Live-Action Tangled Remake Production Paused
Disney’s plans for a live-action Tangled adaptation have been put on hold in the wake of Snow White’s spectacular failure. Michael Gracey (The Greatest Showman) was set to direct the Tangled remake, with Jennifer Kaytin Robinson (Thor: Love and Thunder, Do Revenge) writing. 2010’s Tangled was the start of a revival at Disney Animation, a reinvention of the Rapunzel story that innovated rather than tearing down what existed before. After modest successes like The Princess and the Frog and Bolt, Tangled earned $592M worldwide and won numerous awards. It was also nominated for an Oscar. Unfortunately, a lot of people liked The Greatest Showman, and it also made a lot of money, putting Gracey in the running to remake it. But Snow White has hit theaters like a turd in a punch bowl, and people are not having it. So Disney is forced to rethink, or at least slow down, their remake process, according to studio insiders speaking exclusively to The Hollywood Reporter.
This isn’t a definitive cancellation, or at least, it isn’t being presented as one. But I’m happy because I sincerely do not want a Tangled remake. I’ll take any harm to the Disney live-action remakes over nothing, and the crazy thing is that I didn’t used to hate and oppose them entirely. But somewhere between Beauty and the Beast (2017) and this year’s Snow White, I’ve gotten really tired of the trend. They’re usually disrespectful, not very imaginative, and a waste of creative resources. Why do directors like David Lowery and Barry Jenkins need to toil on the likes of Peter Pan and Wendy or Mufasa? It’s just sad. Kenneth Branagh had a creative vision with Cinderella, and Tim Burton seemingly got his way with Alice in Wonderland and Dumbo. But that kind of creative freedom doesn’t seemingly exist at Disney anymore, if any of the last few years’ worth of content is anything to go by.
The fairy tales most Disney classics are based on can be reinvented because they’re old, universal, and have already changed over the centuries. But the same isn’t true of Moana, and I would argue it’s not true for Tangled, either. This is because Tangled is based on the Brothers Grimm’s fairy tale “Rapunzel,” and it is an adaptation with significant changes to the source material. In my opinion, the changes are respectful, and a lot of them are improvements. But because of the movie’s distinct identity, if they remake it, it is really only a remake of this one movie, not the original fairy tale. And that’s what Disney wants, anyway: it wants to have the brand recognition, but it leaves no room for reinvention. They’ll just make it more feminist somehow and call it a day. The best Disney remakes retell the original tale in their own way with minimal overt ties to the animated movie. I understand that this isn’t what Disney wants; they would prefer to capitalize on nostalgia and brand loyalty. But it makes for a better movie, and since they’re no longer interested in that sort of filmmaking, I hope the remakes do die. Snow White sucks, and I don’t need to see more like it.
But what do you think of this news? Were/are you excited about Tangled with real people, or are you hoping it is truly dead? Let us know in the comments!
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Comments (1)
The idea itself is good, but like you said, Disney and the bankster class insist on putting poking sticks of agitation propaganda in product, so I think they’ve completely lost the ability to just make a good wholesome movie.
I think a lot of people would like to see that dance scene live with that amazing music. My understanding is that they wanted to swap Rapunzel, which, for once, kinda makes sense because Rapunzel even sounds like Denzel.