Disney‘s live-action division has hit its stride as of late. Beauty and the Beast is the latest to the treatment, and it’s cruised to over $1 billion at the global box office so far. That brings up the question of what Disney should tackle next?
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Some projects are already in development, such as The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Winnie The Pooh (Christopher Robin)and Mulan, along with sequels to the first round of hits like Maleficent 2 and Jungle Book 2. Still, Disney’s vault is quite large, and there are more than a few gems left in their catalog that deserve a chance at live-action box office success. For the moment this list excludes the Pixar licenses, opting for the classic Disney animation. It also excludes properties that have already received a live-action version, like 101 Dalmations, even though they weren’t a part of the current live-action series.
Hit the next slide to see which Disney films should get the live-action treatment next!
Disney’s current hit Beauty and the Beast is in theaters now, and you can find the official synopsis below.
Beauty and the Beast is the fantastic journey of Belle, a bright, beautiful and independent young woman who is taken prisoner by a beast in his castle. Despite her fears, she befriends the castle’s enchanted staff and learns to look beyond the Beast’s hideous exterior and realize the kind heart and soul of the true Prince within.
Beauty and the Beast stars Emma Watson as Belle; Dan Stevens as the Beast; Luke Evans as Gaston, the handsome, but shallow villager who woos Belle; Oscar winner Kevin Kline as Maurice, Belles eccentric, but lovable father; Josh Gad as Lefou, Gaston’s long-suffering aide-de-camp; Golden Globe nominee Ewan McGregor as Lumiere, the candelabra; Oscar nominee Stanley Tucci as Maestro Cadenza, the harpsichord; Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Plumette, the feather duster; six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald as Madame Garderobe, the wardrobe; Oscar nominee Ian McKellen as Cogsworth, the mantel clock; and two-time Academy Award winner Emma Thompson as the teapot, Mrs. Potts.
Beauty and the Beast is in theaters now, while Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge lands on May 26, 2017. Cars 3 is next up, racing into theaters on July 14, 2017, with Pixar’s Coco hitting on November 22nd, 2017. Disney’s live action Cruella currently has no release date, and neither does Maleficent 2, The Jungle Book sequel, or the live-action Aladdin. Toy Story 4 hits on July 13, 2018, and the live-action Mulan is scheduled for November 2nd, 2018. Mary Poppins Returns lands shortly thereafter on December 25, 2018.
MORE DISNEY: Beauty And The Beast Star Emma Watson Already Has An Idea For A Sequel / Disney’s Live-Action Mulan Will Feature Music / Dreamcasting Disney’s Live-Action Aladdin
Rescuers Down Under
One of the biggest adventures in Disney’s long lineage includes some of the smallest characters. That adventure is the beloved Rescuers Down Under, a film about special agent mice on a mission to save a young boy and a golden eagle. The charm on display easily outweights their small stature, and the movie includes a wonderful cast of oddball characters that audiences new and old will love. This is ready to become a classic all over again.
The film’s synopsis can be found below.
Cody (Adam Ryen), a boy living in the Australian outback, frees a rare golden eagle from a trap. When an evil poacher (George C. Scott) kidnaps Cody to catch the eagle, a group of local animals contacts the Rescue Aid Society in New York City, who assign their top mice, Bernard (Bob Newhart) and Bianca (Eva Gabor), to the case. To save Cody and the eagle, the agents fly to Australia on a clumsy albatross (John Candy) and enlist the help of an adventurous kangaroo rat (Tristan Rogers).
Princess And The Frog
The Princess and the Frog is the newest film on this list. While it’s more recent than some of the other Disney classics, this film is no less special. Disney really made New Orleans jump off the screen and brought a cadre of wonderful characters along for the ride. In live-action, this film could be stunning, and Tiana deserves to be right alongside her other Princesses in live-action.
You can view the plot summary below.
Hardworking and ambitious, Tiana (Anika Noni Rose) dreams of one day opening the finest restaurant in New Orleans. Her dream takes a slight detour when she meets Prince Naveen (Bruno Campos), who has been turned into an amphibian by evil Dr. Facilier. Mistaking her for a princess and hoping to break the spell, Naveen plants a kiss on poor Tiana — thereby turning her into a frog as well. The pair hop along on an adventure through the bayous to seek the help of a powerful voodoo priestess.
Oliver And Company
There isn’t a movie that embodies the Eighties more than Oliver and Company. Since the decade has made a comeback in recent years, Disney’s fan favorite film should also make a return. Characters that leap off the screen like Dodger, Francis, and Tito are still amazing all these years later, and being able to set this in New York in the modern era would be amazing to behold. Fans should get one more chance to leave the theater singing “Why should I worry!”.
You can view the plot summary below.
In this animated update of the classic “Oliver Twist” tale, Oliver (Joey Lawrence) is an orphaned kitten taken in by a gang of thieving dogs, led by cavalier canine Dodger (Billy Joel) and owned by down-and-out pickpocket Fagin (Dom DeLuise). While pulling a job in the streets of New York City, Oliver winds up being adopted by a rich girl, Jenny (Natalie Gregory), and landing on easy street. But through a series of events, a loan shark threatens the peaceful new arrangement.
Hercules
Okay, don’t immediately shoot this one down. Yes, there have been two other Hercules movies that didn’t deliver on expectations or box office in recent years. However, Disney has shown it can translate impossible things to film and box office success, so why not one of their best in Hercules?
The film would be quite the visual spectacle, but with all the humor and fantasy that other versions lacked. It doesn’t need to take itself so seriously, and the charming characters aren’t mired in grit and realism. Disney could have some fun with this, and also finally deliver a Hercules worth seeing in theaters.
You can view the plot summary below.
Disney tackles Greek mythology in this animated feature. Hercules (Tate Donovan), a son of gods, was snatched as a baby by Hades (James Woods) and forced to live among mortals as a half-man, half-god. Now a teenager, Hercules needs to perform a rite of passage on Earth to prove himself worthy of living with the gods on Mount Olympus. With his plucky satyr sidekick, Philoctetes (Danny DeVito), along for the ride, Hercules must learn how to use his strength to defeat a series of evil creatures.
Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs
While Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella have had their own interpretations in live-action, Snow White has not had the proper Disney treatment. Oh sure there was Snow White and the Huntsman, but that wasn’t Disney and wasn’t even close to the animated version.
Snow White is synonymous with Disney and should get a live-action version that echoes the original while also bringing some tweaks to the plot and characters ala Beauty and the Beast. The original was pretty light in the character development department, so some modifications would be needed to make it relevant to a current audience. Still, it has a ton to offer and could be just as popular with a new generation of fans.
The plot summary is located below.
The Grimm fairy tale gets a Technicolor treatment in Disney’s first animated feature. Jealous of Snow White’s beauty, the wicked queen orders the murder of her innocent stepdaughter, but later discovers that Snow White is still alive and hiding in a cottage with seven friendly little miners. Disguising herself as a hag, the queen brings a poisoned apple to Snow White, who falls into a death-like sleep that can be broken only by a kiss from the prince.
