Disney Just Announced What?

Disney just had a four hour long “Investor Day” live stream which announced a crap ton of stuff for 2021 and beyond. Not just movies, but a lot of new content for their one year old streaming service Disney+, which up until recently only had a smattering of new content. So what did they announce?

What to Binge on Disney Plus

For the young and young at heart.

Disney+’s original Marvel series are all slated for release in the upcoming months/years, but there are still plenty of shows to keep you (or your kids) occupied.

Beauty and the Beast (2017)

“A broken clock is right two times a day, mon ami. But this is not one of those times.”

Beauty and the Beast (2017) is an ambitious – and costly – remake of Disney’s 1991 animated version of the same name. (Beware: spoilers follow)

Cinderella (2015)

"Where there is kindness, there is goodness. Where there is goodness, there is magic."

Cinderella has always been a favorite. I loved the 1950s version when I was a kid, I loved every reimagination of it since and I couldn't help but love this movie too.

[This review includes spoilers.]

Into the Woods

“Into the woods and out of the woods and home before dark.”

Meryl Streep, I’m sorry I doubted you. A (mostly) spoiler free review. Spoilers are at the bottom and in white.

Tarzan

"I was saved! I was saved by a flying wild man in a loincloth."

Released ten years after The Little Mermaid, Tarzan marked the unofficial end of the Disney renaissance. At least we can say it ended on a high.

Mulan

"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass
...and I'm all out of bubblegum."

“You don’t met a girl like that every dynasty.”

This era had some great heroines, but when the big actions finales came about they were either in need of rescuing or stood on the sidelines while the male heroes saved the day. At a time when Buffy and Xena were conquering the world, that is just unacceptable.

Enter Fa Mulan.

Hercules

He's the star of the film and he knows it.

"Uh, guys? Olympus would be that way."

Now that Maleficent has become a huge hit ($521,580,000 global box office and counting), Disney should really get off their backsides and make a movie called Hades.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

"Now here is a riddle, to guess if you can, sing the bells of Notre Dame. Who is the monster, and who is the man?"

The Hunchback of Notre Dame marks a return to form for Disney after the snore-fest that was Pocahontas. It is a more successful attempt at making a more mature and grown up animated movie and gets right a lot of what that film got wrong.

Pocahontas

"Pocahontas, that tree is talking to me."

Pocahontas marks the beginning of the turbulent second phase of the Disney Renaissance.

The Lion King

"Simba, you have forgotten me."

When writer Irene Mecchi joined the production of The Lion King (originally titled King of the Jungle until someone realised that lions don't live in the jungle), she was told that the story pitch was "Bambi in Africa meets Hamlet". She later termed it "Bamlet".

Maleficent

Visually stunning but more than a little unfocused, Maleficent is a beautiful way to spend an afternoon, but not much more. (A spoiler free review)

Aladdin

"All this for a loaf of bread?"

I knew from the first trailer that I was going to love Aladdin. That just happens sometimes. You see a trailer for a film and you just know instantly that you are going to love it. Doesn't happen all the time, as evidenced by The Phantom Menace, but it did happen this time.

Beauty and the Beast

"Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a young prince lived in a shining castle..."

Taking influence from the original fairy tale by Jeanne-Marie Le Prince de Beaumont as well as Jean Cocteau’s classic 1946 film, Beauty and the Beast is not only one of the best films in the Disney canon, but one of the best films ever made.

The Rescuers Down Under

"Miss Bianca, from now on, can't we just take the train?"

Sandwiched between big hitters The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast, The Rescuers Down Under is the forgotten child of the Disney renaissance. And it is not hard to see why.

The Little Mermaid

"Ariel, please! Will you get your head out of the clouds and back in the water where it belongs?"

The 1980s was not a good time for Walt Disney Animated Studios.

Frozen

Although I am, allegedly, an adult, I don’t think a time will ever come when I won’t love Disney. Disneyland, Disney movies, Disney straight to DVD sequels... Wait, scratch that last one. So, of course, when I found out they were making a new Disney princess movie with two of my favorite actors no less, I was in.

Doux News: November 4, 2012

This week: The suits are idiots -- When you wish upon a Death Star -- This week in casts -- New on Doux -- And finally, the election

Disney Movies

From Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937 to Frozen in 2013, Disney animated movies have entertained and inspired generations of children and adults. For almost 80 years, they have help to revolutionize the art of big screen animation and bring classic tales to a whole new audience.

Aladdin
Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Beauty and the Beast (2017)
The Black Cauldron (1985)
Cinderella (2015)
Frozen
Hercules
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Into the Woods
The Lion King
The Little Mermaid
Maleficent
The Moon-Spinners
Mulan
Pocahontas
The Rescuers Down Under
Robin Hood (1973)
Tarzan
Tron (1982)

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