Fantasy and adventure are the primary forces driving Disney
Studio's newest batch of projects, set to launch on the heels of
the Pirates of the Caribbean series' success.
The wizards working for the Magic Kingdom hope to leave
moviegoers spellbound with the slew of new movies they have in the
works.
Disney's first-ever live-action princess is scheduled to make
silver screens shine throughout the United States this
November.
The animated/live-action movie Enchanted tells the tale of a
princess' uncanny journey through modern New York. The company
spent more than a decade putting the project together.
The movie started as a work of traditional 2-D animation that was
intended as a tribute to all of the company's classic animated
pictures, such as Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella.
Princess Giselle lives happily with all kinds of furry friends
in her fairyland home, until the Evil Queen banishes her to modern
New York.
"In New York, there is no happy ending," jokes chairman of
Disney Studios Richard Cook, "except in our movie".
The movie makes the transition to live action within 15 minutes
of the opening credits, when Giselle worms her way out of a manhole
in Time Square. From that point on, the film is riddled with
hilarious cultural clashes between the fairyland princess and the
citizens of the chaotic city.
Particularly memorable scenes take place when Giselle sings the
Happy Working Song while cleaning up the bathroom and when the
princess tries to summon animal friends, but rather than silly
squirrels and baby bunnies, rats and cockroaches heed her
calls.
Cook told China Daily that Enchanted would be the
answer to how to better define a Walt Disney film. "It is truly a
love letter to past Disney movies," he says.
But while Enchanted is meant to encapsulate and pay homage to
the Disney films of yore, it's not the end-all of the company's
newest offerings.
Another gem on the way is the sequel to National Treasure 1.
Treasure hunter Benjamin Franklin Gates, is at it again in Book of
Secrets, and Gates (Nicolas Cage) has reunited once more with
director Jon Turteltaub in hopes of reliving the glory days of
Treasure 1, which earned the company a booty of $745 million
worldwide.
In the new story, Gates discovers the secrets behind the
assassination of President Lincoln, who was believed to have been
murdered by John Wilkes Booth.
A missing page from Booth's diary reveals that Gates' great
grandfather might have actually been the one responsible for
Lincoln's assassination, and so Gates sets off on a mission to
clear his family's name. To do so, he must kidnap the president of
the United States to access a secret book that is for the
president's eyes only. This book also contains the truth about Area
51 and the missing minutes of the Watergate tapes.
The film is now in editing. Disney hopes it will premiere
Stateside before this Christmas. Treasure 1 was screened in China
in 2005 and raked in more than 25 million yuan ($3.3 million) in
the first two weeks. Disney says they hope the sequel would also
make it to China's theaters.
Sequels have been especially hot in recent years, and Disney is
answering the call with the second installment of its Narnia
franchise.
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is in the works, after
Disney brought the first installment of the classic children's
story to life in 2005.
The four Pevensies return to Narnia one year after their first
adventure and find 1,300 years have passed in the wonderland.
Sinister King Miraz has taken over the throne, exiling the nightful
heir Prince Caspian, son of the King of Old Narnians. The four must
help the ousted prince retake his rightful place as ruler of the
mystical land.
Cook promises this installation would be especially
action-packed, saying the film would be "all battles all
through".
All of the original cast will appear for the sequel, again
joining forces with director Andrew Adamson. But Cook says the
movie is a new chapter of Narnian history and a whole new world,
with new characters, including Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes).
The movie is scheduled to hit US theaters in May of 2008.
In addition to this sequel, Disney plans to make the High School
Musical franchise into a trilogy.
The Emmy Award-winning Disney Channel original TV movie series
has already become the talk of the town among the teenage
demographic. Currently, Disney is in pre-production for Musical 3,
which is slated for release in motion pictures theaters next
fall.
When Musical 1, a cheerful story about two teenaged music
lovers, was broadcast on the Disney Channel in January 2006, it
captured the attention of a record-breaking 7.8 million
viewers.
The series again broke records last week, when 17.2 million
tuned in to the channel to catch the second installment, including
a number of participants of viewing parties.
One shopping mall in the United States set up 500 chairs for
viewing parities.
Networks in the United States started talking about whether the
show's popularity would help build a new, nicer image of teenage
girls, while the "bad girls" of Hollywood, such as Britney Spears
and Paris Hilton, dominate today's youth culture.
Musical 1 aired on CCTV-6 on August 18, and Disney says the
company very much hopes the two successive stories would also make
their way to China.
(China Daily September 5, 2007)
