Disney Animation: Live Action Adaptations Collection

[Neon Ignition]

I'm writing long paragraphs because I feel I'm repeatedly stating that black Ariel isn't the only known quantity, it's simply the only one Disney has tweeted a casting confirmation for. People know they're not getting the version they want and so some are annoyed at that as well. I'm not saying for an obvious group it's not about race either. Basically what you're saying is 100% of objectors to Disney's approach to TLM are racists due to the only 'known' thing about it being there's a black actress in the lead which is a hell of a position to take, we're ankle deep in it being time to wrap this one up then as a discussion.

[Dogg Thang]

black Ariel isn't the only known quantity

What these are is exactly what I’ve been asking a couple of times now. Anyway, sure, if you want to leave it there, let’s leave it there.

[Zaki]

Pitch Meeting:

"Get that black fella who's in everything.....but make him blue"

(leans back and puffs on cigar)

[Asura]

Simple question because maybe I’m missing the info (I haven’t been into any of these Disney remakes so I don’t keep up with them): what else is there currently to object to about this movie?

I mean, on a fundamental level, The Little Mermaid pushes the buttons of Disney fans because it marks the end of the Disney Dark Age and the start of the Disney Renaissance, which is quite a big deal in that fandom. It's one of the reasons why, even if you're not a fan, you probably have the sense that The Little Mermaid is quite a big deal.

People are likely going to oppose it just because the original has such a strong place in their childhood, and the characters mean so much to them. Whether those oppositions are due to racism or not is kinda irrelevant for this (even though it's definitely happening); I just mean that the movie was always going to get a baptism of fire.

But then Disney already threw out any sense of creative dignity with their Beast remake when they remade their "crown jewel" in to a middling, missable film.

[Dogg Thang]

Whether those oppositions are due to "racism" or not is kinda irrelevant for this

We’re on a very different page here, dude. When after several remakes, some of them of movies well into that Disney Renaissance and of very well loved movies, the one piece of info that causes a storm is this casting and seemingly without any answers as to what other objectionable details there are, yeah, it feels pretty relevant to me.

Edit: Actually, SF is probably right that it's best left from here so I should probably bow out until there is actually more info than a black kid being cast. To sum up where I'm at, having asked here, all I still know about why people are causing a fuss about this right now comes down to a black kid being cast in a previously white role - that and that alone. To imply that's not about racism, that it's not race related, that the word racism should be in quotation marks as if it's not a real thing is pretty disheartening and alarming to me. It's how racism is validated and excused whereas it is my personal view that it should be called out for what it is. Because there are probably a whole bunch of people reacting to this who don't feel that they are racists and yet the only reason they're reacting is that a black kid has been cast in a previously white role. To me, it is what it is. There may well be a lot wrong with the film in the end (although if someone feels casting a black kid is the start of wrong, well I know what I'd call that...) but that all remains to be seen. Like, if someone is up in arms because of the Melissa McCarthy rumour but has not a shred of a problem with a black kid being cast, for example, I'll happily concede that's not racism and that would be nice... but I'm not seeing much of that right now.

So for me, it's important to recognise it for what it is. Other than that, I have no horse in this race. The only Disney remake I've seen is Jungle Book and that was actually pretty good but I'm not invested in these movies beyond my total love for the originals - which aren't going anywhere. And with that, I will throw my smoke thingy to the ground and vanish like a ninja until there is actually some solid info about the movie. POOF!

[Asura]

We’re on a very different page here, dude. When after several remakes, some of them of movies well into that Disney Renaissance and of very well loved movies, the one piece of info that causes a storm is this casting and seemingly without any answers as to what other objectionable details there are, yeah, it feels pretty relevant to me.

DT, it's cool man I didn't mean that the racism thing isn't going on; it's totally going on. That is abundantly clear and it's ****ed up.

I just meant that it was obvious from the point they announced the TLM remake that it would come out to some kind of controversy; if not this, then something else. When I said the racism was "irrelevant", that was all I meant. If it wasn't racism, it would be focused on the casting for Ursula, which rubbed some people the wrong way but was promptly forgotten about when the announced the Ariel role, or some other element which hasn't yet been announced. Something was going to cause a ruckus.

Though I'm going to remove my quote marks as I'd hate for someone else to misinterpret what I meant.

It is a shame, though - "#NotMyAriel" was trending on Twitter FFS. What's going to happen next is all those racists will come out of the woodwork and complain about it, people who probably would've laughed at the suggestion they even liked The Little Mermaid two weeks ago.

This is a bit like how we suddenly found out how many original She-Ra fans there apparently were a year or so ago who had flown under the radar for 20 years

[teddymeow]

How long was Rowan Atkinson in the animated Lion King?

Unless they've expanded the role of Zazu for John Oliver it won't be enough for me to go see the live action version.

[Neon Ignition]

http://www.darkhorizons.com/disneys-hercules-rumor-mulan-trailer-talk/

There's a rumour that Alex Skarsgard is the lead contender to play the lead in Disney's remake of Hercules

Disney has also dropped the first trailer for Mulan:

[Dogg Thang]

Even though I saw Jungle Book and enjoyed it, I didn't really see it by choice. This looks like it could be the first one of these I see by choice. Mostly curious to see what Disney do with a big Disney branded name that doesn't look remotely like it's a Disney film.

[Neon Ignition]

It sounds really mixed so far as to what elements will carry over and what won't, I'm still not sure if this version even has the songs in it in some form.

[Asura]

Not such a big fan of how she seems competent at martial arts before it all kicks off, as the trailer suggests. In the original, she's strong-willed, but clumsy and naive. If she's already skilled at martial arts it undermines some of her character arc.

That being said, with this being a remake, who knows whether it's particularly similar to the original, and I probably won't go see it regardless.

[Dogg Thang]

The original is a really weird film in that it's a war film with a comedy talking dragon and songs. It's a strange tonal mix. From what I've gathered, this won't have the songs. No idea about the comedy talking dragon but no hint of him from the trailer. The feel of this trailer doesn't match my memory of the animated one at all... and I guess that's what's made it interesting to me. I don't get why fans of an animated movie would want to see that same movie re-enacted in live action rather than watching the original movie. I'm definitely feeling that with The Lion King. I adore that movie. The new version looks technically very accomplished but why would I need to see it?

[Asura]

I don't get why fans of an animated movie would want to see that same movie re-enacted in live action rather than watching the original movie.

On this we agree, but so far it seems to have been their approach. We'll see how this works out I guess; not sure why I even bothered posting as I won't see it regardless.

That being said, the loss of the songs is a shame as Mulan has one of the greatest Disney songs full stop.

[Dogg Thang]

the loss of the songs is a shame as Mulan has one of the greatest Disney songs full stop.

And they're still in the animated version, which is brilliant. I guess the thing for me is: how can they make these films so they aren't utterly redundant? Like that shot for shot Psycho remake, for example. So for me, I guess it's just my point of view but I don't really see it as losing the songs. This film never had the songs. It's a new film. The songs are where they always were.

It will take a lot of time before we'll really know but I don't think these films will ever take the place of the originals. It is possible a generation of kids grow up with these being their versions but I think the animated ones will still be the ones with the most prominence and love and visibility in licensing. The only time I can see that not being the case is if a film eventually gets retired due to being so outdated that it can't be tweaked to change things that don't reflect current views. But even that seems pretty unlikely to me. But we'll only know with hindsight later on.

[Asura]

how can they make these films so they aren't utterly redundant?

The thing is, I agree with your sentiment, but only if Disney were genuinely having another crack at the whip. It's too early to say what Mulan is going to be like from the trailer though, I suppose.

If they were genuinely going to try and do a new take on Mulan, perhaps sticking closer to the legendary story, that'd be awesome. Or if Beauty and the Beast was a complete rework of the idea, and the rest. I'd be totally down with that. I don't get on with stuff like Aladdin, where it looks from the trailer that they've pretty much just remade the movie in live-action.

I guess I'm fickle