Thursday, September 30, 2010

Disney Studios project: a family adventure movie filmed at Disneyland !

Acording to Variety Disney is "considering making one of its theme parks the setting of a family adventure movie called "Magic Kingdom"! :

"While Disney is giving its more popular theme park attractions, like "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "The Haunted Mansion," the bigscreen treatment, what happens when it runs out of rides to adapt? All roads may lead to the Magic Kingdom, with the Mouse House considering making one of its theme parks the setting of a family adventure similar to Fox's "Night at the Museum" franchise.

Ronald Moore, behind the recent reboot of the "Battlestar Galactica" TV series, already penned a script based on his own pitch for the project that Marc Abraham and Eric Newman will produce through their Universal-based Strike Entertainment shingle. The initial plot took place inside Disneyland... ...But Disney and the producers are looking to develop "Magic Kingdom" further with a new scribe, who has yet to be hired.

While executives say the project isn't a top priority, it is one they're keeping their eyes on as a potential platform that could showcase a number of high-profile Disney characters, including Mickey Mouse and friends. In other words, it would feature well-known Disney-owned icons rather than hint at them the way "Enchanted" did in 2007...

But "Magic Kingdom" brings with it a number of complications, given the precious real estate and iconic characters involved -- one creative misstep could create one very expensive headache for a studio that's starting to get back on track at the box office.

"Magic Kingdom" had already been in development before Rich Ross took the reins of the studio and tapped Sean Bailey as president of production.

For now, Disney is focusing on launching "Tron: Legacy" in December, a reboot that will be prominently integrated into Anaheim's California Adventure park starting next week. A fourth "Pirates of the Caribbean" is lensing in Hawaii, while Guillermo del Toro is readying an adaptation of "The Haunted Mansion," and David Fincher is behind a new "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" actioner, whose original version was the basis of Disneyland's original submarine ride. Also in development are scripts based on the "Jungle Cruise" ride and "Tomorrowland," an outer space adventure that loosely ties in with the themed area of Disneyland."

Read the full article on Variety web site HERE

From: Variety

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8 comments:

DisWedWay said...

Will Jerry Bruckheimer go back to his 1972 rootes of his Western movie "Culpepper Cattle Company", and finally do a movie based on the Disney attraction Big Thunder based on the PDL "Thunder Mesa" Lore? The sets are already there to work with.

Marco Antonio Garcia said...

A lot of promising projects being developed! It's nice to see movies based on park attractions that afterwards add new elements and help to update the attractions they were based. Just hope, like DisWedWay, to see a Western movie based on Frontierland, even if this genre is not very fashionable nowadays, because neither was the Pirates genre when the first POTC was released.

I also like to see Disney bringing back its history and iconic characters to big movies. Mickey and his gang must be back in high profile movies and series, otherwise they are not going to be popular among the younger generations anymore, something that is already happening. It's also nice and important for Disney to revisit its old classics, like Alice and Sleeping Beauty, otherwise the children are no longer going to identify with them and the Magic Kingdom's, Disney greatest assets, are going to become outdated.

I am particularly very excited about the 20,000 leagues under the sea project, as the original movie is my favorite Disney movie and I would love to see a new one. Hope they go ahead with this project and do not disappoint. Maybe if the movie is successful we can see in the future a new 20,000 attractions in the Magic Kingdoms, perhaps using the TDS concept and technology.

Disney Parks Mania said...

Interesting to see a movie about the Magic Kingdom. I wonder how filming will turn out though... Check out my new Disney blog!

Honor Hunter said...

Well see...

It sounds like the Suits are trying to see if they can find an idea to work into a movie. It's not on the fast track like several others. The "Jungle Cruise" script has been around for a few years and so far the guys in charge haven't liked the angle of the story. Maybe Ross and Bailey can find someone that can crack it. Personally, I'd rather see that than a "Magic Kingdom" film. It sounds a little too much like "Looney Tunes Back In Action" to me...

Thomas said...

It's official. There is no originality left.

Marco Antonio Garcia said...

Don't be so critical Thomas. If they make a movie with a Frontierland or with an Adventureland theme, it's going to be an original movie and an original idea.
The only thing is that, in this case, the land/attraction helps to promote the movie and the movie helps to promote the land/attraction, and this synergy between the different mediums of its company is something that Disney knows how to explore better than any company.
They have a great history, a great legacy beloved by hundreds of millions of people worldwide- why not explore it?

Thomas said...

I think you aren't critical enough.

The point is that Hollywood, and especially Disney, are frightened to do anything that isn't a reference, remake or a piece of synergy right now, and it isn't working for anyone. All this endless recycling has lead to the stalest, most unimaginative movie output in cinematic history. They need to realize that if they want to repeat the success of these films they're remaking, they need to create a similar creative environment for NEW things to blossom.

I am definitely not waiting for them to make some Eddie Murphy Adventureland movie. What a dreadful idea.

Marco Antonio Garcia. said...

The problem is that nowadays the costs and the risks involved are much higher than they used to be, and most of the people involved in making movies are not willing to take them, because they know that if the movie does not make "X" million dollars in the first week at the box office they will not receive the money to try again. Besides that, there are still some good new ideas, but most of them are not blockbusters and most people do not even know about them.

Regarding Disney I don't mind them making movies that are references to their legacy, on the contrary, I enjoy it because I am a huge fan of their legacy.

I agree with you though that an Eddie Murphie Adventureland movie is a dreadful idea, just like the HM Eddie Murphie movie was or any Eddie Murphy movie will be, but they can make a very good movie with an Adventureland theme as well, just like one with a HM theme that I hope will be the one being developed.