Live-Action Films to 2020
This month continues a new series of blogs for fans of popular culture. Whereas in the past explorations of Walt Disney films we highlighted individual works, we will now be talking about the larger groupings of movies, and the various artistic and commercial visions sought for and achieved from said movies.
A quick run though of the eras:
The Golden Age: 1937-1941
Wartime: 1942-1949
The Silver Age: 1950-1967
The Bronze Age: 1968-1988
The Renaissance: 1989-1999
Post-Renaissance: 2000-2009
Revival: 2010-2019
Streaming: 2020-Present
As you can see, the various eras are inspired by historical art movements over the year, as well as comic books. You can draw the parallel, for instance, between the Italian Renaissance, or between the iterated variations of popular superheroes like Batman and Superman.
We will also be covering Disney live action films. The list of films owned by the Walt Disney Corporation is quite expansive because it includes multiple studios and production companies, such as Touchstone Pictures, Pixar, and more. And for good measure, we will also cover animated films that released without the official Walt Disney Pictures branding, as well as films that only released via television or Disney +.
So buckle up everyone as we retread the Disney films of years passed:
Time for another decade's worth of live action films! This will probably be our last whole decade in this particular category, but it's still a memorable one.
Our first entry is a little bit of an oversight from our last entry in the series. Enchanted began life as a Touchstone Pictures film as far back as 1997, when it was still a fairy tale parody, with more of an adult flair. It took several years of script work before Disney took over and the film was reimagined with a family friendly spin. The movie features a star studded cast (Amy Adams, Susan Sarandon, Patrick Dempsey, and Idina Menzel, just to name a few), as well as several cameos from other Disney princesses, including Paige O'Hara, Judy Kuhn, and Jodi Benson, best known for playing Belle, Pocahontas, and Ariel respectively. The film was the first release by the brand new Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, following the retirement of Buena Vista. Enchanted released in 2007 and went on to earn over over $340 million worldwide, and eventually spawned a sequel we'll discuss later.
Prince of Persia, the Sands of Time
Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time might just technically be Disney's second film based on an actual video game (Tron is earlier of course, but based on a fictious game). Super Mario Bros. holds that particular crown, back in 1993. In the mid-2000s, Disney was looking for another film series to produce, inspired by the success they were having with Pirates of the Caribbean. Bruckheimer secured the rights to the popular Prince of Persia game series in short order.
The film stars Jake Gyllenhaal as the title character, and loosely follows the story of the first game, in which Prince Dastan must stop an evil plot using the mystical dagger that is the key to the Sands of Time. Unfortunately, it was not a super successful film for the company in 2010, and plans for a sequel were quickly cancelled.
Arguably the greatest racehorse ever to live, Secretariat got his own major film in 2010. The horse also known as Big Red is famous for winning The Triple Crown in 1973, an assortment of three of the largest horse races in the United States. Big Red still holds several of those record finishes to this day. The film was partially shot in Louisiana and made about $60 million against a $35 million budget.
Welcome back, User. Disney released its sequel to Tron in 2010, and it pulled all the stops. The earliest rumors of a sequel go all the way back to the original film, but mediocre sales and reception kept a follow up from being made for years. The film remained popular in niche circles for years and Disney gradually returned to the idea by 1999, when the first credible rumors surfaced. Finally in 2008, the first trailer came out and fans were ecstatic! Against a $170 million budget and some impressive visuals, the film made about $410 million, guaranteeing that there'd be another film in the series one day, Tron: Ares.
Heigh ho Silver, away! One of film's most revered icons got the Disney treatment in 2013, The Lone Ranger. Starring Arnie Hammer in the title role and Johnny Depp as Tonto, the film showcases a modernized take on the origin story of the infamous Texan and his companion. The film got a lot of media attention over its budget and how long production lasted. Sadly in the end, this was another financial flop for the company.
Luckily for the company, Disney's 2014 release found a lot more success. Based on the 1987 theatrical production, Into The Woods features a star studded cast and serves as another satire of fairy tales. Unlike Enchanted, Into The Woods is more of an homage to the classic Brothers Grimm stories, rather than the Disney versions of the same films. The film was a hit with audiences, earning over $200 million against a $50 million budget.
This is certainly a unique film. Disney has released films based on stories, films based on rides, films based on their own earlier films, and now a new niche: films based on whole sections of their theme parks! Tommorowland is a film that provides kind of the backstory to the whole concept of the famous section of Magic Kingdom. George Clooney stars as a jaded scientist who gets a glimpse of the City of Tomorrow and has to help save it, and the world, with a little help from an aspiring apprentice. Sadly, this was another unprofitable film for the company.
Remember when I said we would not be covering every last movie Disney released? Disney itself has released over 300 live action movies alone, and that's not counting the other companies owned by the Mouse. Therefore, it may not surprise you to learn that now only does Disney have the copyright to this particular film, but they had already released a movie based on the popular tween book back in 2003 (itself an adaptation of a miniseries released in 2001). This modern take covers the familiar story and was backed by Oprah, but like its older iteration, failed to dazzle at the box office.
The Nutcracker and the Four Realms
By 2018, Disney was well on its way with its new favorite niche, the Live Action Remakes. The company was investing more and more resources into those films (which we'll talk about more later). In the meantime, Disney continued work on more 'original' releases. In this case, we use the term 'original' more loosely, since it's based on the famous Nutcracker ballet. The film stars Kiera Knightley as the main villain but audiences never showed up for this film either.
It's technically a sequel, but it feels very much like a remake. Mary Poppins Returns is one of the oldest films that the company had been considering. All the way back in 1964, practically when the original film premiered, Walt was eager for a sequel. P. L. Travers was quite dubious on the idea, and their friction was immortalized in another Disney film released this decade, Saving Mr. Banks, opens a new window. That film, opens a new window did a great job depicting the real life issues at the heart of Mary Poppins' production. Despite the success of the film, Travers refused to approve a sequel, and no film was made while either she or Walt lived.
Years later, the Travers estate finally green lit a sequel. Released in 2018, Mary Poppins Returns reunites the magical nanny (Emily Blunt) with the grown-up Banks children and the next generation of kids. The film was a rousing success of nearly $350 million against a $130 million budget.
Our final entry of the list is maybe the most interesting to discuss. Noelle began life as a Santa Clause sequel. The essential plot follows the unexpected death of the previous Claus, his son refuses the call to the job, and so it's up to Santa's daughter to follow in the family trade. Disney originally intended to release this film to theaters, and even had dates lined up, when the company finalized the launch window to their Disney+ distribution mechanism. The film had been pitched in 2017 and production essentially finished in late 2018, by which point the company decided to make the switch. Instead of releasing in theaters during a potentially busy mid-November market, Noelle would be a Day 1 Premier on the new service.
As for the Santa Clause franchise, while Noelle would be recrafted and get its own legacy, Tim Allen's lauded movie series would get a sequel in a different way: a new series on Disney+.
This move would have fortuitous timing for other reasons. By late November 2019, a certain pandemic was spreading far and wide throughout the world. You guessed it; Covid-19. Movie theaters worldwide were already anxious about the pending disease spreading, and a popular movie release for the holiday season may very well have helped spread it, or the movie may have failed catastrophically from poor ticket sales. Be that as it may, the Disney+ release gave early adopters a new film to watch and a new era was begun for Disney film releases.
Thanks for reading. Join us next month when we cover the Revival era.
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