Disney: Live Action or Animation?
In 2010, Disney released a live action version of Alice in Wonderland. It was directed By Tim Burton
and starred Johnny Depp as The Mad Hatter, Mia Wasikowska as Alice Kingsleigh and Helena
Bonham Carter as The Red Queen. The movie was a box office success and grossed over $1.02 billion
worldwide. This was the first major Disney movie to be given a live action reboot. Tim Burton made
the movie somewhat dark and twisted but also easy for children to watch. To date, it is Burton’s
most successful film.
After this, a few more animated movies (Tangled, Wreck-It-Ralph etc.) were
released in cinemas. They were enjoyed by many and nobody expected Disney’s
next live action movie, Maleficent. The movie focused on Sleeping Beauty villain,
Maleficent, and how she became evil. Angelina Jolie starred as the main
character. The film showed a whole new side to the original fairy tale, bringing
an emotional story to an otherwise sinister villain. Worldwide, the film grossed
over $758 million worldwide. It was the fourth highest-grossing film in 2014.
Even though these live-action movies were dark and twisted, children loved them more than
expected. The CGI mixed in with the live action gave a magical feel to the films. It was clear that
these movies were pulling in both young and old audiences.
In late 2014, Disney released a movie that hadn’t been animated previously. It was based on the
award-winning Broadway musical Into the Woods. The plot contains loads of fairy tale characters. A
baker (James Corden) and his wife (Emily Blunt) cannot have a child as a witch (Meryl Streep) has
placed a curse on them. The witch offers to lift the curse if they can find four objects for her: A cow
as white as milk, a cape as red as blood, hair as yellow as corn and a
slipper as pure as gold. They hunt for the objects and find them from
fairy tale characters.
The movie is very dark and features
elements of the original Grimm
Tales, such as Cinderella telling
crows to peck out the ugly
stepsister’s eyes. As the movie was based on a musical, the songs
still featured in the film. The movie contained loads of death,
which gave it the dark, twisted feel of modern Disney movies. It
grossed over $173 million worldwide.
After Into the Woods, it was unclear whether or not Disney would release another live-action film.
However, another movie was already in the running for early 2015. This movie was Cinderella. This
was certain to be a popular movie among young girls, who had originally only seen the animated
version from 1950. The movie was released on March 13, 2015. As of March 17, the film had grossed
over $135million. Lily James starred as the title character, with Cate Blanchett playing the Evil
Stepmother.
Disney’s live action remakes have all been successful so far. Could there be another company in the
running? Pixar was started when the first CGI movie (Toy Story) was released. This was a different
type of animation to what Disney usually produced. The cartoon-style movies are rarely being made
anymore. The Princess and the Frog wasn’t as successful as Disney had hoped. It is seen as the
reason for the ‘new Disney Renaissance’. After that, all movies were made differently, starting with
Tangled.
Now Disney have decided to start making both Pixar and normal movies the same way. There could
be a new company for live action movies. Old fairy tales are being made into modern movies. Is
there any reason to keep them with animated movies? These remakes could be the only Disney
movies in future. In ten years, there could be a live action version of Tangled or Frozen. If these
movies become incredibly successful, Disney could stop making animated movies altogether. Each
new movie idea may never be an animation, but it could go straight to live action. There are already
a few new remakes scheduled to release in the next few years.
In 2016, The Jungle Book is being re-released as a live action movie. Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris
Elba, Scarlett Johansson and Christopher Walken have been cast. In 2017, a live action Beauty and
the Beast is scheduled. It will star Emma Watson as Belle and Emma Thompson as Mrs Potts
Tim Burton is set to continue making Disney movies as it has been announced he is creating a live
action version of Dumbo. This will surely be quite grim and very different to the cartoon. Burton is
also creating a sequel to Alice in Wonderland. It is set for release in
2016 and is called Alice in Wonderland: Through the Looking Glass.
Tim Burton is set to continue making Disney movies as it has been
announced he is creating a live action version of Dumbo. This will
surely be quite grim and very different to the cartoon. Burton is also
creating a sequel to Alice in Wonderland. It is set for release in 2016
and is called Alice in Wonderland: Through the Looking Glass.
Molly
Perry Beeches IV
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinderella_(2015_film)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_in_Wonderland_(2010_film)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maleficent_(film)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Into_the_Woods_(film)
http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/disney-follows-live-action-cinderella-withjungle-book-beauty-and-the-beast-and-dumbo-video-20150316