What's to come from Disney?

Am I ever gonna leave Disney alone? Probably not.

Alright so, I know I said in my last post where I was discussing Disney and how the fact that putting in an "openly gay" character who is "exploring his sexuality" was pretty much just an unnecessary marketing ploy and was also just kinda shoved in to put in "representation for the gay community". Honestly, it's a little out of place in revolution-era France but whatever, I'm moving on from that. Still, the best of the remakes though the more I think about it, it goes down in my estimations. But now that this is over, we're all looking toward the future of Disney remakes because...they know they're definitely gonna cash in on this. So what's to come from Disney in the future? I've done a bit of research and here's what I've found. I'm going to give the name of the film, a brief description of what I've found about it and my opinion on them. Hopefully, I'll be able to keep it short and I'll try and not let my emotions run the show and ramble on.

Alrighty, here we go.

• Genies. This is apparently an idea being thrown around, with no cast, director or even a release date as of right now but from what I can gather, this is going to be a prequel/origin story of the Genie and how he came to be in the lamp. This is obviously going to be so hard to do because the reason everybody loved the Genie in Aladdin was because of the late Robin Williams energy, charisma, and pure comedic talent. I've seen posts about how they would cast the Genie or whether or not they should even do an Aladdin remake and I understand their concerns but, think about it this way. Robin is gone but we'll always have his stand up and his films. If you're going to be upset by the casting choice for the live action version of the Genie then don't watch the movie. Disney are remaking their classics for a new generation but that doesn't erase the original. Go and watch that rather than protest it. I'm sure that whoever is cast for this will do their best to respect the character that Willams brought to life and will do their best to honour it while also making this iteration their own. 
• Aladdin. Speaking of the Genie then it's only right he appear in this remake too. Guy Ritchie, is directing at this time but that could change in the future, I'm not sure. Hollywood is a fickle place. And before you google "Was Guy Ritchie married to Madonna" yes. Yes, he was. I just saved you some time. Now I think they could do this, of course, there are still the concerns with the casting of the Genie and I've heard there is going to be a very diverse cast so hopefully, people won't be having a shit fit over whitewashing. I mean the original cast was white people drawn as Arabian people with one of them taking inspiration from Tom Cruise but...that's not white-washing in these people's eyes. This could be a good film for the marketing team because they could set up a "controversy" again to ensure butts get in seats. Watch this space.
• Dumbo. Tim Burton is set to direct this little classic with a mix of CG and live-action which I hope looks right. I really do. There's no set release date right now but I think when I first heard about this, I think the article said 2018. Don't quote me on that, I can't find that exact article. Like I said, I hope this looks right. Tim Burton is a very hit or miss director in terms of his style. Don't get me wrong, I love his style but in the places you think it'd look good, it doesn't *cough cough Alice in Wonderland cough cough*. I think that this is where he could definitely shine, especially in that pink elephant's scene. I swear if that scene isn't in this and doesn't look creepy and awesome. I'm gonna be so done with any Disney remake. That was easily the best scene in the original and despite everyone saying it scared them as a kid, they still went back to it and now as adults, they still think it's a bit freaky but it looks fucking cool. I'm excited for this but literally just to see what he does with this. Love ya Tim, don't let me down.
• The Lion King. The success of The Jungle Book did this guys, you wanted live-action animals and now you're getting it. This one doesn't have a release date yet but what I do know is that Jon Favreau of Iron Man producing fame is set to direct. James Earl Jones (Mufasa) is going to be back with Donald Glover (Simba) which I'm over the fucking moon about. No Matthew Broderick. This character isn't going to sound bored out of his head while he's talking. Excited doesn't cover it. 
• The Little Mermaid. This is already going to be production hell considering it's had three actresses attached and all three have dropped out, I've not seen anything about a director or producer or a release date or anything. All the people at Disney have is the story, as far as I'm aware. Considering this could be a production hell of a project, it could go two ways. It could be terrible and all the problems are on screen like with The Good Dinosaur (which was a production hell) or it could be like Inside Out (another production hell) which was able to get past all its problems and bring out something incredible. I hope for Disney's sake it goes well.
• Cruella. Another classic villains origin story. This is apparently going to be similar to Maleficent in the sense that it could bring a more human side to the wannabe puppy killer which, I almost don't want to see. Emma Stone, hot off the success of La La Land is set to play the fur-obsessed villain which, I suppose isn't a bad choice but we'll just see how it goes. Alex Timber is set to direct and I've heard there is a 2018 release date. I hope this doesn't bring a more human side to her because I always saw her as that crazy kid who'd burn ants. I know Disney has a "family friendly" image but...going darker can't hurt right? Don't give her a broken heart, make her a little crazy and as time goes on, let it get gradually worse. 
• The Sword in the Stone. The story of an orphaned boy who learns about magic with his wizard mentor. The orphan? A young King Arthur. The wizard? Merlin. Who's attached to this? Game Of Thrones writer/producer Bryan Cogman. How cool does that sound? Fucking awesome. That's all the information I need to get hyped over this film. 
• Winnie The Pooh. The story apparently involves Christopher Robin returning to his friends in the Hundred-Acre Wood as an adult. I've not seen anything about a director or cast or anything yet but my imagination is running wild with the possibilities. How is Pooh Bear going to react to his best friend growing up? There's a nice little quiet moment in the end of the original 1966 animated where Christopher Robin talks to Pooh Bear about the inevitability of him growing up and living his life without Pooh Bear. It's such a sad little talk but it really fits in with the tone of the film and this is already such an interesting premise for a film that I just hope they can pull it off.  
• Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. A remake of the original story with no cast, director or release date. It could suck, it could be good, are they going to get a real 14-year-old to play the 14-year-old character? Probably not. Are they going to make her a strong independent woman that actually kinda backfires like with Cinderella? Probably. 
• Rose Red. Ever heard of Rose Red? No? Go back to the Grimm fairy tales and you'll find she was the sister of Snow White. She's getting her own spinoff movie where she teams up with the dwarfs to break the spell put onto Snow after she bites the apple. Interesting idea, let's just hope that for this to work they don't try to make Snow White an independent woman like Cinderella. 
• Peter Pan. David Lowry, the director of the live-action Pete's Dragon is now set to direct this live-action adaptation of the 1953 animated film. No cast or release date right now but you know that you can't break the streak of gorgeous guys who have played the boy who will never grow up. Tinkerbell will also be getting her own spinoff. Why isn't that another bullet point? Because, there isn't enough information, opinion or emotion to make it more than one sentence.
• The Jungle Book 2. Jon Favreau is apparently returning to direct this and there is no cast or release date to speak of but there is an opinion. Let's face facts, Disney sequels suck. Disney live-action remakes have sucked so far. Disney sequels and remakes made money. What's the next logical thing to do? Make a live-action sequel obviously! God, I just...I just don't want to bother if the story to the sequel is similar to the animated sequel. Let's just hope that Christopher Walken returns because he was the best thing about that movie.
• Maleficent 2. Angelina Jolie, no director, no release date, no interest from me. Why is this being made? The first one made money and rather than leave a story where it was left, all nicely wrapped up and put away carefully, you gotta drag it back out and mess with it more. What could even be added to this story? Is she going to protect Aurora/Briar Rose's baby from a curse from another evil witch/fairy whatever the hell she is? It really wouldn't surprise me at all. At least with The Jungle Book there are actual books to take ideas from. This one was a fabricated humanisation of a classically evil villain and there is nowhere else they can take this.
• Pinocchio. This shit scary animated kids film is also getting the live-action treatment with a story loosely based on that of the original animated film. Will it take darker aspects from the original story too? Maybe, I don't know, I kinda hope so because...kids films can always be darker and films these days always need that PG-13 rating. 
• James and the giant peach. The Roald Dahl classic book got a semi-live-action film back in 1996 and it was...mediocre at best. The book is a hell of a lot better. Now Disney is talking about remaking the film as, I'm guessing, a live-action/CGI movie which could be decent. I don't know.
• Chip 'n Dale. A chipmunks movie that hopefully won't become a horrible franchise? If it does well then it could be. This will be based on the TV series which ran from 1989 to 1990, and there isn't much information on this right now but apparently it's already in it's production so...fingers crossed this will be a good film.
• Chernabog. The final and funniest of them all (that I'm aware of). Who is Chernabog? He was a demon (the Devil) who was featured in an 11-minute segment called A Night On Bald Mountain from the masterpiece that is Fantasia. He is apparently going to get the same treatment Maleficent got and he will be given a more humanised backstory. Why Chernabog though? Who even really watched Fantasia in my age range or younger? Not a lot. The only reason I ever watched it was that my parents had it on VCR and I bugged them until I got to watch it. Even they found it boring but I loved it so they watched it with me whenever I wanted to put it on. Whenever I've talked about Fantasia with people in my age group, literally none of them has watched it and I highly doubt that kids have seen this too. So why do it? I'm not sure but I do think it would interesting to see. Maybe it could be similar to Fantasia in the sense of it being a silent film aside from classical music and deals with religion. It could be gorgeously animated and depending on the amount of people who see it, it could lead to another Fantasia movie. Disney have done a film dealing with religion before and the animation was just gorgeous, the music gave me goosebumps. Hunchback Of Notre Dame is a gorgeous film with religious themes and I hope that this is the route they take but...with the information I've been given about giving him a more human backstory? I almost don't want to see this come to light. 
• Mulan. A more serious take on the boring girl with no personality who saved China. How is it more serious? It's apparently not a musical and Buzzfeed wrote an article complaining about that. You thought it might be due to the fact that they want to do this seriously with better character development? Of course not, you want the exact same thing coming at you but live-action with no change what so ever. All you care about is the I'll make a man out of you number. This film is already in production with Niki Caro apparently on board directing and a release date for 2018.
• Mary Poppins returns. Not a remake, but a sequel to the 1964 film and I can already feel the CGI burning into my retinas. Emily Blunt is apparently going to take on the role of the magical nanny with Lin-Manuel Miranda from Hamilton is set to star alongside her. The film is set to be released Christmas Day 2018. Merry Christmas guys.

So that's all the films I've heard about, all 20 of them. And out of those 20, only 4 of them really grab my interest and I just can't wait for all of these to come out so I can write about them. I really do love Disney but I genuinely feel like they're dying and their only hope is to cash in on nostalgia and remake their classics. I hope they sort their shit soon and bring out some original content because I'd honestly hate to see this company pander to the masses and go under because people get bored of nothing original.

This is just my opinion and if you disagree then that's great, I'm open to discussion and I'm always interested to hear how you feel about the films listed. This is also a critique which is considered "Fair Use" under the Copyright Act 1976. If you like the idea of the films listed then go and support its creators by buying tickets to see the films in cinemas or the DVD or Bluray when they're available for home release.