I’m taking a short break from all the intense Super Bowl posts to present you with newest trailer for Disney’s Maleficent. Here it is. Hold onto your butts.
Mostly Average Take:
The Disney kid in me just lit up like a Christmas tree addicted to Pixi Stix. (That really did make sense in my head, honest.) Fairies! (In easily identifiable costumes!) Tree dragons! (What?) Dudes with swords! (Okay, so I’m easily entertained.) Lana Del Rey singing the classic “Once Upon a Dream” made it even more rad, if that’s possible. As far as a trailer goes, it does everything I need it to, aside from make me care about their Princess Aurora. (Oh yeah, we’re supposed to root for her.) The world is vibrant, rich with full color effects and fantastical scenery. And of course, Angelina Jolie looks pitch perfect as the legendary sorceress/angry lady. Also, her horns look more bad-ass every time I see them.
This trailer got me thinking. Assuming this movie is as wondrous and successful as we all hope it is, how can Disney capitalize? I’m hesitant to say “franchise” here, but just follow me for a moment. Half the point of animation back in the day was that live-action cinema didn’t have the technology available to bring these designs/ideas to life. So why spend a crap-load of money on a sub-par movie when an animator’s vibrant vision is not only fairly visually arresting but cost-effective as well? Well, now that we’re in 2014, that gap between what live action can and can’t achieve doesn’t exist. So why not make this an ongoing “series?”
Here’s the idea: take our favorite Disney animated features (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Hercules, Pinocchio, just as a couple examples) and turn them into live-action epics? And just as with Maleficent, let’s change the viewpoint on these classic tales so we have a different experience. Pinocchio as relayed by Gepetto? Could work. A Little Mermaid flick told from Ursula’s point of view? Now we’re getting somewhere. Hercules re-delivered through a James Woods Hades revival? That’s what I’m talking about. It doesn’t always have to be a villain’s movie, but that sure as hell doesn’t sound like a bad idea to me. And I was just using cartoons that would translate well to live-action. There’s some leeway here for CGI-heavy remakes as well (Jungle Book, Robin Hood), but I’m not as unhinged-ly excited about those.
What do you think? Can this be the start of a new series for Disney? What other films would you like to see re-done? Give us some thoughts in the comments and continue the discussion? But for now…
Shut up and watch the trailer again.
Maleficent is currently slated for a May 30, 2014 release.
