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Hayao Miyazaki undoubtedly has a whole roster of incredible movies to his name. But in the middle of plenty of blockbusters and two Oscar winners, one of his earliest and most inspiring works often gets forgotten. When you consider the rumor that even Steven Spielberg has been influenced by the movie, it becomes a must-watch.

Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro, the movie in question, was released in 1979, making it almost 46 years old this year. It was created years before Miyazaki co-founded Studio Ghibli. Despite how old it is, Castle of Cagliostro is still considered one of the best action-comedy anime movies.

Steven Spielberg considered Lupin III as “one of the greatest adventure movies of all time”

There is a long-standing rumor about Lupin III: Castle of Cagliostro. Apparently, Steven Spielberg watched the movie during its Cannes Film Festival screening and was awed by its car chase scene. He considered...

Character deaths are all too common in Disney films, even though it's a pretty family-friendly company. Whether they move the story forward, teach a character a critical lesson, or both, death is a powerful narrative device throughout Disney's films. Many of these deaths provide insight into the world audiences find themselves in and reveal larger messages about the story being told. But some deaths, even if they set the film in motion, come out of nowhere.

Death is an impactful storytelling choice when threaded into the story properly, and there are many Disney films that exhibit this. However, there are also plenty of Disney films that utilize death in a shaky way that may have the intention of moving the plot along or instilling something in a character but ultimately come across as a poor balancing of narrative arcs. Audiences can't help but wonder where the trajectory of the film...

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is one of the best movies from Disney's Renaissance Era, and it is rumored to be Disney's next live-action remake. The movie is a musical-animated epic released on June 21, 1996, directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise. Tom Hulce, Tony Jay, Kevin Kline, and Demi Moore all expertly lend their voice talents to the film, and it includes extremely catchy and memorable songs written by musical legends Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz. The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a marvel of its time; it is beautifully animated and has had a lasting impact on generations of viewers. However, even at a time when everything seems to be getting a reboot, Quasimodo the Hunchback has seemingly been left behind.

Disney seems less interested in moving forward with this project and instead continues to pursue other ideas. To name a few, a live-action portrayal of Lilo & Stitch is...

Walt Disney Animation created numerous animated movies, many of which have remained relevant despite being decades old. The studio has taken many risks, pushing the boundaries in storytelling and animated visuals.

Some of their films have been very dark, with the grimmest scenes depicting a villain's death. Many of these deaths have left audiences wondering if the films are appropriate for children. Some deaths have been so dark that audiences and even the characters within the film can't help but feel sorry for the villains.

Updated by Jordan Iacobucci on December 20, 2024: Disney may make family movies, but there's nothing family-friendly about its villains' deaths. From horrific demises to fates worse than death, these are some of the darkest endings for Disney villains. This list has been updated to include additional entries and to adhere to Cbr's current formatting guidelines.

Gaston Fell To His Death Beauty and the Beast...

Rotten Tomatoes has updated its reviews of the film The Hunchback of Notre Dame to give the animated Disney classic a Certified Fresh approval rating from critics. This has resulted in the film earning a score of 80% on the website.

The score was tabulated after a slew of reviews from 1996 were officially added to the site, giving the film an updated score. Critics from the era were largely impressed by the movie with several giving The Hunchback of Notre Dame perfect scores. Much of the reviews were particularly complimentary of the movie's animation, with one critic (Jeffrey Westhoff of the Northwest Herald) calling it "Disney's most powerful animated film since Bambi," predicting that the film would "20 years from now... be considered an authentic masterpiece." Indeed, more than two decades later, the film is beloved by many fans of Disney movies, though a lot of its love was there from most critics at the very start.

Walt Disney Pictures has been responsible for some of the greatest children’s movies ever, although the studio's committed fan base is often divided. While some Disney films are undisputed classics beloved by all, there are some releases that audiences have taken issue with, whether due to problematic depictions, outdated stereotypes, or questionable creative decisions. When a studio has so many treasured properties in its catalog, it’s no surprise that fans disagree on many issues.

Even the best Disney movies have divided fans as they debate the merits, themes, and meaning behind cherished animated and live-action releases. Disney’s recent output has led some viewers to wish for a return to the glory days of the Disney Renaissance, while others are more than pleased with the modern CGI-centric approach of the studio's output in the 21st century. As a studio founded more than 100 years ago, it’s no surprise...

Disney's Beauty and the Beast was almost an entirely different film, but it's a good thing that the original plan didn't work out. The 1991 animated film is one of the House of Mouse's most beloved masterpieces, so it's difficult to imagine a world in which it never existed. However, if Walt Disney had gotten his way in the 1930s and 1950s, Belle's story would never have made it to the screen in the 1990s. Of course, this would mean songs like "Be Our Guest," "Gaston," and, of course, "Beauty and the Beast" wouldn't have ever happened either.

Beauty and the Beast arrived during Disney's second big animated-movie boom, following the success of 1989's The Little Mermaid. Directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, the 1991 movie managed an impressive $451 million at the global box office, inspiring Disney to continue producing major animated features throughout the '90s. Of course, though Disney...

What are the 100 greatest movies of all time? Well, that’s an incredibly difficult question to answer. After all, art is subjective and tastes vary incredibly across the globe. But, I’ve taken on the impossible task and gathered the 100 movies that I think constitute the 100 greatest movies of all time! Take a look below.

Related “I look forward to making great movies together”: Tom Cruise Might Have Hinted Mission Impossible Retirement After Latest Deal With WB for New Franchise The 100 Greatest Movies of All Time 100. Being John Malkovich (1999) A scene from Being John Malkovich (1999) Directed by Spike Jonze

In 1999 acclaimed actor John Malkovich took on the difficult task of playing himself in Spike Jonze’s incredibly bizarre, self-referential comedy. With John Cusack and Cameron Diaz playing against type as bumbling losers who find a doorway into the consciousness of Malkovich, this ground-breaking comedic effort feels fresh and hilarious upon repeated viewings.

The Disney company has always been known for its feats in animated films. In 1989, they hit their stride, dubbed the Renaissance period of Disney animation. This period consisted of critically and commercially successful animated musicals, spanning roughly a decade. Some of those films were Rescuers From Down Under, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, and Tarzan. At the end of this period came The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which was extremely successful, making $21.3 million during its initial release. Not only was it successful, but it also pushed the boundaries of an adaptation. The source material of the same name was quite dark, but directors Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise wanted to honor the original text to the best they could. The Hunchback of Notre Dame chose to explore themes of discrimination, racism, corruption, lust, infanticide, sin, and damnation.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame was superbly dark, but it worked...

One of Disney's most beloved animated characters of all time is Belle from the 1991 classic, Beauty and the Beast. Now, a popular series of YA (young adult) novels in Japan has recreated Disney's bookish beauty as a shojo-style anime heroine.

Per PR Times, Japan-based publisher Gakken Holdings recently opened preorders for the eighth installment of the bestselling YA book series, Disney's Twisted Tales. Originally written by American author Elizabeth J. Braswell, the Japanese version of Twisted World of Beauty and the Beast features gorgeous new cover illustrations created by Mizutamaridori. As shown below, this gifted illustrator presents Belle with a fresh new design that makes it seem as if she originates from the world of a shojo manga.

Related My Happy Marriage Returns to Netflix With Debut Season 2 Trailer & Release Window

Acclaimed Netflix anime seriesMy Happy Marriage gears up for a return to screens next year, revealing its release window,...

In discussions about Disney films, especially those made during the Disney Renaissance, Beauty and the Beast will almost always be mentioned and with good reason. Hot off the success of The Little Mermaid two years prior, Walt Disney Animation Studios turned to a tale as old as time for their next big animated venture. Released to theaters in Fall 1991, Beauty and the Beast, directed by Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale, was a major hit, breaking the box office and receiving near-universal acclaim from adults and children alike.

Three decades later, Beauty and the Beast is still heralded as one of Disney's greatest films. In 2014, Time Magazine named it one of the greatest films of all time, and the United States National Film Registry selected it for preservation, dubbing it culturally, historically and aesthetically significant. This is high praise, indeed. But does it live up to the hype? Is it as beautiful as people remember it,...

“Inside Out 2” roared into cinema in June, becoming Pixar’s highest-grossing film in a debut weekend of all time, while its current worldwide haul at this time of writing stands at just over one billion.

The first movie — one of the most ingenious films of this century — took audiences inside the head of young Riley as she navigated a move to a new city while her emotions tried to guide her through the move in her head. This second film brings back those emotions as Riley goes through her teenage years. But Joy and Sadness and the gang have to deal with several new emotions in headquarters, including Anxiety, Embarrassment, and Ennui.

But while the film marches towards $1 billion at the box office, could it also be marching towards awards glory? Well, animated flicks don’t get the justice they deserve when it comes to the Academy Awards. So often,...

Mentions of sexual assault, discrimination, manipulation, murder, and more.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame had dark themes, including discrimination and damnation, making it one of Disney's darkest movies. Victor Hugo's original novel was darker, depicting Frollo as obsessed and Quasimodo's tragic death, forcing Disney to make significant changes. The live-action remake of The Hunchback of Notre Dame is facing challenges due to its dark themes, remaining in 'development hell' as of 2024.

Disney is known for changing the original stories its animated movies are based on, but the one of this 28-year-old movie poses a big problem for its live-action version. Disney continues to be a powerhouse in the world of animation, a reign that began in 1937 with the release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first animated feature film produced in the United States and the first cel-animated feature film. Since then, Disney has produced over 60 animated movies,...

Beauty & The Beast broke a 54-year-old female villain trend, introducing Gaston as the first male villain in a Disney Princess movie. Tangled broke the 19-year male villain trend post-Gaston by introducing Mother Gothel as the evil antagonist. Disney Princess movies after Tangled have featured both female and male villains.

The movies that are part of the official Disney Princesses branch have many similarities that are what, ultimately, place them in this special group, but one of them broke a 54-year-old villain trend and started a new one. Disney is home to a variety of animated movies, but its best known for those starring female characters, often princesses. Disney is also known for its family-friendly adaptations of different legends and fairy tales, and all this has made way for the Disney Princesses franchise, though not all female characters in animated Disney movies can be part of it.

Disney officially recognizes 13 characters as official Disney Princesses,...

The Beast's real name is never revealed in the movie, sparking debates among fans and creators alike. Despite common belief, the Beast is not officially named Adam in any Disney adaptations, even though licensed products suggest otherwise. Various adaptations of Beauty and the Beast outside Disney offer different names for the Beast, reflecting the time and context of each version.

Beauty and the Beast doesnt reveal the Beasts real name, but theres one that is widely believed to be his official name. Beauty and the Beast, released in 1991 and directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, is based on the 1756 French fairy tale of the same name by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont. The movie follows Belle, a book-loving, independent-minded girl imprisoned by a Beast in his castle. The Beast is actually a prince who was cursed (as well as his servants) for his arrogance, and the only way he could...

Belle's favorite book in Beauty & the Beast was Sleeping Beauty, not Aladdin. The book Belle loved foreshadowed her story with the Beast. Some details from Belle's favorite book were repeated in her own story.

Beauty and the Beast has a couple of fun Easter eggs, but a very subtle one features another Disney Princess who made her debut 32 years earlier. After a couple of critical and commercial failures, Disney rose to power again in what’s now known as the “Disney Renaissance”. This period between 1989 and 1999 saw Disney produce critically and commercially successful animated movies again, starting in 1989 with The Little Mermaid. Among the Disney Renaissance movies is Beauty and the Beast, released in 1991 and directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise.

Based on the 1756 fairy tale of the same name by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, Beauty and the Beast tells the story of Belle, who is imprisoned in...

Animated flicks don’t get the justice they deserve when it comes to the Academy Awards. So often, animated movies are some of the most original, memorable, and well-told stories of the entire year yet they are, more often than not, confined to the category of Best Animated Picture.

“Snow White and the Seven Dwarves,” “Fantasia,” “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” “The Lion King,” “Toy Story,” “Finding Nemo,” “Wall-e,” “Shrek,” and last year’s Best Animated Picture winner, “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio,” are just a handful of all-time classic movies that aren’t great animated movies, they are great movies period. Despite this, however, we have only had three animated movies in Oscars history that have been nominated for Best Picture.

“Beauty and the Beast” was the first animated movie to do so, landing a Best Picture bid in 1991. Directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, “Beauty and the Beast...

Phoebus is shown to be a loyal and trustworthy character, choosing to stand up for Quasimodo and Esmeralda instead of blindly following Frollo's orders. Phoebus provides much-needed comedy relief in the film, injecting humor into serious situations with his witty lines and funny interactions. Phoebus embodies humanity and the importance of inner character, as shown through his relationship with Esmeralda and his refusal to partake in Frollo's harmful actions. His character teaches viewers about acceptance and diversity.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1996 animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and is loosely based on the 1831 novel of the same name by Victor Hugo. Directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, The Hunchback of Notre Dame follows the character of Quasimodo, a bell ringer in the tower of Notre Dame, who has a deformation that give him a hunched back. Quasimodo (voiced by Tom Hulce) wants...

Disney is bringing back the 1991 classic Beauty and the Beast for the studio's 100-year celebration as the movie will run in select theatres starting this weekend. The animated musical romantic fantasy is among the jewels that came out of Disney’s Renaissance period which also gave us classics like The Little Mermaid (1989), Aladdin (1992), The Lion King (1994), Pocahontas (1995), and more. Nonetheless, the charm of the classic directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise stands apart as the movie was way ahead of its time in its themes and visual aesthetic.

According to Empire, Rob Marshall's "The Little Mermaid" -- a live-action/CGI remake of John Musker and Ron Clements' 1989 animated film of the same name -- will feature a brand new song called "For the First Time," to be sung by the titular mermaid Ariel (Halle Bailey) as she makes her first sojourn onto dry land after being transformed into a human. It was co-penned by Disney legend and award-winning songwriter Alan Menken, the Egot maestro who co-wrote the songs for the animated "Little Mermaid" movie with Howard Ashman, and Lin-Manuel Miranda, the Broadway superstar and songwriter behind the Disney-released animated films "Moana" and "Encanto."

Menken's return is a big deal. In 1990, he won two Academy Awards for "The Little Mermaid," taking home trophies for the film's score and for the song "Under the Sea" (for which Ashman was also awarded the Oscar). Menken and Ashman's ballad "Kiss the...

Martin Short and Shania Twain are set to play the world’s most famous candelabra and teapot. The two stars have joined ABC’s upcoming December 15 “Beauty and the Beast” 30th-anniversary special, along with David Alan Grier, Rizwan Manji, Jon Jon Briones, and Leo Abelo Perry.

Short, the Emmy and Tony winner who currently stars in Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building,” will portray the flirtatious French candelabra Lumière, voiced in the original 1991 Disney film by Jerry Orbach. Five-time Grammy-winning country singer Twain will play the teapot Mrs. Potts, whose original voice actor, Angela Lansbury, died last week. Perry, who made his film debut this year in the Disney+ remake of “Cheaper by the Dozen,” will play Potts’ son Chip. Grier, who won a Tony last year for his performance in “A Soldier’s Play,” will portray the majordomo clock Cogsworth, while Jon Jon Briones will play village inventor Maurice,...

Exclusive: Ziki Nelson, the writer, director and creator of Iwájú’, has signed with Newmation for management.

Based on an original concept from Nelson and his Pan-African entertainment company Kugali, Iwájú’ is the first ever African animated comic book series for Disney+. The upcoming series described by Disney as a “first of its kind collaboration” is set in neo-futuristic Lago. The sci-fi project, which is currently in production, will explore themes of class, innocence and challenging the status quo. It is scheduled to debut on the Disney+ streaming platform in 2022.

“I am so thrilled to welcome Ziki to Newmation,” said former CAA motion picture agent David Neumann, who launched the company last year. “Our clients span six continents and we pride ourselves on having global reach as a company. As a filmmaker from Lagos Nigeria, I think Ziki’s talent as a filmmaker is pioneering and his voice as a storyteller is universal.

Former CAA motion picture agent David Neumann has launched Newmation, a management company for film and TV animation creators.

Neumann’s initial clients include Oscar winner Hugh Welchman (Loving Vincent), Anita Doron (The Breadwinner) and Gary Trousdale (Beauty and The Beast, Hunchback of Notre Dame). At CAA, Neumann represented Hollywood talent like David Yates (Harry Potter, Fantastic Beasts), Welchman, Arlene Klasky and Todd Komarnicki (Sully).

Newmation is launching as the global demand for animation content grows, Neumann insisted.

“It is an honor to work with these talented filmmakers and I can’t wait to share our unique projects with ...

Former CAA motion picture agent David Neumann has launched Newmation, a management company for film and TV animation creators.

Neumann’s initial clients include Oscar winner Hugh Welchman (Loving Vincent), Anita Doron (The Breadwinner) and Gary Trousdale (Beauty and The Beast, Hunchback of Notre Dame). At CAA, Neumann represented Hollywood talent like David Yates (Harry Potter, Fantastic Beasts), Welchman, Arlene Klasky and Todd Komarnicki (Sully).

Newmation is launching as the global demand for animation content grows, Neumann insisted.

“It is an honor to work with these talented filmmakers and I can’t wait to share our unique projects with ...

David Neumann, a former agent at CAA based out of the agency’s New York office, has launched his own management and production company focused on animation called Newmation.

Newmation is launching with a specific focus on managing those in the animation world on animated film and TV projects, capitalizing on animation production continuing remotely as live-action projects are still slowly trickling back due to the Covid-19 pandemic. And back at CAA where he worked for one year, Neumann was tasked by Kevin Huvane in growing CAA’s Global Animation Initiative.

Neumann’s initial client list at Newmation includes Oscar winner Hugh Welchman (“Loving Vincent”), Anita Doron (“The Breadwinner”), Gary Trousdale, Andrew Chesworth and Shaofu Zhang (“One Small Step”), Malenga Mulendema (“Mama K’s Team 4”) and Gustavo Steinberg (“Tito and The Birds”), as well as studio outfits Taiko Studios and Breakthru Films.

“I am so thrilled to announce the launch of Newmation.

Disney have found huge success in remaking their animated classics into live action, with the likes of The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast raking in billions at the box office. Fans are perpetually wondering which animated movie will be next in line, with recent rumors continuing to swirl that it will be 2001's Atlantis: The Lost Empire. Well, unfortunately for those wishing to see The Lost Empire realized in real-life, co-directors Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale are now putting these rumors to bed.

"I've heard, so far, the only rumor of Atlantis being tackled as a live-action movie has been strictly on the internet," Kirk Wise said of the ongoing speculation. "I haven't gotten any independent corroboration of that."

"I've actually heard the opposite, that at the last big convention where Disney rolls out their five-year plan [D23 Expo], that Atlantis was not on the docket," Gary Trousdale added.

Even...

Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale are genuine animation legends. Their first film as directors, Beauty and the Beast, was a runaway smash and the first animated feature to be nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award (it was up against JFK and ultimate winner The Silence of the Lambs). After Beauty and the Beast, they directed The Hunchback of Notre Dame, a true spiritual successor to Beauty and the Beast (there’s even a cameo from Belle in the opening number!) and the adventurous Atlantis: The Lost Empire, one of the last truly great traditionally animated movies at Disney. So …...

Original Beauty and the Beast directors did not make a "red cent" from the 2017 live-action adaptation. Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale directed the 1991 animated classic and were given executive producer credit on the live-action movie, which earned over $1 billion at the global box office. Some scenes from the movie are lifted directly from the 1991 version that Wise and Trousdale oversaw, but they were not compensated financially by Disney.

"I didn't get a red cent from the new Beauty and the Beast," Kirk Wise said. Gary Trousdale confirms, "No, there was no financial to it. And the fact that we got credit was a surprise to me." Wise then says, "Me too! Thanks!" Wise and Trousdale had no idea they would be receiving executive producer credits on the 2017 take on the story. Trousdale had this to say about how he learned about the credits.

"I got invited to the premiere at the El Capitan,...

For a generation of filmgoers, Mandy Patinkin will always remain Inigo Montoya, the fiery swordmaster in Rob Reiner's 1987 film The Princess Bride. The actor has since gone on to a distinguished career in film, theater, and music. Patinkin was also in the running to voice the lead role of Quasimodo in Disney's 1996 classic The Hunchback of Notre Dame. But as the directors of the movie Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise recently explained to Collider during an interview, the actor's desire to put his own spin on the film's music did not go over well during auditions.

"He brought his own accompanist. We had a guy there. He was on the piano and everybody who came in and sang, he supplied the music. His accompanist had rearranged the song. This is Alan and [lyricist] Stephen Schwartz in the room!""So they played it. And Kirk and I were like huh. You...

It was shortly after the promotional campaign for Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame had concluded. Directors Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale and writer Tab Murphy had been summoned by producer Don Hahn to a crummy Mexican restaurant in downtown Burbank that is, mercifully, no longer there. “Don made it clear to me and Gary that if we wanted to work on another project and work with the same team, we had to come up with a project right away,” Wise remembered. Trousdale echoed the sentiment: “It was Don Hahn who pulled us together and said, ‘You’ve done …...

Since it's fairly muted release back in 2001, Disney's underwater adventure Atlantis: The Lost Empire has become a cherished animation favorite for many. Well, the movie's director, Kirk Wise, has revealed his ideas for a once planned sequel.

"Believe it or not we did. [Story supervisor] John Sanford, Gary and I actually concocted an idea for a sequel to Atlantis. It had no relation to the Atlantis TV series that was being developed at Disney Television Animation. This was a feature-length, full-on, full-blown sequel to Atlantis."

Clearly the creative team behind Atlantis: The Lost Empire had big plans for a follow-up and were planning to fill it with all sorts of twists and turns. "We were going to have a new villain in the story. The villain was going to be wearing big, scary, wool, bulky, World War I-style clothing with a frightening gasmask to obscure its face; a little Darth Vader-esque," Kirk Wise continued.

Earlier today we spoke to Kirk Wise, legendary director (along with his creative partner Gary Trousdale) of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and The Hunchback of Notre Dame about the legacy of his sorely underrated Atlantis: The Lost Empire. Had Atlantis been the kind of sizable smash that Disney was hoping it would have been, it would have veered Disney into an alternate timeline of sorts. We’ll have more from that interview, and about how Atlantis’ success could have potentially changed the company forever, very soon. But for right now we just wanted to share something that Wise …...

Another Disney movie is getting the live-action treatment, or so it would seem. An Atlantis: The Lost Empire remake is now said to be in the early stages of development. There have been rumors surrounding such a project in the past, including ones that involved Guillermo del Toro last year, which were quickly debunked by the Oscar-winning filmmaker personally. But now it appears this may truly be happening.

According to a new report, Atlantis: The Lost Empire is in the works at Disney. Details are scarce currently. It isn't clear who may be eyed to direct, nor is there any word on how might be eyed to star. But this is an ensemble piece, so things could get interesting in that regard as the project rolls on.

It also hasn't been revealed if this is being developed for the Disney+ streaming service, or if this will be viewed as a theatrical release.

With his role as Peter Parker / Spider-Man in not only director Jon Watts' Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home but The Russo Brothers' Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, Tom Holland is quickly becoming one of Hollywood's most sought-after leading men.

And today we have word that the Captain America: Civil War and In the Heart of the Sea actor is being eyed for the lead role in Disney's planned upcoming live-action remake of their semi-hit animated film Atlantis: The Lost Empire.

Evidently, Disney intends to "stick fairly close to the animated film," and it seems that Holland is being eyed to play the role of geeky Smithsonian cartographer Milo Thatch, initially voiced by Michael J. Fox in the 2001 animated version.

While it might seem like a live-action remake of Atlantis: The Lost Empire is a strange plan for Disney, it could actually be one of their best ideas yet.

Disney has lined up another live-action adaptation of an animated classic as they are working on a new version of Hunchback of Notre Dame. Disney released an animated take on the classic Victor Hugo novel in 1996, which was a reasonably big hit at the time. Lately, the studio has been revisiting their animated library and re-adapting those stories for the modern generation. This time around, they've tapped Josh Gad to produce the movie and possibly to star.

According to a new report, playwright David Henry Hwang has been tapped to write the new adaptation, simply titled Hunchback, for Disney. Hwang's credits include Chinglish, Yellow Face, Golden Child, The Dance and the Railroad and M. Butterfly. Though Hwang isn't known for his Hollywood exploits, he is a Tony Award winner and has a very impressive resume. As for Josh Gad, his name has been reportedly floated for the lead role of Quasimodo,...

Disney is in early development on a live-action “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” movie, based on Disney’s animated film and Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel “Notre-Dame de Paris.”

Playwright David Henry Hwang is attached to write the script, with Mandeville Films and Josh Gad set to produce. Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz will pen the music.

“Hunchback” — the story of the bell-ringer at the Notre Dame Cathedral and his friendship with the gypsy Esmeralda — has been adapted multiple times into features, most notably the 1939 Charles Laughton and 1996 Disney animated versions. The animated movie, directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, grossed $325 million worldwide.

“The Hunchback of Notre Dame” follows Disney’s highly successful strategy of rebooting its animated titles into live-action films, including “Beauty and the Beast,” “The Jungle Book,” “Alice in Wonderland,” and the upcoming “Aladdin,” “The Lion King,” and “Dumbo.”

Hwang won a Tony Award for “M. Butterfly,...

Brendon Connelly Jul 27, 2017

Disney is potentially looking to The Hunchback Of Notre Dame for its next live action take on an animated movie.

Even while Beauty And The Beast is warming up the shelves in Sainsbury and Aladdin is filling up the UK's sound stages (while Mulan pre-production continues in parallel with the complex VFX work needed for The Lion King), Disney continues to pillage its attic full of toys even further. Another 'brand deposit' movie seems to be on the way, once again taking an older, already-loved property and finding new ways to sell it to us, even as our nostalgia for the original is being simultaneously rekindled.

See related The Handmaid’s Tale episode 9 review: The Bridge The Handmaid’s Tale episode 8 review: Jezebels The Handmaid’s Tale episode 7 review: The Other Side

This time it's The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, previously realised as Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale's undervalued,...

Simon Brew Nov 13, 2019

We consider why Beauty and the Beast remains Disney’s finest animated feature film to date…

This article comes courtesy of Den of Geek UK.

The current trend in the corridors of Disney, as you probably well know, is to take some of its classic animated movies--lots of them actually--and turn them into live-action films in various guises. It's had success with this too. And few have been more successful than Bill Condon's slavish, and uninspired, remake of Beauty and the Beast. The first Disney Renaissance film to make the jump to "live-action," it paved the way for Aladdin and The Lion King in 2019.

Enjoy a Free Trial of Disney+, courtesy of Den of Geek!

For me though, the 1991 animated version is a flat-out classic, and the new version inevitably doesn’t top that. But what about it makes it so special for me? You might just regret asking that.

Few questions feel as stale as the following: Is the Disney Princess feminist? It's become profoundly boring to scavenge for an answer, so common is this refrain that arises each holiday season since Peggy Orenstein’s barnstorm of an essay. It will no doubt be a talking point upon the release of Moana later this year. The "Disney Princess" has congealed into a homogenous, lumpen unit of capitalist excess, so much that each character’s particular idiosyncrasies often become obscured in such discussions.Belle, the heroine of Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale’s Beauty and the Beast (1991), is a headstrong bibliophile with a peripatetic mind; she spends the beginning of the film longing to be elsewhere. “There must be more than this provincial life,” she screams in the film’s opening number, which economically introduces us to the townspeople who fawn over her. Belle, voiced by Paige O’Hara, occupies...

He’s a charming character, a fascinating player in cinema history. Absolutely essential viewing for Disney fans and those interested in animated filmmaking. I’m “biast” (pro): big animation fan

I’m “biast” (con): nothing

(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)

Did you know that Comic-Con awards prizes to movies? I had no idea. But it sounds like pretty much the biggest no-brainer ever that Floyd Norman: An Animated Life won Best Documentary there this year. Anyone who was a kid in the 20th century knows Norman’s work, whether they know it or not: he was an animator and/or a story creator on so many cool things that you won’t believe one man could have spread himself around so much. A very incomplete list of where you have seen Norman’s work and felt his influence: Disney’s animated features Sleeping Beauty,...

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From Flushed Away and Hunchback to Titan A.E. and Sky High - the family movies that don't get the love they deserve...

When I sit through a film such as Zootropolis, Rango, Frozen, Wreck-It Ralph, Eddie The Eagle or Coraline, I can’t help but be thankful somebody has bothered. As a parent as well as a movie lover, I’ve grown to really dislike family movies that just turn up to act as a surrogate babysitter for 90 minutes, with no intention of becoming anybody’s favourite film. The films I'm going to talk about are the family movies therefore that I think both try and do something a bit more, yet continue to fly under many people's radar.

A bonus mention before we get going, and number 26 in the list, much to my surprise: Alvin & The Chipmunks 4. I was expecting next to zero from it, courtesy...

Mr. Peabody and Sherman were the stars of one of last winter's most popular animated films. It was a well-deserved and long overdue promotion, since the characters got their start in 1959 as supporting characters in the Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoon universe. Well, the tables have turned. In the new 3-D Blu-ray of Mr. Peabody & Sherman, which arrives Oct. 14, the clever squirrel and not-so-clever moose return for another crazy adventure titled "Another Fine Moose You've Gotten Me Into," or "The Man In The Iron Moose!" Of course, if Rocky and Bullwinkle are back, then Boris Badenov and Natasha Fatale can't be far behind.

In order to help celebrate the 55th anniversary of Rocky and Bullwinkle, 20th Century Fox and Dreamworks Animation have created an all new animated short featuring the beloved characters that will be a part of the upcoming Mr. Peabody & Sherman blu-ray release. However, fans attending Sdcc this year will get the chance to watch the entire short at the event. Come inside to find out when!

From the press release:

In celebration of the 55th anniversary of Rocky and Bullwinkle, join Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment and DreamWorks Animation for the U.S. premiere of an all new Rocky and Bullwinkle short that will appear on the upcoming release of Mr. Peabody & Sherman on Blu-ray and DVD on October 14, 2014. Join the director Gary Trousdale (Beauty and the Beast) and executive producer and Bullwinkle Studios president Tiffany Ward (daughter of Jay Ward) in a discussion about the film and the legacy...

San Diego Comic-Con has released the full schedule of events for Friday, July 25, following the Thursday schedule that was released yesterday. You can clickHere to view the lineup in its entirety, which includes numerous comic book panels and events, but we have pulled out all of the movie, DVD and TV-related panels for your convenience.

Friday, July 25

10:00am - 11:00am - Cartoon Network: Uncle Grandpa & Clarence

Good mornin'! What's better than a panel of one Cartoon Network Comedy? Two cartoon network comedies! That's right fans, prepare yourself for double the comedy, double the fun and double the friends with Uncle Grandpa and Clarence! Join the always-entertaining cast and crew for a behind-the-scenes look at two of the newest hit shows on Cartoon Network. It's woooooorth it. Appearing from Uncle Grandpa are creator Peter Browngardt (Uncle Grandpa), Kevin Michael Richardson (Mr. Gus), and Eric Bauza (Belly Bag). Appearing from...

There are people out there who have never seen The Princess Bride. They walk among us, holding down jobs, contributing to society, and generally living happy, semi-fulfilled lives. But whisper a perfectly-timed “mawage” in their direction during a wedding, and the resulting blank stare or awkward chuckle will expose an inconceivable pop-cultural blind spot. Someone failed them when they were growing up.

In many ways it’s too late for them, but we can still save the next generation. The 55 Essential Movies Kids Must Experience (Before They Turn 13) is a starting point. This isn’t a list of the 55 “best” kids movies,...

Disney’s quest to re-imagine the contents of its back catalogue continues, with confirmation that Bill Condon will direct a live-action version of the studio’s 1991 Oscar nominated animated feature, Beauty And The Beast. The great modernisation of Disney classics has thus far been well-received by audiences, who embraced updated versions of Alice In Wonderland and The Wizard Of Oz (aka Oz the Great and Powerful), and most recently carried Maleficent to a $170 million opening weekend. With this latest project, the studio is clearly hoping to capitalize on that success.

The story – based on the traditional fairy tale first published in 1740 from the pen of Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve – has been filmed many times since Jean Cocteau’s 1946 version, La Belle et la Bete. Disney’s own 1991 animation of the tale was directed by Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale from a screenplay by Linda Woolverton. Billed as a musical romantic fantasy,...

Following this weekend's box office success of Disney's Maleficent, the studio is moving forward with a live-action adaptation of the 1991 animated classic Beauty and the Beast, which has Bill Condon attached to direct.

Evan Spiliotopoulos (Ouija, Hercules) is writing the screenplay, although no specific story details were given at this time. The original Beauty and the Beast was one of the few animated movies to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Picture, grossing over $375 million worldwide and spawning a hit Broadway play and other adaptations such as The CW series Beauty & the Beast and a French Beauty & the Beast adaptation starring Vincent Cassel and L&#233a Seydoux. The characters will also be featured in the upcoming Disney Channel TV movie Descendants.

While it isn't known if there will be any musical elements, Bill Condon wrote the screenplay for the hit musicals Chicago and wrote and directed Dreamgirls.

Mandeville Films is...

As we continue on, I need to once again clarify that if this list was “Joshua Gaul’s 50 Favorite Movie Musicals,” it’d be a quite a different list. But, if my tastes determined what is definitive, I’d be asking you all to consider Aladdin as a brilliant piece of filmmaking and wax nostalgic about my love for Batteries Not Included and Flight of the Navigator (not for the musicals list, of course). Much to my dismay, my tastes are not universal. I’d like to think my research methods are.

courtesy of themoviescene.co.uk

30. Annie (1982)

Directed by John Huston

Signature Song: “Tomorrow” (http://youtu.be/Yop62wQH498)

Originally a 1924 comic strip, the beloved stage musical about a red-haired orphan girl was brought to the big screen in 1982 and directed by John Huston (yes, that John Huston – director of The Maltese Falcon and The African Queen, not to...

Atlantis: The Lost Empire

Written by Tab Murphy

Directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise

Us, 2001

One of the biggest complaints of animated films in North America is that they are undoubtedly targeted solely at children. While Disney and Pixar may occasionally slip adult jokes in to their films, the films are still marketed to children. On weekends when animated films open, it is assumed that they will be successful because they are targeted at kids going with their families. This is why many flock to the films of Studio Ghibli as examples of animated films for adults. However, shortly after the end of the Disney Renaissance (the films between The Little Mermaid and Tarzan), Disney released their most mature film since The Black Cauldron: Atlantis: The Lost Empire.

The film opens with a quote from Plato about the fall of the continent of Atlantis followed by a cataclysmic scene of its destruction.

Today's MPAA ratings bulletin includes a new PG-13 rating for the Kevin Costner starrer Draft Day as the studio appealed the original R-rating for brief strong language, which has now been changed to PG-13 for what's described as "brief strong language and sexual references". Riveting, rightc Also included is the rating for yet another Tyler Perry movie, this one Tyler Perry's Single Moms Club, which stars Perry alongside Nia Long and an R-rating for the festival favorite Blue Ruin, which Radius-twc is expected to release this year. And finally, a family-friendly rating for the animated Mr. Peabody & Sherman as well as a rating for a new Rocky & Bullwinkle short film, which will play in front of Peabody & Sherman. The short was directed by Gary Trousdale (Beauty and the Beast) and features the voice work of June Foray (the original voice of Rocket J. Squirrel) and Tom Kenny ("SpongeBob SquarePants") as Bullwinkle Moose.