New Disney Classic Revivals

Emily Sartin
Staff Writer  
    The trend of remaking classic Disney animation movies into live action films began in 2010 with Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland. Other Disney movies that have been remade are Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, which was told from the perspective of the evil queen, Maleficent. This trend of Disney remakes will continue for the next few years, and the following is a list of the upcoming Disney reboots, including The Jungle Book, Mary Poppins, and The Little Mermaid. ​Other movies in early development include: Mulan, Pinocchio, The Sword in the Stone, Tink, Winnie the Pooh, and Chip ‘n’ Dale. These live-action reboots are Disney’s way of showing the world that dreams really do come true. 

The Jungle Book follows the adventures of Mowgli, an orphan boy that is raised in the jungle by a bear, panther, and a pack of wolves. The movie is due out on April 15, 2016.​

• Neel Sethi as Mowgli
• Bill Murray as the voice of Baloo
• Christopher Walken as the voice of King Louie
• Lupita Nyong’o as the voice of Raksha
• Ben Kingsley as the voice of Bagheera
• Giancarlo Esposito as the voice of Akela
• Scarlett Johansson as the voice of Kaa
• Idris Elba as the voice of Shere Khan

Beauty and the Beast is expected to be released on March 17, 2017 with a star-studded cast. 

• Emma Watson as Belle
• Dan Stevens as the Beast
• Luke Evans as Gaston
• Josh Gad as LeFou
• Ian McKellen as Cogsworth
• Emma Thompson as Mrs. Potts
• Ewan McGregor as Lumiere
• Stanley Tucci as Cadenza, a new character to the classic tale
• Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Plumette
• Audra McDonald as Garderobe, the French word for wardrobe
• Kevin Kline as Maurice, Belle’s father

The Legend of Tarzan will continue the well-known tale of Tarzan. After becoming accustomed to life in London, Tarzan is called back to his home in the jungle to investigate a mining camp. “It’s almost the opposite of the classic tale, where it’s about taming the beast,” Alexander Skarsgård explained, “This is about a man who’s holding back and slowly as you peel off the layers, he reverts back to a more animalistic state and lets that side of his personality out.” The teaser trailer was released Dec. 9 and the film is scheduled to be released summer 2016.

• Margot Robbie as Jane Porter
• Alexander Skarsgård as Tarzan

The Little Mermaid remake will be based off the Hans Christian Anderson classic fairy tale rather than the Disney animation movie, leaving many fans outraged that Ariel, played by Chloe Grace Moretz, will be blonde and will not have the well-known red hair. 

Pete’s Dragone’s Dragon, while not the most well-known Disney film, is being remade by director David Lowery. The story follows an orphan seeking asylum from an abusive adoptive family with the help of a pet dragon. Filming began earlier this year in New Zealand and is scheduled to be released August 12, 2016. 

Mary Poppins is returning to the big screen. It will be set twenty years after the original film and is expected to follow the Banks children as young adults.

Dumbo is expected to tell the classic story but will also have a family story that parallels Dumbo’s own. The live-action/animation project is reportedly set to be directed by Tim Burton.
 
Aladdin will have a prequel, Genies, which will be based on Robin William’s genie in the original animated movie. This prequel will lead the way for a live-action retelling of Aladdin.