In May, fans first saw West Side Story (2021) star Rachel Zegler as the Fairest of them All, Snow White. At D23 Expo Friday night, Zegler took the stage with her villainous costar Gal Gadot to share all-new details about the live-action remake of Snow White (2024), produced by Marc Platt and directed by Marc Webb.
In front of the newly-released Snow White logo, Zegler said it was an “honor” to bring the Disney Princess to the “modern age.” She explained it’s a story about “finding a sense of agency so she can be a just ruler and wonderful queen.”
Wonder Woman (2017) star Gadot said playing the Evil Queen was “very different than what I had done before. I am used to playing the other end of where the heart should be.”
Gadot called Evil Queen “so not me,” but said the character is an “iconic villain” and “getting under her skin was so delightful.”
With original songs by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul of La La Land (2016) fame and a screenplay by Greta Gerwig and Erin Cressida Wilson, Snow White will premiere in 2024. Andrew Burnap is set to portray the film’s all-new male lead, Jonathan.
Out of the sea, wish I could be… part of that world. Disney’s The Little Mermaid is coming to theaters May 26, 2023.
“The Little Mermaid,” visionary filmmaker Rob Marshall’s live-action reimagining of the studio’s Oscar®-winning animated musical classic, opens exclusively in theaters nationwide May 26, 2023. “The Little Mermaid” is the beloved story of Ariel, a beautiful and spirited young mermaid with a thirst for adventure. The youngest of King Triton’s daughters, and the most defiant, Ariel longs to find out more about the world beyond the sea, and while visiting the surface, falls for the dashing Prince Eric.
While mermaids are forbidden to interact with humans, Ariel must follow her heart. She makes a deal with the evil sea witch, Ursula, which gives her a chance to experience life on land, but ultimately places her life – and her father’s crown – in jeopardy.
The film stars singer and actress Halle Bailey (“grown-ish”) as Ariel; Tony Award® winner Daveed Diggs (“Hamilton,” “Snowpiercer”) as the voice of Sebastian; Jacob Tremblay (“Luca,” “Room”) as the voice of Flounder; Awkwafina (“Raya and the Last Dragon”) as the voice of Scuttle; Jonah Hauer-King (“A Dog’s Way Home”) as Prince Eric; Art Malik (“Homeland”) as Sir Grimsby; Noma Dumezweni (“Mary Poppins Returns”) as Queen Selina; with Oscar® winner Javier Bardem (“No Country for Old Men,” “Being the Ricardos”) as King Triton; and two-time Academy Award® nominee Melissa McCarthy (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?” “Bridesmaids”) as Ursula.
“The Little Mermaid” is directed by Oscar® nominee Rob Marshall (“Chicago,” “Mary Poppins Returns”), and written by two-time Oscar nominee David Magee (“Life of Pi,” “Finding Neverland”), with a live-action story adaptation by David Magee, Rob Marshall, and two-time Emmy winner John DeLuca (“Tony Bennett: An American Classic”), based on the short story by Hans Christian Andersen, and the Disney animated film by Ron Clements and John Musker. The film is produced by two-time Emmy® winner Marc Platt (“Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert,” “Grease Live!”), three-time Tony Award® winner Lin-Manuel Miranda (“Hamilton,” “In the Heights”), Rob Marshall, and John DeLuca, with Jeffrey Silver (“The Lion King”) serving as executive producer. The score is by multiple Academy Award® winner Alan Menken (“Beauty and the Beast,” “Aladdin”), who won two Oscars® for the music in the animated version of “The Little Mermaid,” with music supervised and produced by Mike Higham (“Mary Poppins Returns,” “Into the Woods”). Music is by Alan Menken, lyrics are by Howard Ashman and new lyrics are by Lin-Manuel Miranda.
If there is one thing Disney knows how to do, it is put out a successful film. Whether it comes from Walt Disney Studios, Marvel, Pixar, or LucasFilm, Disney has some of the best screenwriters on the planet working for it. One area Disney has found particular success with in recent years is its live-action remakes. Fans flock to the theaters to see their favorite animated films come to life, like Beauty and the Beast, Mulan, The Lion King, Cinderella, The Jungle Book, and more.
One of the more successful live-action remakes was the 2019 film, Aladdin. The film starred Mena Massoud as Aladdin, Naomi Scott as Jasmine, and Will Smith as the Genie. The film was written by John August and Guy Ritchie, with Ritchie also directing the film. Aladdin was a massive hit for Disney and brought in more than $1 billion worldwide. Disney was so impressed with Ritchie’s work that we are now learning they are bringing him back to work on another one of their live-action films.
Deadline Hollywood has learned that Guy Ritchie has signed on to direct Hercules, which will be based on the 1997 animated film of the same name that starred Tate Donovan as the voice of Hercules and Susan Egan as the voice of Megara. James Woods was also hilarious in the original film as the voice of the God of the Underworld, Hades.
After watching his live-action transfer of Disney’s animated Aladdin become his first film to crack the billion-dollar gross mark, Guy Ritchie is back in business with the studio. This time, he’s overseeing a live-action film based on the Disney animated film Hercules.
The film will be produced by AGBO, the production company run by Avengers: Endgame directors Joe & Anthony Russo. The studio is in the process of hiring writers after Dave Callaham wrote a first draft.
This deal was made by CAA, before Ritchie last month exited the agency and went to WME.
Most of Disney’s live-action remakes stick pretty close to their animated originals, but one thing we do not know is if Disney will keep the music from the original film. “Go the Distance” is an incredibly popular song and a favorite amongst Disney fans, so many may be disappointed if Disney decides to change up the music. Hopefully, they will keep the favorites and maybe add in another great song or two!
Though it’s touted as a Disney “remake,” the 2022 live-action take-two of Disney’s 1940 classic, Pinocchio, will not feature much of the classic’s questionable content.
PIXAR celebrated the release of Lightyear over the weekend. The first Pixarian film to debut at the box office in more than two years, Lightyear is the “definitive origin story” of the space ranger, Buzz Lightyear, who inspired a line of action figures like the Buzz fans see in the Toy Story film franchise. Unlike Toy Story, however, Lightyear features content that some have deemed “questionable” or “controversial.”
But regardless of fans’ sentiments about the content, PIXAR producers made it undeniably clear that the animated film powerhouse had no intentions of modifying the content in the film.
But Disney has chosen to omit some of the content from its 1940 classic, Pinocchio, at least when it comes to the live-action remake, which is set to debut exclusively on the Disney+ streaming platform in September, according to GameRant:
“Director Robert Zemeckis and company certainly have their work cut out for them in making this tale friendly enough for audiences,” a post online at GameRant.com reads. “Released in 1940, the original “Pinocchio” has a plethora of moments and characters which might be frowned on today. Not only are they scary, but they reflect a different time in terms of what was politically acceptable. As such, some parents might worry about exposing their kids to the wrong values. Disney likely won’t take the risk of driving away consumers in this way, so viewers can expect to see plenty of changes with this remake.”
For starters, the canine version of Honest John will likely be absent or replaced with a human version of a similar character. For one thing, he’s a bit scary, and for another thing, as GameRant points out, if the film features a talking fox who walks on his hind legs and tricks children into participating in his schemes, a talking puppet who dreams of being a real boy might not seem so special.
The Italian character from the 1940 film named Stromboli may also be replaced, and that’s to squash the racial stereotypes involved in his character. In the Disney classic, Stromboli is flamboyant and echoes visages of a gypsy, which is a bit distasteful now, though it wasn’t in 1940. For these reasons, Disney will more than likely remove the Stromboli character or create a less-offensive version of him in the upcoming release.
Swearing and smoking will undoubtedly not be included in the 2022 version of Pinocchio. In the 1940 version, the word “jackass” is used a few times, and the film also features characters who smoke. It’s safe to assume Disney will want a lesser word than “jackass” in the new film, and smoking will absolutely be absent in the film. After Walt Disney died in December 1966 from lung cancer, the Walt Disney Company decided to ban smoking in its films.
Pinocchio‘s Pleasure Island will undoubtedly be left in the dust of 1940, as it nods to the practice of human trafficking:
“This is among the scarier scenes not just because of the visuals but also due to the implications. Pleasure Island is a place where kids can misbehave to their heart’s content. Delinquent activities include gambling and chomping on cigars. These already raise red flags with today’s Disney; they don’t even want adults smoking in their movies anymore. However, it only gets worse.
Kids who indulge in this bad behavior slowly turn into donkeys. The overseers then ship them to various unscrupulous organizations, never to be seen nor heard from again. Yep, an animated movie has human trafficking.”
Though Disney is in the business of live-action remakes, as evidenced by the copious numbers of remakes to date, the House of Mouse has been diligent in attempting to stop the perpetuation of stereotypes that found their way into earlier films, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Disney’s remake of Pinocchio appears to be no different.
You can stream Pinocchio, starring Tom Hanks as Gepetto, beginning September 8, 2022, on Disney+.
