LIST OF STORIES I WOULD LOVE TO WATCH A DISNEY ANIMATED ADAPTION OF

As a child I was quite a fan of fairytales, and found it very amazing that Disney had their own version of nearly every fairytale imaginable. However, I remember being a little confused whenever there was a popular tale without a Disney adaption. It wasn’t until my senior year of high school that Disney gave Rapunzel a movie. I really feel like Disney needs to make more fairytales. There designs of fairytale characters become remembered images of these characters. If you ask anybody to picture Snow White or Cinderella they’re going think of the Disney character design. Disney should really take advantage of this power establish the look of all the fairytale characters they can.  

I made a list of all the stories I would love to see as a movie. I listed these stories in various categories. One list is for legends from history which in my opinion would make pretty meaningful fun movies to watch. The next list is for famous fairytales that have yet to get the Disney makeover. The third list is for mythology. The fourth list is for books. And my final list is for stories that Disney can’t make because another company has somehow beat them to it.  Also as a side note the order of the lists and the order of the content within each list has no ranking order. 

Historic Legends

Pocahontas proved that Historic legends could make awesome movies with amazing soundtracks. However as catchy as the soundtrack can get it still can’t distract from the fact that they’re always going to be some history fanatic who is unimpressed and offended with the adaption. You could argue that a movie of the legend brings it attention and new fans that will research and contribute to keeping the legend alive for future generations. But, I’m not going to waste your time with debating if animated family movies of history should exist. I’m just here to list what I think would make for great movies.  

1. Romulus and Remus.

Brief summary of the legend-

The legend is of the founding of Rome. There was a woman named Rhea that had twin sons with Mars, the Roman God of war. Being the god of war, Mars isn’t exactly a supportive father and Rhea was unable to safely raise her sons alone. She sent the twins in a basket down the river where they were found by a she-wolf. The she-wolf raised the children to adulthood. As adults the two both wanted to be kings. They built Rome together to be their kingdom, and then fought until Romulus killed Remus out of rage and made himself the only king.

The Deal Breaker-

Obviously, the sibling fight that ends in murder would turn quite a few heads. Despite it already happening in the Lion King. It would have to be presented in a way that’s understandable and doesn’t scar its viewers. This part of the legend shouldn’t stop this idea from being a movie. Disney has shown that that they don’t always follow the source material when it comes to characters death. They don’t necessary have to kill Remus. Disney didn’t kill off Ariel in The Little Mermaid. Nor did they kill Esmeralda in The Hunchback of Norte-Dame. However, if Disney feels the need to follow the source material they could have Remus die in a heroic way that doesn’t leave viewers thinking that Romulus is a psychopathic power hungry murder. Or they could have Remus appear slightly power hungry from the beginning and increase in lust for power as Rome gets built which would make him being killed appear as justified. The story gives a lot of options.

Why I want to see it as a Disney Movie-

The main reason I want to see this as a Disney movie is because I want a bromance story. Lion King ½, Aladdin, and Big Hero 6 are pretty much the only bromance Disney has done. I would love to see a movie that’s about two dudes being friends as well as brothers. Wouldn’t it be awesome if Disney had a set of Italian Brothers that could be as famous as the Mario brothers?

The second reason this legend would be amazing as a movie is the location. Rome is a very beautiful city. Being able to see Rome in animated 3D would be breathtaking. I would love for the movie to have a big establishing shot of the city once Rome is completed.

2. Joan of Arc

            Brief summary of the legend-

            Joan of Arc also known as Jeanne d’Arc in French or “The Maid of Orléans” is probably one of if not the strongest female heroine in history. She lived in France as a peasant during medieval times, and was chosen by God to end the Hundred Years’ war between France and England. God gave her visions of the Archangel Michael, Saint Margaret, and Saint Catherine to tell her to support Charles VII and recover France from England. Despite having no military training and being only 19 she lead a French army to several victories and put Charles VII on the throne.  Although she was a truly amazing her legend ends a bit tragic, she was captured by Anglo-Burundian forces, trailed for witchcraft and burned at the stake.

            The Deal Breakers-

            At the end of her legend the ungrateful people she’s helped trials her as a witch and have her burned at the stake. The simplest solution would to be to have the movie end before she gets burned. The solution that will have history fanatics mad would be for her to live and nobody think that she is a witch and burn her. And the most difficult solution would be to stay true to the legend and have her burn. That would be horrible for young girls as the legend would pretty much teach them, “if you’re strong and actually do stuff… you’ll die”. Maybe if they do have her burned then they can show her entering the Kingdom of Heaven with God welcoming her, thanking her, and declaring her a saint. I really don’t know what the best way to handle this ending. 

            The second deal breaker is the religious part of the legend. As long as the movie isn’t presented in a way that comes across like it’s trying to convert its viewers then it should be fine.

            Why I want to see it as a Disney Movie-

            Disney has been cleverly writing females that would have been total damsels in distress into strong female characters for example Rapunzel in Tangled. Which is totally fine but the problem I have with it is that it feels a bit forced. I want there to be a female that isn’t changed to be a badass and just already be a badass.  I’m tired of being disappointed with the character in the source material. Joan of Arc is probably a best cadent I can think of to achieve this dream of mine.

3.  The Man In The Iron Mask

            Brief summary of the legend-

            The Man in the Iron Mask was the name given to a prisoner who was transferred to a number of jails throughout France during the reign of King Louis XIV. His face was hidden in a mask of black velvet cloth to never be seen by anybody. I’m not sure where the iron mask nickname came from since his mask wasn’t actually iron. The true identity of the Man in the Iron Mask has never been revealed, theories range from he being a relative to the king, a French general, a government minster, or an Italian diplomat. The favorite and most popular theory comes from writer and philosopher Voltaire. His theory is the Man In The Iron Mask is the illegitimate older brother of Louis XIV aka the real king. 

            The Deal Breaker-

            The only thing the source material really gives is that there was a prisoner with a mask who was transferred to jail after jail throughout France. What to do with this just that much information has a number of opinions. The creative freedom shouldn’t be a deal breaker. It’s just that some viewers might be disappointed if their theory of who the man was isn’t the one used.

            Why I want to see it as a Disney Movie-

            It’ll make for a great mystery story. Who is this guy? Why is his face covered? I would love a fun mystery story that follows the Man In The Iron Mask throughout France, but focuses more on jailors trying to figure out who the man is than the actual man.  Sort of like how Dumbo focused more on the world around Dumbo than Dumbo. I would love each jailor at each place to have a completely different theory, but never get to know the whole true story. I would love for the identity of the man to never be revealed in an open ending.

Fairytales

Disney movie after Disney movie has proved that Disney excels in adapting fairytales to animated movies. For the list that doesn’t need much of an explanation, here’s the list of fairytales I would love to see on the big screen.

1.     The Twelve Dancing Princesses

Brief summary of the tale-

The Twelve Dancing Princesses is the Brothers Grimm story is the story of twelve beautiful princesses that seek out ever night to dance with twelve princes and completely ruin their shoes with all the dancing. The King promises his kingdom and a daughter of his choice to the man that can figure out why his girls’ shoes get ruined at night. One solider figures it out, tells the king, gets the kingdom, and marries the eldest princess. And the twelve princes get to be cursed for as many nights that they danced with the princesses.

The Deal Breakers-

Fairy tales don’t really give a deal breaker ‘cause the stories usually have a number of versions. The filmmakers can just be inspired from many adaptations and create a story that they believe the public will enjoy. To be honest the only deal breaker I can think of is introducing twelve new princesses to the Disney Princess lineup. They could just put focus on the eldest princess and have her be the only one to join Disney Princess lineup. Ariel has a number of sisters aren’t marketed as Disney Princesses. Or the knight can be the only one of royalty and the princesses just be wealthy heiresses. Tangled kind of did the a switcheroo from the source material on who the royalty is, so its not like Disney couldn’t do that it again.  

            Why I want to see it as a Disney Movie-

            I love all the Princess movies. I also love dance sequences in movies, and I’ll confess to watching famous movie dance sequences without seeing the full movie. I really hope that other people do that and I’m not just weird. With animation the movie gets the ability to have characters perform moves that are nearly impossible or impossible to even professional dancers. The most impossible dances get to be possible as well as flawless and that’ll be amazing to watch.

            The second biggest plus of the Twelve Dancing Princess is that like any other Brother Grimm story it can be adapted to any time period and to any location. For example, the king could be a caring CEO living in a big city like New York. His twelve daughters are all adopted from various countries around the world. He has a diverse set of children who he loves very much. But he doesn’t understand what his daughters do at night to ruin their shoes. Instead of princes the girls sneak out to hang with juvenile delinquents who are up to know good and plan to use the girls to gather information to bring down their father and stop all his wonder charities. An actual prince to make the girl he marries a true Disney Princess, comes to town on business to work with the CEO on one of his wonder charities, and help him figure out why his daughters’’ shoes get ruined at night. The prince figures it out, stops it, safes the charities from being destroyed, and then falls in love with the eldest daughter. Who he marries making her a princess and him heir to her father’s company. Of course an adaptation of the tale doesn’t have to be that ridiculous but I think that my point was made.

2.     Little Red Riding Hood

Brief summary of the tale-

I’m pretty sure that everybody already knows this story. If you already know it feel free to skip my short summary. Little Red Riding Hood is the story of a little girl who wears a red hood and has to delivery a basket to her grandmother’s house. On the way she meets a talking wolf that finds out where she’s going. The wolf wanting to eat her but not in the woods for some reason beats her to her grandmother’s house. Then hides the grandma which depending on the version he either eats the old woman or ties her up and locks her in the closet. Then after hiding the grandmother he dresses like the grandmother to trick Red Riding Hood into being eaten. This story would really make a lot more sense if the wolf just ate Red Riding Hood in the woods. A woodcutter or hunter in some versions safes her and her grandma from the wolf by using whatever tool his profession is in. In some versions he cuts Red and grandma out of the wolf’s stomach where they are somehow still alive, and in other versions he simply opens the closet and says “sup” to Red Riding Hood.

The Deal Breakers-

Since Little Red Riding Hood is so well known and done in so many ways it might be hard to make the movie fresh and attract viewers. The other deal breaker is that the story isn’t long enough for a full-length movie. The whole story can easily be told in less than thirty minutes. A lot of things would have to be added to make the story appear new and make the movie long enough for a feature film.

            Why I want to see it as a Disney movie-

Little Red Riding Hood is long overdue for having a Disney movie. So basically my inner Disney fangirl wants a beloved fairytale to hit the big screen finally with the Disney logo. I really can’t think of a better more persuading selling point for this one.  So, yeah… I’m just going to awkwardly move on.

3.     The Pied Piper

Brief summary of the tale-

            The Pied Piper is the Brother Grimm story of this town called Hamelin that’s overrun by rats. A mysterious pied piper comes to town and claims to the townsfolk that he can lure rats away with his music as long as they pay him later. The townsfolk agree and the piper leads the rats out of town. When the piper returns to town for his payment the citizens for whatever reason refuse to pay. The piper gets mad and uses his pipe to lure all the townsfolk children out of the town. In some versions the piper returns the kids after getting paid, in other versions he kills them, and in some versions he keeps them and has his “wicked way” with them.

                        The Deal Breakers-

            Obviously, nobody wants to see some man have his “wicked way” with children and nobody want to see children get killed.  The story would have to go with the ending that has the townsfolk pay and the children returned to their cheap parents. The other deal breaker is the story is too short. Characters in the town would have to well thought-out to lengthen the movie and make the story more interesting.

                        Why I want to see it as a movie-

            I think the character of the piped piper is really interesting and would love to see him developed into an animated film character. I imagine him to have this creepy but childlike charm to him. Kind of like a Batman villain. Where he’s compelling to watch but not somebody you would want to be near in person. If I were casting the pied piper I would have Iwan Rheon play him ‘cause I believe the actor gives off one of the best performances of having power but also being completely mad. Besides having an idea for the character, I really think that a musical sequence of luring children or rats out of town with a magical instrument would be amazing to see in animation. This is a movie that I would love to have a scary edge to it.

Myths

Thanks to Rick Riordan a number of kids have a sparked an interest in Greek and Roman mythology. Disney hasn’t done anything to create content to market to these kids’ interest and could easily profit from making new movies based off mythology. Yes, I know Disney attempted mythology with Hercules and despite giving the movie a catchy soundtrack that movie had a number of issues when it came to following the source material. I think Disney does have the potential in making a myth a film correctly and would love to see the following adapted for film. 

1.    Theseus and the Minotaur

Brief Summary of the myth-

The most exciting part of the story takes place in the Labyrinth which according to Greek mythology was a maze designed by Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. The Labyrinth contained a Minotaur and served as a dungeon for King Minos. Prisoners were into the Labyrinth to get lost, go mad, and eventually get killed by a Minotaur. Prince Theseus hears of this place and decides to visit the Labyrinth to kill the Minotaur. The King’s daughter, Princess Ariadne, gives him some thread so he won’t get lost in the Labyrinth. With the thread Prince Theseus is successful slays the Minotaur and leaves the Labyrinth.

                        The Deal Breakers-

            I guess the fact that there is a number of adaptions of the myth might split fans on decisions the movie makes.

                        Why I want to see it as a movie-

            I would love to see Disney make a movie based off a myth and do it right. I believe Theseus is the right hero for the job. Also if the movie gets really big Disney World could get some Labyrinth themed attractions that would be fun.

Books

The Hunchback of Norte-Dame, Alice in Wonderland, and Oliver & Company have shown that Disney sometimes makes its animated movies based off or just inspired by books. Like I said in the History list, there’s also going to be some fanatic that’s unimpressed and offended by the adaption. And the argument I’m going to give is the same agreement I gave before, making a movie of it creates new fans that go out and read the source material and help preserve it for future generations. Blah, blah, blah this is the list of books I would love to see inspiring a Disney movie or being a Disney movie.

1.    And Then There Were None

Brief Summary of the story-

            Written by Agatha Chrisite, the story is about ten people being invited to on island to enjoy a summer holiday. All the people invited have committed crimes in the past and are unaware that one of the ten guests is planning on having all of them killed in the name of justice. A nursery rhyme is presented throughout the story predict the deaths of each guest. As you can tell I’m being a little more vague here and that’s because I don’t want this thrilling story spoiled to anybody by an Internet blog. This is one of my favorite mysteries of all time and I want as many people to be given the chance to enjoy the story without any spoilers.

                        The Deal Breaker-

            The most obvious deal breaker is that the story is too dark for a family film. If Disney decided to just serve the needs of Hot Topic shoppers and make PG-13 animated movies then this would be a wonderful choice for a movie as well as a wonderful world to live in. The next deal breaker comes from the original name of the source material, which I’m not going to put in my blog.

                        Why I want to see it as a movie-

            Despite the story being too dark its still a masterpiece. I would love to see a film adaption of this story. However, if this was going to be a family film then the story would have to just be inspired by the story. I would love for Disney to do animated mystery horror movie that has everything predicted from the being by a nursery rhyme.

2.    The Monkey’s Paw

Brief Summary of the of the story-

            It’s a supernatural short story written by W. W. Jacobs. The story is about Mr. White, Mrs. White, their son Herbert, and Sergeant-Major Morris the family friend. Morris visits the Whites for dinner and shows and tells them about the monkey’s paw and how it has given him three wishes that have came true in ways that were horrible. After the show and tell he throws the paw into the fire but Mr. White gets the paw out before it burns. After Morris leaves Mr. White uses the paw to wish for money. The next day the wish is granted by having Herbert killed in a machinery accident and the factory paying Mr. and Mrs. White a large sum of money for the lost of their son. Mrs. White tries to use the last wish to bring Herbert back from the dead, but knowing that his this will not be a good idea Mr. White uses the last wish to stop a Herbert zombie from happening. The story doesn’t exactly say what Mr. White’s third wish was but the knocking on the door after Mrs. White’s wish was made stops when Mr. White makes the third wish.

                        The Deal Breaker-

            I’m really good at picking stories that are way too dark for families. Nobody wants to see anybody get killed by machinery and nobody wants to see an unhappy ending. A solution would be to have a movie inspired by the source material but have a completely different story entirely. Kind of like how Frozen was inspired by the Snow Queen.

                        Why I want to see it as a movie-

            I would truly love to see a film of this story even if it’s just a completely different story inspired by the main idea of the Monkey’s Paw. The main idea of the story, being wishes being granted in a way that comes with an enormous price. Even if the story doesn’t have the White family and is about some brat kid trying to improve their status in high school with wishes, I’ll watch it. The idea of the Monkey’s Paw is just so brilliant.

Can’t Be Done By Disney

Disney could try to make some of these stories listed, but whatever attempt they make will just be compared to another company’s work. This is the list of stories that I believe aren’t worth it for that reason.

           

1.     Puss in Boots

Why? Dreamworks sort of beat them to the cat when they made Sherk 2. Even if they went with the original story that Dreamworks neglected in the cat’s spinoff moive, the Disney Puss would just be constantly compared to the Dreamworks Puss. Which would annoy everybody. Also Antonio Banderas is the voice of Puss and boots and I don’t want to see that changed.

2.     The Wizard of Oz

Why? You just can’t recreate the Wizard of Oz there’s been attempts of prequels and sequels but nothing really works out too well. You just can’t beat the already made movie with its catchy soundtrack.

3.     Anastasia

Why? I think its funny how many people don’t realize that Disney didn’t actually make this movie. Anastasia was made by 20^th Century Fox and the movie was made so well that people have mistaken the movie as Disney property countless amounts of times. There really isn’t any reason for Disney to make a movie that already has a version that people already think is Disney.

4.     Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Why? There are already two live action movies with different soundtracks of this story. Disney doesn’t need to add their own movie to the mix.

5.     Any story by Dr. Seuss

Why? Too many Dr. Seuss stories have been made by other companies that it’s not worth Disney touching. Disney making a Dr. Seuss would just be confusing to people that don’t pay attention to what company makes what movie. Also the Dr. Seuss art style is just too iconic.

Thanks for Reading

I hoped you enjoyed reading my lists or at least skimming them. I wrote this all in a format that can be updated easily if I think of other stories to go in any of the categories. I might add other stories to my lists if I ever revisit this entry.