When you’ve run out of toy franchises to adapt or remakes to greenlight, where else to turn to but the public domain — a veritable playground of decades-old characters ripe for the big or small screen? It’s why we’ve had a million Robin Hood reboots and why we’ll keep seeing the Wicked Witch’s story retold on Broadway. But when doing a straight adaptation has become old-hat, what else is there to do? Throw two characters together in a wacky crossover that sound like it came out of a Disney fan-fiction.
Dorothy & Alice is one such crossover, now that Netflix has discovered that it can mine the public domain for its endless stream of content. The Alice in Wonderland Wizard of Oz crossover would team the two heroines of the stories together in a “fantasy adventure epic.” And it has a new screenwriter.
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Jennifer Lawrence is a big, Oscar-winning star, so she probably doesn’t have to audition for many parts anymore. However, there’s one role Lawrence lost from her auditioning days that still haunts her: Alice from Tim Burton‘s Alice In Wonderland.
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Posted on Tuesday, March 21st, 2017 by Angie Han
This month, Beauty and the Beast joins Alice in Wonderland, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and The Jungle Book on the list of Disney animated features that have undergone live-action makeovers. And over the next few years, that list is only going to grow. It seems like every week brings a major update on yet another Disney fairy tale, and the studio’s already got several dates set aside for these projects through 2019. Let’s take a look at all the Disney live-action remakes in development right now. Read More »
Looking to get some promotional mileage for Alice Through the Looking Glass, hitting theaters in a couple of weeks, Disney staged a pretty cool stunt at Disneyland in Anaheim, California involving Johnny Depp as The Mad Hatter.
Around the park there are plenty of advertisements for the forthcoming sequel, but one particular screen that was circulating through character posters was given a little modification. Johnny Depp was put into full wardrobe and make-up as The Mad Hatter and surprised fans by being livestreamed to the attendees of Disneyland as a living movie poster that could interact with the fans in real time. Watch the Johnny Depp Mad Hatter Disneyland stunt after the jump. Read More »
Posted on Wednesday, May 11th, 2016 by Angie Han
Brave director Brenda Chapman is doubling down on fairy tales. She’s set to make her live-action directing debut with Come Away, a fantasy drama that’s simultaneously a Peter Pan prequel and an Alice in Wonderland prequel. If you’re wondering what on earth that could possibly mean, follow us down the rabbit hole (i.e., below the jump). Read More »
In addition to the LEGO minifgures that come with the various building block playsets, the toy company has also been selling individual minifigures. However, rather than being able to choose which minifigures you want to buy, you have to take your chances by buying them blind and hope you get one you don’t have yet. Or you can be the person who stands in the aisle and tries to feel the little plastic packages to determine if you’re getting the figure you want.
Anyway, if you’re a Disney fan, you’re probably going to be interested in the latest series of minifigures that will give some of Disney’s most famous animated characters the building block treatment. There’s a series of 18 new LEGO Disney minifigures featuring characters from The Incredibles, The Little Mermaid, Peter Pan and more. Read More »
This weekend sees the release of Zootopia, which takes place in a fanatical metropolis where animals of all kind live side-by-side. And talk. And wear clothes. And go to jobs. Yes, this is Walt Disney Animation really doubling down on their legacy as purveyors of anthropomorphized animal entertainment – they’ve been ruling this particular corner of entertainment for eighty-something years now.
And that’s why we’re ranking the top 10 greatest talking animals in all of Disney Animation. Maybe a few characters from Zootopia will be eligible for a revised list in a few years – we have to see how well time treats them.
A few notes before we begin. First: this list focuses on characters who appeared predominately in theatrical releases, meaning that some old stalwarts were deliberately left out. Otherwise, Mickey Mouse would have to be number one based on his prominence alone. Second: in order to be eligible for the list, an animal has to speak in a way that is intelligible to the audience, even if it’s not intelligible to the humans onscreen. Finally: this list is entirely accurate in every way and your arguments about who got left off are completely incorrect. Sorry.
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Posted on Monday, February 22nd, 2016 by Angie Han
Last night, ABC aired The Wonderful World of Disney: Disneyland 60. The two-hour special was a star-studded celebration of Disney’s storied past, from Mickey Mouse to Beauty and the Beast to Star Wars: The Force Awakens… but the studio also took the chance to look forward at some of its upcoming offerings. In addition to new concept art for Star Wars Land, the studio also served up new footage from its three live-action fairy tales due out this year: Pete’s Dragon, The Jungle Book, and Alice Through the Looking Glass.
Mia Wasikowska returns for that last one as Alice, who get caught up in a race against Time — literally, since Time turns out to be a man played by Sacha Baron Cohen. The Alice in Wonderland sequel also features the returns of Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, Anne Hathaway as the White Queen, Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen, and the voice of Alan Rickman as the Blue Caterpillar, in what has turned out to be his final film. Watch the latest Alice Through the Looking Glass TV spot below. Read More »
If you’re a huge fan of filmmaker Tim Burton and his collaborations with brilliant composer Danny Elfman, then sometime over the past couple of years you might have been able to catch the special concert running through a wonderful collection of music from their work together. But if you weren’t able to attend this incredible event, you can still watch it right now.
A recent episode of PBS series Live from Lincoln Center broadcast a nearly two-hour cut of the concert which features selections from Batman, Beetlejuice, Alice in Wonderland, Big Fish, Edward Scissorhands and more. But the real treat is the segment for The Nightmare Before Christmas which has Danny Elfman singing a few signature Jack Skellington songs, just as he did for the soundtrack. Read More »
Cool Posts From Around the Web:
Screenprinted movie posters continued to explode in 2014. I drool over so many posters every year, it’s very difficult to pick favorites. With movies, at least you know what you like and you don’t like. Why something works and why something doesn’t. Physical art is more subjective. Some art just hits people one way and others another. Such it is with pop culture posters. Maybe I love one subject more than another and that makes the art seem better. Maybe the art is absolutely incredible but, if I don’t connect with the subject, it’s harder to appreciate. Long story short, ranking them in any definitive ways seems futile.
That said, we figured it would be fun to at least call out a few of coolest screenprinted movie posters of 2014. Fifteen personal favorites that stand out, for one reason or another, to me. Posters are are beautiful, unique and make me remember their subject in a new, vivid way. Check out my favorite screenprinted movie posters of 2014 after the jump. Read More »
