Disney still betting live-action magic will roar
2019 has already been tough on fans who love Disney’s remakes of the studio’s classic animated films.
The reveal of Will Smith’s blue Genie in “Aladdin” turned into a national punchline, and Tim Burton’s computer-generated “Dumbo” never took flight.
In a year when Disney plans to release five live-action films, the pressure is on.
“There are natural questions: Are people getting of tired of seeing these live-action remakes? Five in one year? Is that too much too soon?’ ” says Pete Hammond, columnist for Deadline.com. “Disney is relying so heavily on these films, and it could backfire.”
Audiences were disheartened when Burton’s reinterpretation of the 1941 animated classic floundered with critics (just 47% positive reviews on aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes) and earned a disappointing $45 million in its opening weekend against an estimated $170 million budget.
The next tests come with the Memorial Day weekend release of director Guy Ritchie’s “Aladdin” (May 24) and “The Lion King,” featuring the voices of Beyonce and Donald Glover, hot on its heels (July 19).
Fortunately for Disney, “Aladdin” has recovered from a disastrous special look at Smith’s too-blue Genie during the Grammy Awards, which caused consternation on Twitter after the February broadcast – a lambasting all the more glaring in the shadow of Robin Williams’ beloved voice performance in the 1992 animated film.
Disney followed with a full trailer that showed a more appealingly animated look for Smith’s Genie, which was less “jarring,” says Nikki Novak, correspondent for ticket site Fandango.com.
Seeing more of Smith’s engaging personality in the Genie turned the Twitter tide.
“Why wasn’t this the first trailer released?? Genie looks MUCH better and I’m really digging this movie now,” tweeted
@BlackMajikMan90.
Last week at CinemaCon, the national convention for theater owners, Disney showed off new “Aladdin” footage with more plot and more Smith sizzle – namely, his rapping rendition of “Friend Like Me.”
“It’s Will Smith being Will Smith. That’s the vibe coming through. And it worked,” says Novak.
“I see where they are going with it now. They have made adjustments and we’re seeing more of the character.”
Correcting course on the Genie rollout and the lack of family competition on a major holiday weekend will ensure “Aladdin” is a solid performer, says Jeff Bock, senior box- office analyst for Exhibitor Relations.
But Bock is even giddier about director Jon Favreau’s “Lion King,” which unveiled a stunning trailer on Wednesday, 100 days before release, and showed more clips at CinemaCon. The new movie re-creates photo-realistic scenes from the 1994 original with Glover as Simba and Beyonce as best friend/love interest Nala – all in the proven hands of Favreau, who scored with 2016’s live-action “Jungle Book.”
The prospect of seeing one of Disney’s most-loved animated films was enough to excite Reddit user Bindrosis.
“They need to stop forcing the ones that no one is asking for. ‘Lion King’ will be huge,” Bindrosis wrote. “The others, not so much.”
Bock predicts that “Lion
King” could be one of the year’s biggest films, erasing any doubts sparked by the poor performance of “Dumbo.”
“Disney has staggered these releases with the best in show at the end, the progression you need with three live-action films in four months, which is ludicrous,” Bock says.
“When you’ve been wowed by ‘Lion King,’ you are not going to remember ‘Dumbo’ not meeting your expectations.”
The rest of 2019 includes the return of Angelina Jolie in the “Sleeping Beauty” offshoot “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” (Oct. 18). The sequel already has proven its viability with the original 2014 live-action hit.
Disney also promises a stillunscheduled “Lady and the Tramp” live-action remake, featuring Tessa Thompson and Justin Theroux as the famed pooches from the 1955 animated original, as a showy kickoff for its Disney+ streaming service later this year.
“It’s going to be wait-andsee this year,” Hammond says. “Disney has seen great success with these movies, but it’s not a certain cash cow.”