From ‘Jungle Book’ to ‘Rose Red’, live-action fairy-tale films to look forward to

New Delhi: Walt Disney’s romantic musical fantasy adventure Beauty and the Beast that released in India last Friday is only the first of many live-action remakes based on fairy tales due to hit screens in the coming months. Here’s a list of 10 others.

1. Jungle Book: After the spectacular success of the previous version last year, Disney plans to bring the adventure fantasy based on the Rudyard Kipling book to audiences again. Directed by Andy Serkis and starring Rohan Chand, Serkis, Christian Bale, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hollander and Cate Blanchett, the film is due for release on 19 October, 2018.

2. Mulan: The live-action feature film based on Disney’s legendary Chinese warrior Hua Mulan from the poem the Ballad of Mulan is due for release on 2 November, 2018. To be directed by Niki Caro, the film will not feature the speaking voice of Chinese-American actor Ming-Na en who dubbed for the previous versions.

3. Cruella: The feature film following the evil exploits of Cruella de Vil, the villain from Dodie Smith’s 1956 novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians, is due for release in 2018. Directed by Alex Timbers, it is to star Emma Stone in the lead.

4. Dumbo: The family drama directed by Tim Burton stars Eva Green and Danny DeVito in the lead. The film is based on the storyline written by Helen Aberson and illustrated by Harold Pearl for the prototype of a novelty toy, Roll-a-Book that is centered on Jumbo Jr., a semi-anthropomorphic elephant.

5. Maleficent 2: The film based on the main antagonist of Disney’s Sleeping Beauty is in the works though it does not have an official release date yet. Starring Angelina Jolie in the lead, it is a sequel to the 2014 film directed by Robert Stromberg.

6. Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters 2: The sequel to the 2013 American-German dark fantasy action horror comedy is to be directed by Bruno Aveillan. It follows the legendary German fairy tale of the titular siblings who now work as witch exterminators.

7. The Little Mermaid: Chris Bouchard and Blake Harris co-direct the new version of the Hans Christian Anderson tale that is to release this year. Poppy Drayton and William Moseley feature in the lead roles.

8. Night on Bald Mountain: Disney had announced plans to come up with a live-action remake of the musical segment of its 1940 animated classic Fantasia. Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless who earlier worked on Dracula Untold and The Last Witch Hunter, co-write the script.

9. Winnie the Pooh: Writer-director Alex Ross Perry is developing a live-action remake based on Disney’s fictional anthropomorphic teddy bear character. It was first created by English author A. A. Milne for a collection of stories called Winnie-the-Pooh (1926) and The House at Pooh Corner (1928).

10. Rose Red: Adding a twist to its classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs tale, Disney plans to bring a live-action film based on the lead’s sister, Rose Red. The idea, conceptualized by screenwriter Evan Daugherty, will be reworked to fit into the more traditional Snow White narrative.