We recently reported on the fact that a live-action Tangled adaptation is in the works, and the rumors have wasted no time in flying about.
As these rumors make their way around, very little is confirmed besides the live-action remake itself. That being said, many sources, including Disney Dining, have pointed out the idea that Disney is looking to Florence Pugh to play the leading lady, Rapunzel herself.
We can totally see why! Florence Pugh looks the part, with her blonde hair and expressive eyes. Not only that, but the actress has worked with Disney in the past, portraying Yelena Belova in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Best of all? Florence Pugh has already proved that she has a great voice, making her the person for the job. Now, all that’s left for Disney is to find the perfect Flynn Rider.
As fans throw out their ideas and suggestions for the dashing Eugene Fitzherbert, the original Flynn Rider chimes in and suggests…himself?
It goes without saying that it’s uncommon for voice actors to reprise their roles in a live-action remake. Although James Earl Jones reprised his role as Mufasa in The Lion King (2019), we can excuse that for obvious reasons.
But the idea of Zachary Levi as a live-action Flynn Rider is precisely what the actor is suggesting, according to one report. Reportedly, Levi said,
“There was this thing floating around the internet, I just saw it, somebody sent it to me, that Florence Pugh potentially might play the role of Rapunzel. And If Florence plays Rapunzel, what about me? Which would also be a trip because my real last name is Pugh, p-u-g-h, Zachary Levi Pugh, so you’d have [makes pew-pew noise] in Tangled. Come on!”
While Rapunzel and Flynn Rider are infamous for having a bit of an age difference, 18 and 26, respectively, Florence Pugh and Zachary Levi have an even bigger age difference: 27 and 42.
Age differences often mean very little on the big screen. It’s all make-believe, after all! All that matters is that the actors look the part.
While Florence Pugh can easily pass for a young woman, Zachary Levi doesn’t pass for a young man. At least, not so easily. But Flynn Rider/Eugene Fitzherbert has a very unique voice, and perhaps only the original can fill those shoes. And the actor has a good point: two Pughs in one film would make for an objectively funny casting choice.
But all debate aside, Disney has yet to confirm any casting choices for a live-action Tangled film.
Disney has a rich history of producing beloved films that have become timeless classics, and Frozen is no exception. Released in 2013, Frozen captured the hearts of audiences around the world with its enchanting story, memorable characters, and captivating music.
Elsa, Anna, Olaf, Kristoff, and his loyal reindeer Sven are all beloved characters in Frozen,who also come back for Frozen 2. Frozen fans went wild with songs such as “Let it Go,” “Love is an Open Door,” “Somethings Never Change,” “Into the Unknown,” “The Next Right Thing,” and many more. Fans still are experiencing “Frozen Fever” after 10 years after the first film came out. Frozen is about two sisters and one ends up having a frozen heart and finds out true love heals. And Frozen 2 is about these sisters working together for the next right thing.
The original cast, including Idina Menzel as Elsa, Kristen Bell as Anna, Josh Gad as Olaf, and others, have become iconic voices associated with the characters. These actors played a significant role in making the characters and the franchise so beloved by audiences. Disney has even introduced Frozen Ever After, which can experienced at EPCOT in Walt Disney World Resort, and an all-new land, titled World of Frozen, dedicated to the beloved franchise is set to open soon at Hong Kong Disneyland.
However, it’s worth noting that the entertainment industry is subject to changes and decisions that can occur. Disney has just announced a new Frozen story, which will follow along Frozen 2, but this sequel will come in a different form. Frozen Podcast Forces of Nature will be released in October and will include 12 episodes.
With all this excitement about a new Frozen sequel, fans have been left wondering if the same cast will be featured. Sadly, it seems that the original cast will be replaced.
The new Frozen Podcast, better known as Forces of Nature, talks about bringing in a new cast. The new podcast gives us a glimpse of what the story will entail:
“Queen Anna has a lot on her plate – there are visitors in her Kingdom, a friend in need, and even the Duke of Weselton’s nephew skulking around. “So when the Spirits of Nature start acting up, she knows she has to solve the problem – and fast – before things get more out of control. But when Anna and Elsa travel to the Enchanted Forest, they find mysterious copper machines that are disrupting the natural order of things.”
While we are unsure who will be featured in this new podcast, Disney has already announced Frozen 3, which will include the original cast members Kristin Bell, Idina Menzel, and Josh Gad.
Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas will celebrate its 30th anniversary in October, and as part of the festivities, a new experience inspired by the film is available to fans now through early 2024.
Perhaps the only film in animation history to be as popular at Christmastime as it is during the Halloween season, Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas made its debut nearly 30 years ago. The stop-motion dark fantasy film was written and produced by Tim Burton and directed by Henry Selick. Danny Elfman wrote the score and the songs for the film and also lent his voice talents to Jack Skellington, as well as two minor characters in the storyline. The voice cast also includes Chris Sarandon, Catherine O’Hara, William Hickey, Ken Page, Paul Reubens, Glenn Shadix, and Ed Ivory.
After premiering at the New York Film Festival on October 9, 1993, the film was given a limited release in theaters on October 13, 1993, before its full theatrical release across the nation on October 29. And while fans were thrilled about the film’s debut, no one was happier about the completion of the film than the production team.
The stop-motion film, which was an adaptation of a poem written by producer Tim Burton while he was an animator for Disney in the 1980s, took more than three years to make, according to director Henry Selick.
“I was on the film for three and a half years,” Selick said. “The stop-motion animation took about 18 months, but with pre-production, where you storyboarded every single shot, it did add up.” Selick further said that at the film’s peak, there were approximately 120 people working on it, and about 15 of those were animators.
When the film first debuted in 1993, it was regarded as a “moderate sleeper hit,” meaning it wasn’t a total failure, but it didn’t rock the box office either. The film earned about $50 million from its first release. Then, with a re-issue of the film in 2006, The Nightmare Before Christmas earned an additional $11.1 million in box office gross revenue. Four more re-issues–in 2007, 2008, and 2009–earned $15.8 million, $2.5 million, and $2.3 million, respectively, bringing the film’s total box office gross revenue to $91.5 million.
But regardless of the amount of revenue generated by the film, Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas has grown in popularity over the years, and it seems to have an uncanny ability to garner new fans–and maintain them. In the almost 30 years since its release, the dark fantasy film that sees Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King, looking for “more” out of his existence and subsequently finding it in the phenomenon known as “Christmas.” But Jack doesn’t know exactly what to think of Christmas and attempts to bring Christmas to Halloween Town, and the results are a bit less than merry.
But for whatever reason–be it the uniqueness of the film, the fact that a film with somewhat macabre elements attempts to incorporate Christmas, or simply the fact that it’s one of Tim Burton’s brainchildren–The Nightmare Before Christmas continues to maintain its popularity and attract new fans every year, giving it bragging rights as a cult classic.
This year is a monumental one for Nightmare fans, as it marks the 30th anniversary of the film’s release. And to celebrate, a new experience inspired by the creepy, quasi-jolly film is available to fans now through early January 2014.
Relics of the popular stop-motion film will be exhibited at the McNay Art Museum through January 14, 2024, in an experience titled Dreamland: Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas.
The exhibition includes maquettes, which are models for larger sculptures that are created so that artists and animators can visualize what the sculpture will look like once it’s finished. In addition to the maquettes, Dreamland will also incorporate small-scale working models that were used to make the 1993 Halloween-Christmas-Halloween flick and that eventually made their way into the McNay Art Museum’s Tobin Collection of Theatre Arts the year after the film debuted.
Among the figures on display are Oogie Boogie, Bone Crusher, and Jack Skellington. A full set model, “Jack Skellington and his dog, Zero, in Jack’s Tower,” made of painted wood, metal, plastic, fabric, and more, will also be on exhibition.
A nod to filmmaker Tim Burton’s surrealist sensibility, “Dreamland” will also display a “hall of peculiar portraits” with quirky subjects by artists José Clemente Orozco Farías, Pablo Picasso, Julie Heffernan, Eugene Berman, Marilyn Lanfear, Willem de Kooning, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Julie Speed, among others; and large-scale paintings and photographs by artists Paul Maxwell, Claudia Rogge, Robin Utterback and Sandy Skoglund.
“The Tobin Collection of Theatre Arts makes the McNay unique among art museums across the country,” said Matthew McLendon, director of the McNay, in a statement. “This monumental anniversary of the treasured film ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’ is the perfect opportunity not only to share Burton’s fascinating set and character models but also illuminate equally fascinating McNay artworks available to San Antonians throughout the year.”
Visitors will be guided through the world of Burton and given an open invitation to conjure fantasy narratives of their own using surreal imagery from the McNay collection on display throughout the gallery. The exhibition spotlights Burton’s genius, as seen through the presentation of original models of beloved characters like Oogie Boogie Exposed, Bone Crusher, and the story’s hero, Jack Skellington.
To purchase tickets, click here, and for more information about the experience, visit the exhibition’s webpage at the McNay Art Museum.
Tune in Wednesday, Aug. 30 at 11 a.m. ET for the grand virtual reveal of the Disney Treasure, Disney Cruise Line’s newest ship, during the world premiere of “Unlocking the Disney Treasure: Adventure Awaits Onboard Disney’s Newest Ship”.
This video will debut never-before-released details about the Disney Treasure, showcasing the world-class dining, immersive family entertainment and unique spaces coming to the sixth ship in the Disney Cruise Line fleet. The Disney Treasure will blend one-of-a-kind offerings with unparalleled hospitality that distinguishes every Disney Cruise line vacation.
Those who have been following along may have already seen several Disney Treasure sneak peeks, including how the ship’s design will be inspired by Walt Disney’s love of exploration and will feature the theme of adventure.
We’ve also shared details about the ship’s Grand Hall, which is inspired by the grandeur and mystery of a gilded palace, draws on real-world influences from Asia and Africa and pays homage to the far-off land of Agrabah from Disney’s classic tale, “Aladdin.”
For the latest updates from the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, visit our first-ever ship’s log to find more details on the Disney Treasure’s Keel Laying Ceremony, bow filigree, a first look at the ship’s stern characters and much more.
By the organization’s own admission, tech giant Apple has zero interest in acquiring Disney, but another company is very interested–ready and financially able to scoop up Mickey and the gang, and pre-acquisition procedures have already begun.
Veteran Disney CEO Bob Iger was reinstalled by The Walt Disney Company’s board just before Thanksgiving 2022. Iger’s return was the board’s attempt to stop the proverbial bleed at Disney following one of the most tumultuous times in the company’s history–one that lasted nearly three years and was rife with challenges posed by an unexpected global pandemic that rendered Disney Parks non-operational, poor financial performance, less-than-optimal revenue, and a major rift between the company and the state of Florida.
And while most diehard fans applauded the removal of then-CEO Bob Chapek and were thrilled with the reinstatement of Iger’s tenure, many of them understood that such a shift at Disney’s discretion meant things within the company were likely more dire than anyone expected. It would be months before they discovered just how well their intuitions had served them.
Iger was called back to right the ship at Disney, to make the company as profitable as it had been prior to Chapek’s administration, and to work on easing tensions between Disney and Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis. But just two days after Chapek’s removal, an insider at Disney made headlines when he told a reporter with The Wrap–though in anonymity–that Iger had plans for the ultimate change within the company–a change that would ultimately solve all of Disney’s pesky little problems.
And Iger would bring about that change by selling The Walt Disney Company to another entity entirely.
The insider, who worked with Bob Iger at Disney before Iger retired in December 2021, said the veteran CEO was just the man for the job, as Iger has long been known for the many acquisitions he initiated and oversaw during his 15 years as chief at The Walt Disney Company.
“He’s going to sell the company,” the insider said during an interview. “This is the pinnacle deal for the ultimate dealmaker.” He continued, saying, “Landing a deal with Apple–or some other megabuyer–would also cement Iger’s legacy, [and] I think he’d welcome it.”
The mystery messenger noted that selling to a company like Apple could make sense for Disney as the two entities have “similar brand identities” and could each benefit from such a venture. The deal would be all the sweeter as it would forever brand Iger’s name under the heading of “last-ever CEO of The Walt Disney Company.”
But a report at AppleInsider in November 2022, which has been updated this week (though it communicates the same message), says that no matter how many times a Minnie-Mickey-iPad-iPhone partnership is suggested, encouraged, talked about, or publicized, Apple simply has no plans for such an acquisition. Such an idea of an Apple-Disney merger or acquisition isn’t a new one, anyway. In fact, Steve Jobs’ untimely passing is likely what stopped a merger many years ago, according to Bob Iger himself.
But while Apple isn’t interested in playing cat and (Mickey) Mouse, another company looks to be positioning itself for such an acquisition, and very few people are talking about it.
During The Walt Disney Company’s fiscal third-quarter earnings call on Wednesday afternoon, just after the closing bell on Wall Street, Iger read aloud from the company’s public earnings report, giving details about Disney’s earnings and revenue during the months of April, May, and June 2023.
Iger talked about the continuing lack of profitability of Disney+ and unveiled an increased pricing plan for the less-than-lucrative streaming service. Disney+ rolled out on November 12, 2019, nearly four years ago, and has yet to earn a profit–a problem that continues to plague the entertainment behemoth and one that serves as the cornerstone in a class-action lawsuit brought against Disney by shareholders who allege that top executives in the company–namely former CEO Bob Chapek, former CFO Christine McCarthy, and former Chairman of Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution Kareem Daniel–engaged in illegal business practices by willfully misrepresenting the profitability of Disney’s streaming service, thus misleading investors.
The only credit due Iger in his response is that he refrained from engaging in any dancing that circumvented a bush, and further, he steered clear of interjecting a response that served only to create a diversion from the question at hand like any well-versed politician would have offered.
“I just am not going to speculate about the potential for Disney to be acquired by any company, whether they’re a technology company or not,” Iger said to analysts on the call. “Obviously, anyone who wanted to speculate about such things would have to immediately consider the global regulatory environment. I’ll say no more than that. It’s just–it’s not something that we obsess about.”
Well played, Mr. Iger. Except that the CEO’s refusal to answer the question–“I’ll say no more than that”–served as answer enough for some–this writer included–who then set about the task of digging deeper (once again, this writer included)–presumably deeper than Iger and the board currently want anyone outside the doors of the Burbank offices to venture at this time.
Iger was recalled by Disney’s board to address a number of challenges within the company–some that reportedly developed as a result of Chapek’s poor performance as CEO and some that resulted from the uncertain nature of business.
Among the many challenges presented to Iger following his return was one with which he was no doubt already familiar: the question of what to do with ESPN, once considered the sports juggernaut owned by Disney. A report by Alex Sherman and Lillian Rizzo at CNBC suggests Iger is hopeful about the development of strategic partnerships with sports leagues like the MLB and the NBA–partnerships that would call for cash infusions or the infusion of assets, such as content, both of which would ultimately save Disney billions:
Disney is considering ways to save cash as it tries to shore up its balance sheet. The media giant’s streaming division continues to lose money — with $512 million lost in its most recent quarter — and the company would like to pay down its $44.5 billion in debt. Disney also likely owes at least $9.2 billion to Comcast for its minority stake in Hulu. Agreeing to a deal where ESPN trades equity for sports rights could potentially save Disney billions of dollars that it can then use for other strategic ventures. ESPN struck a deal earlier this week with Penn Entertainment, which will provide it with $1.5 billion in cash over the next 10 years.
“We’re looking for partners that are going to help ESPN successfully transition to a [direct-to-consumer] model,” Iger said during Wednesday’s earnings call. “And that, as I’ve said, can come in the form of either content or distribution and marketing support or both.”
Revenue and profits for the Disney-owned sports network seem comfortable in their continual nosedive, and they’re in good company with the plummeting revenue and profits across Disney’s other cable networks, all of which were down 6% to $14 billion and 29% to $3 billion, respectively, during the first six months of Disney’s fiscal year 2023 (October 2022 to March 2023). And while Iger looks to the four major sports leagues to buddy up with Mickey, he has other possible solutions simmering on the stove at Disney when it comes to stopping the bleed at ESPN. According to Peter Csathy at The Wrap, the veteran CEO is leaning on the good graces and ingenuity of Disney’s former chief of strategic planning to help him decide the best approach to his ESPN problem:
Iger has retained former top lieutenants Kevin Mayer and [his business] partner Tom Staggs in a ‘consulting capacity’ to help decide ESPN’s fate. This intriguing development followed Iger’s recent uncharacteristically frank and gloomy comments that pointed to the notion of Disney shedding some of the assets it built up under his first run as CEO.
Mayer and Iger were joined at the hip as Disney carried out an enviable string of lucrative mergers and acquisitions during Iger’s first run as CEO. Not only did Mayer handle the strategic planning needed for the successful acquisitions of PIXAR ($7.4 billion in 2006), Marvel Entertainment ($4 billion in 2009), and Lucasfilm ($4.05 billion in 2012), but he also led the charge during Disney’s massive $71 billion buyout of FOX Entertainment’s assets in 2019.
Mayer’s role at the House of Mouse afforded him access to details about Disney’s inner workings, including money trails, the profitability of IPs, and the like. So could Mayer eventually play a role in righting Disney’s unsightly ship? That remains to be seen, but his current associations may ultimately be responsible for settling the question of whether or not to sell The Walt Disney Company to another entity.
There’s no question that the sell-off of at least a portion of Disney’s assets is on the table. Iger publicly began the work of slimming down the entertainment company in February 2023 when, during the fiscal first-quarter 2023 earnings call, he announced a huge, all-hands-on-deck cost-cutting initiative, effective immediately, that was developed with the goal of excising $5.5 billion from the company’s financial waistline. A reorganization was announced, as well as plans to layoff more than 7,000 employees–all in the name of keeping the Mouse more humble on the balance sheet.
One of PIXAR’s most tenured movers and shakers–one responsible for saving the second Toy Story film from certain demise–was among those let go at Disney, and an epic upheaval in the Disney-owned ABC News division left many jobless, and the ones who survived the cuts were then awarded heavier caseloads to cover the gaps left by those who got the boot. Following Disney’s wave of layoffs, the company then announced the decision to sell off nearly one-third of its assets, though as of the time of this publication, the for sale sign on ABC’s front lawn remains.
The Walt Disney Company’s current financial dilemma gives every appearance of being dire, indeed.
But the return of Disney’s former king of strategic planning, Kevin Mayer, to CEO Bob Iger’s side may very well be the lead-up to the acquisition of Disney by the Blackstone Group, a huge private equity firm that currently manages $1 trillion in mergers and acquisitions (M&A), with a majority shareholder named the Vanguard Group–the same majority shareholder of Walt Disney Company stock.
Mayer and his business partner, Kevin Staggs, another former lieutenant under Iger also called to serve in a consultative role at Disney, are co-CEOs of Candle Media, an expanding media holding company that owns actress Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine, which it purchased for $900 million, and Moonbug Entertainment, creators of the children’s educational media brand CocoMelon, the acquisition of which cost Candle $3 billion.
And while at first glance, it makes sense that Iger would bring back two of his most trusted cohorts to run through a best-practices approach related to ESPN, a quick jaunt along the money trail at Candle Media makes it look very possible that there’s more going on here than meets the visionary eye. Candle Media’s financial backer is the Blackstone Group. And as the manager of $1 trillion in M&A, Blackstone has all the cheese it could ever need to lure a hungry mouse.
