Disney Announces NINE New Live-Action Fairy tales! Here's Why You Should Care!

Hello, fellow moviegoers!
   Within the past few years, live-action takes on classic fairy tales and literature have subtly started to gain popularity and momentum within Hollywood studios. These films have come and gone with tons of buzz, yet when you think of what’s currently trending in the movie sphere, live-action fairy tales don’t immediately spring to mind. Yet, within the past five years alone we’ve seen Pan, Cinderella, Into the Woods, Maleficent, Snow White and the Huntsman, Jack the Giant Slayer, Oz the Great and Powerful, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, and Red Riding Hood. Plus, we just saw The Jungle Book, and The Huntsman: Winter’s War. But don’t forget later this year we have Alice Through The Looking Glass, and Pete’s Dragon; and next year is the Beauty and The Beast film starring Emma Watson!
    Finally, to add onto all of that, Disney just announced a couple days ago NINE new live-action films, a majority of which are based on classic Disney films and fairy tales! So what are these nine films you may ask? Well, here they are as well as my brief thoughts on a few of them.

​Here’s the full list of confirmed films

• Cruella, starring Emma Stone
• Dumbo, directed by Tim Burton
• The Jungle Book 2, a sequel to the film out now
• Jungle Cruise, starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
• Maleficent 2, a sequel to the 2014 film starring Angelina Jolie
• Mary Poppins 2, a sequel to the 1964 film with Emily Blunt set to star
• The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, a new take on the classic story The Nutcracker
• Tinker Bell, starring Reese Witherspoon
• A Wrinkle in Time, directed by Ava DuVernay

Cruella
   Who would’ve thought that we’d see a film based upon Disney’s most notorious puppy-hater Cruella de Vil? Certainly not, anybody really. Oh, and did I mention that Emma Stone is playing the titular role? Yeah, that’s happening. While it’s hard to get excited about a movie based on Cruella de Vil, you can’t deny that behind that veil it actually looks like it could be an interesting film.
   With Emma Stone starring Cruella, it will certainly generate some buzz. Also, Kelly Marcel is writing the screenplay. Don’t worry if you don’t recognize the name, I didn’t either. Marcel has previously been responsible for writing two big movies; Saving Mr. Banks, and...Fifty Shades of Grey? So to sum it up, this is a film about Cruella de Vil starring Emma Stone written by the same person who penned the screenplay for Fifty Shades of Grey. Yeah, that definitely sounds interesting, to say the least. 


​Jungle Cruise
   I don’t know why Disney has an obsession with creating feature films based upon their theme park rides, but it’s an odd one. They’ve only really succeeded at it once with the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Their most recent attempt, Tomorrowland, was a bit forgettable. However, their new film based upon Jungle Cruise might break that streak.
   The film will be written and directed by the duo John Requa and Glenn Ficarra (Focus). However, the reason most people will be excited for this is because it stars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The Rock is one of the few actors out there that has a legitimate box office draw. People love The Rock, so it was a fantastic idea adding him to a project like this.


Dumbo
   A live-action iteration of Dumbo is something nobody really asked for, but now that Tim Burton is attached to direct, everybody is significantly more interested. A Burton directed Dumbo movie may potentially be one of the strangest things to come out of Hollywood in a while. However, it could also be one of the best.
   The film is supposedly going to feature some new key human characters that “parallel Dumbo’s story”. This is a film that could really go either way. I can imagine outcomes where this film is a complete failure and a huge success. While this film may not be at the top of anybody’s hype lists quite yet, Disney definitely has our attention.  


A Wrinkle in Time
   Ok, to be honest, I have neither read A Wrinkle in Time nor heard the story before. However, that doesn’t mean I’m not excited for the film. Disney’s A Wrinkle in Time will be written by Jennifer Lee, known for her work on Wreck-It Ralph, Frozen, and Zootopia. Also, the film will be directed by Ava DuVernay. After her fantastic directing for the critical hit Selma, DuVernay was a director that every studio wanted in their pocket. Now it finally looks as if she’s chosen her next project. Having her attached to the project is reason enough to be excited for A Wrinkle in Time. 



Tinker Bell
    It’s actually kind of surprising we haven’t gotten a live-action Tinker Bell movie yet. Tinker Bell is one of the biggest properties that Disney owns. Everybody knows Tinker Bell, and there are so many kids out there that love the animated films and TV series. Now that it’s officially happening, it’s only a matter of what kind of movie it’ll be.
   One thing that will definitely help this new Tinker Bell film is the casting of Reese Witherspoon. Witherspoon, who was nominated for an Oscar for the film Wild and won for Walk the Line, definitely brings some much-needed credibility to this film. Parents taking their kids to see this movie might actually be interested because of her. So, once again, a fantastic choice by Disney.

   So what do you think about these new live-action fairy tales? Which one are you most excited for? Let me know by commenting on this post! Also, if you enjoyed this article, share it on Facebook and Twitter. It really helps! Don’t forget, I post every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, so check back then for more movie reviews and miscellaneous movie thoughts!
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