Two weeks ago I had somewhat reserved thoughts on Disney's live-action remake of "Beauty and the Beast."
"I had somewhat strong hopes for Bill Condon's live-action adapation of "Beauty and the Beast," but those hopes were drowned somewhere near the start of this expansive, but middling film. The songs are, as always great, but, let's get real here folks, this is practically a shot for shot remake of the 1991 classic. Albeit with a few new tunes added into the second half. It turns out that this is a predictable yarn of a film that just doesn't give us anything new or fresh."
"It actually made me appreciate, even moreso, last year's much more succesful rehash of "The Jungle Book," no thanks to the visual prowess of its director Jon Favreau. Nostaligiasts will no doubt eat up Condon's film, but there's someting almost too cold and calculating about the whole proceedings here. I will say this though, the film does pick up and try new things in its second half, which ends up being much more succesful than the first hour. Emma Watson is great, isn't she always, and the rest of the cast delivers, especially Luke Evans as Gaston who brings out all the machismo related to the character in new and effective ways."
Suffice to say, this is only the beginning for Disney live-action vehicles, As you can attest from this lineup, thanks to Collider, we are in for a decade plus of Disney remakes, the good news is that most of these have a proven and effective director at the helm. I do look forward to Jon Favreau's take on "The Lion King." The stage play has already become a classic and is a visual feast of producton design, costmes, makeup etc. That, and Tim Burton's remake of "Dumbo" could work out just fine for us critics that have to show up to these screenings on a yearly basis now.
Beauty and the Beast
Release Date: March 17, 2017
Director: Bill Condon
Mulan
Release Date: November 2, 2018
Director: Niki Caro
The Lion King
Released Date: TBA 2019
Director: Jon Favreau
Dumbo
Release Date: TBA
Director: Tim Burton
Aladdin
Release Date: TBA
Director: Guy Ritchie
Christopher Robin
Release Date: TBA
Director: Marc Forster
Oliver Twist
Director: Tommy Kail
Writer: TBA
James and the Giant Peach
Release Date: TBA
Director: Sam Mendes
Peter Pan
Release Date: TBA
Director: David Lowery
I've only listed those that have a director, there's also film versions of "Tinkerbell," Cruella," "The Little Mermaid," "The Sword in the Stone," and "Pinnochio" all coming out. God help us all.