Disney movies of Teh Future?

[madsniper]

Well, I learned recently that the guy behind Pixar's genius, John Lasseter, is now in charge of Disney animation in total, 3D and 2D. Apparently this happened a while ago, though I don't know why the hell I didn't find out until now. That's like, the thing I've been waiting to happen since Toy Story! >_> But thank God it finally has. He's resurrected the 2D studio, hiring back many of the animators who were disposed of by Eisner, and even more beautiful is the fact that he has announced the END of the direct to dvd sequals. HELLZ YEAH.

But anyway, the point of this thread. The 2D studio is still going to do adaptations (though probably original stories as well, as the mood strikes them). My question is, what do you guys think would make a good Disney 2D flick?

My sister suggested Phantom of the Opera, which I think is a fantastic idea. Personally, I'm DYING to see Tale of Two Cities rendered in the Disney style. That would be tricky, keeping it in the PG realm, but ooooh I can see it.

I don't know. What would you guys like to see from Disney, now that they will most certainly RULE once more?

[timetogo]

I can't think of an existing story that I'd like to see made into an animation, but I always wanted to see a good cartoon set in a pulp early 1900's setting. The whole weird superscience thing is pretty common in anime, but I haven't really seen much of it done by US artists.

[Karade]

It's nice to see an anime fan who doesn't immedietly scream: "Disney! Bad! Not Japanese!" I really mean to watch Beauty and The Beast one day after hearing so much about it. Loved Aladdin (sorry Snipes, Jafar is the bestest villian EVER!) as a kid.

So far from what I've read of it, Silas Marnier seems to be perfect for Disney. Or what about The Count of Monte Christo? I can see that being made into a nice two hour epic. (Yes, it's been done before, but not for awhile)

Anyone who complains that Disney always plays it safe should check out The Headless Horseman (which scared me to death as a kid but in a good way) or even that unnerving short picturing hell. (Forgotten it's name)

[madsniper]

Heh, Disney sneaks in some really dark stuff on occassion. I mean, Frollo's whole song in Hunchback was not for kids, and they HUNG the guy in Tarzan. I don't know what you're apologizing to be about Jafar for, he's awesome. Though I do think Frollo and Scar are just as good. (There's another reason I'd like to see Tale of Two Cities from them, I think Madame Defage would be positively terrifying). Ah yes, Count of Monte Cristo woulld be a good one. Has that been animated before?
And are you apologizing because you're implying my villain isn't the best ever? Because that's okay.^^ You haven't even met my villain yet. XD

[Poofiemus]

The main difficulty with Tale of Two Cities would be figuring out a way to make Darnay likeable as a hero--the way he's written in the book is really pretty bland. As someone on GAFF put it, he's like "mayonaise and rice."

Personally, I would love to see someone do a good adaptation of Crime and Punishment, but that's another one where it would be hard to keep it in the PG range. Of course, with Lasseter at the wheel, I'm hoping that he'll be willing to make a jump into the whole Princess Mononoke, animation-for-a-teenage-to-adult-audience sort of thing eventually.

My second choice would be Taming of the Shrew. Kate and Petruchio are a couple of the best Shakespearian characters ever, with a great dynamic between them. Oooh, what if they did THAT with the 1900's steampunk thing? *evil grin*

In fact, speaking of Steampunk, it'd be pretty wicked to see Girl Genius on screen, but there's just so much freakin' material in that comic that they'd either have to wait for it to finish and do a truncated version, or do a series of films like they've done for Spiderman.

Ultimately, I'd love to se WN animated, but it currently doesn't have enough material to go off of without going all filler/canon mangling, and it sounds like when it does get on a roll, it will end up with Girl Genius's problem. =P

I'm also an anime fan, but I grew up on a steady diet of Disney classics. The real thing that sucked about Eisner-era Disney was the storylines they put out. Most of them fell pretty flat, and often were downright canned. But Emperor's New Groove is one of my faves, and a lot of the older films are made of awesome.

With John Lasseter, though, I think we may be heading towards another golden age of Disney animation. Hell, the man ran Pixar on the principle of "Story is King".

[Karade]

The Count of Monte Christo has actually been turned into an anime by GONZO (Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo). From the little I've seen of it, it seems to very different in tone to the book. Very gloomy and very dark, and set in a futuristic (and yet still very eighteenth century France) world. Seems to be really more of it's own thing, just using the book as a basis. While I'd love to see it, I'd love to see a 'traditional' adapation in animation as well.

Poor Jafar, looks like he’s being knocked off his perch. Sniper, why must you torment your readers so? So there’s going to be an ACTUAL villain? Oh sure, we’ve had antagonists so far, but there’s an actual villain? My bet is that GECOW are going to turn out to be the villains, although I’m sure the aliens aren’t going to be nice guys either. Okay, I’ll leave my speculating to the speculating thread, but you’ve got me intrigued.

This might seem strange, but I kind of picture White Noise as a live action movie rather then an animated series. (Although it’d be hard to pull Winter off in a live action movie) Maybe it’s because I started watching Batman Begins last night. I’d love to see some more adult animation out of the U.S. as well, but I think it’s going to take a lot time for any investors to become really that intrested in it. Not that Disney can't (or isn't) adult, but you know what I mean

[madsniper]

*lol* Well, we'll see if that character is up to Jafar quality XD. I've actually been casting for that live action movie all along. X3 Right now, I'd like to see the kid who played Antony in Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd as Wren, though he'd have to work on his "in pain" acting. I also like the idea of Dane Cook for one character I won't name, but there's a lot of people who hate that guy, so I don't know...
Well, Spirited Away did fairly well when they released it in the US theaters, so I think there's hope for mature animated movies being made here. Someday. >_>

[madsniper]

I just realized that I wrote up there "Disney will mostly rule again" when what I meant was "most certainly". Heh, what was supposed to be a compliment became quite back-handed there.

[Karade]

Just edited my post slightly. By 'mature' I meant more adult pieces of animation (e.g. A Scanner Darkly) . Worried about a slight anime bias there.

By the way, a little bit off topic, but the broadway verison of The Lion King is great. I thought Scar's song near the end was a great addition Although the actor that I saw in the production wasn't a patch on Jeremy Irons. ;D

[timetogo]

I really do hope that Disney starts to try and attract older age groups with Lasseter heading the show. I think most young adults still have some love for the cartoons they grew up watching.

I don't even see that A Tale of Two Cities or those other classics would have to be PG. I would be much happier if they were allowed into PG-13 territory, so that the impact of the stories themselves aren't lost. Many of the things that would make amazing animations are so amazing because they are poignant, painful, and mature.

On the topic though, I'd actually kind of like to see an animated adaptation of The Illiad & The Odyssey, for a start, along with a number of modern books.

I actually think I'd enjoy Naomi Novik's Temeraire series as a well done animation rather than a live action film.

[Pipe Organ Wolf]

HOW HAVE I KEPT MISSING THIS?


Depends on what they take for POTO source material. I did enjoy the Weber musical, but the story Leroux tells is FAR different. Of course, if they want to stay G/PG, Leroux is out. Weber's adaptation is soooooo insipid and sugary compared to the original, but that is what sells on Broadway. (Truth be told, POTO is about the only Weber I'll tolerate)

One thing I did adore about the movie adapt was the little tributes to other adaptations. For example, that whole bit of young mother Giry and Erik in the cage? That's a very liberal interpretation from Susan Kay's Phantom. Excellent read if you like the Leroux. She leaves that as-is, just weaves her story about Erik's past.

As for other stuff I'd like to see Disney handle, how about the Bronte sisters? Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre are both fantastic. I don't think either would be too difficult to keep in the PG range either. There is lust and desire, but it's kept pretty temperate. Can you imagine Rochester or Heathcliff as done by Disney? It'd be like Jafar, Scar, and the Beast all rolled into one!

I agree with you, Karade. Silas Marner would make a good Disney tale. I think the short you're referring to is the "Night on Bald Mountain" sequence from the original Fantasia. (Another thing I'd like to see more of. Especially if they tackle Carmina Burana! )

Ooooh! Poofie! Go copyright that idea and sell it to Disney! A Steampunk ToS would so get me off my rear and going to the theatre! I mean, dang, that's just an awesome idea!

Timetogo- I agree about the Iliad and the Odyssey. They've been animated before, but I haven't come across a version that does the original any justice. To me, if you can't do it well, why bother? It just ruins it for everyone.


Ooooh! Just got an idea based off Poofie's! Richard III! Especially with a kind of neo-Nazi thing like Ian McKellan did!


It'd be so nice to have the old Disney back. I'm sorry, but I absolutely cannot stand the anime style of animation. It drives me nuts how it constantly goes from semi-realistic to that badly-drawn chibi bull manure. It takes one hella good story for me to be able to overlook it. FMA is the first, and to date, the only one I've gotten interested in.

[Poofiemus]

I tried reading the Leroux version once, but I think I was too young--6th grade I think. I might take another whack at it, though I'm getting a bit of a Dostoevsky craving right now and am thinking of tracking down Brothers Karamazov.

As far as modern books go, taking on some Piers Anthony or Anne McCaffery might be an interesting idea. I haven't read the Xanth novels yet, but I think On a Pale Horse and the first three Apprentice Adept books could make cool movies if done right. And I've always coveted the idea of seeing Dragonriders of Pern on screen, though I usually picture live-action attempts.

Silas Marner really is up the Disney alley, though I'd like to see a more creative take on it than, say, A Simple Twist of Fate sort of thing.

Thanks! XD Well, maybe I'll dabble with my own adaptation, then copyright and potentially pitch it (I'm guessing a more defined idea would hold more swaying power). Maybe Petruchio could be some sort of mad scientist, but otherwise have his characterization in tact. And Kate...Welll, that depends on what kind of steampunk culture I can come up with. I don't want to rip off Girl Genius, obviously. =P

Someone tried to animate the Iliad and the Odyssey? I can see how those could get mangled. They'd probably take multiple movies to really do right without majorly truncating them.

It would actually be pretty fun to do alternate-genre adaptations of a lot of the Shakespeare plays, actually. Sci-fi, fantasy, etc. I wonder what would be a good match for Macbeth?

I don't mind chibis much, but I've found that they're often abused, and that's when they get on my nerves. They're funny if you use them on only a few occaisions, but when you use them for anything even remotely funny, it gets rater wearing.

Even weirder, the fewer chibis a show uses, the more chibi merchandise it seems to inspire. That particularly baffles me.

[timetogo]

Christ I just got a really weird image of a Taming of the Shrew meets The Time Machine. I must admit, I was oddly intrigued.