White too much, I think every movie, even response films like this, should have the chance to stand on their own. Still, I can't help but make the comparison sometimes.

Character wise... this movie doesn't have no character, but they're just not very strong. You've got one character named Gabby who is, as his name would imply, always talking. Gulliver is your standard kind soul character, not unlike Snow White, but even then the comparison isn't too apt. While Snow White is generally kind and nice, we do see her be bossy in the film, demanding the Dwarfs wash their hands before they eat. When Gulliver is scolding the kings, his tone isn't really different from the rest of the movie. I guess that's a fault with the acting and directing, but it is a good point to bring up. Even the Princess, when she speaks it's just an offhanded remark, she doesn't even sound concerned when the Prince is going to divert the gunshot away from Gulliver. One thing I do like is that the other king, King Bombo genuinely doesn't seem like he wants to go to war. You can see it in his face that he's having second thoughts, but has to keep up appearances to his men.

Speaking of that, the animation is for the most part, really good. You can see all the small details of the tension of ropes tightening around Gulliver, or the light of lanterns seeping through the gaps between the bridge boards. The rubber hose animation of the little people is energetic and really well done. I think Gulliver was done in rotoscope, but if not you can still tell that his animation style is different from the rest. I can't say it mixes particularly well, but it's not distracting so I can give it a pass. I should note that I have this movie on VHS and the tape has most likely deteriorated a bit, even then though, looking at better resolution clips online the palette is nothing special, there aren't really any moments that impressed me with the visual beauty of the scene. That said, I think this has one of the first low angle shots in an animated feature, or one of the earliest anyway, you don't see these kind of shots in animated films at this time, so I thought it was worth mentioning.

The movie also has a few song numbers, and they aren't really special. I actually think the background score is better. With all this in mind, I can't help but get the feeling this was just a theatrical short, but with a feature length run time, like they treated this movie as just a feature length theatrical short. I mean, it looks and sounds like a theatrical short, it ends like a theatrical short, it's even kind of paced like a  theatrical short. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised but then you think about it, Snow White didn't have this same feeling, it looked and sounded like it's own movie. Don't get me wrong, I love theatrical shorts, Pink Panther and Goofy cartoons are two of my favourites, but they work best at seven to ten minutes, not feature length, some would even say not twenty-one minutes like some Disney Snowmen get.

that is kinda where my feelings towards this movie stand. Is it a good movie, kinda, but at the same time not really. If you have little kids then maybe they'll enjoy it. It is kind of the same emotional storytelling of Snow White, but it looks and feels like a theatrical short. There are lots of good theatrical shorts out there to show kids who are into cartoons, again I'm really partial to Pink Panther shorts myself, and their are lots of really good movies to show. I guess this one has just aged, which is probably the reason that this film has kind of become obscure. Snow White has aged but is still mostly timeless, you can watch it today and still find some enjoyment. Gulliver's Travels has good elements, some wonderful animation, good gags and a fairly solid plot, but it's got some flaws that did hold my enjoyment back a bit. The voice acting, the forgettable songs, the bland characters. I don't think this is a bad movie per se, but it isn't particularly great. I think it's worth checking out if your curious.