The film, currently titled Gigantic, focuses on an 11-year-old girl giant, and is being directed by Nathan Greno, who directed Tangled (2010). While already it sounds as though it’s an interesting take on the classic fairy-tale, it does seem like a retrograde step to me. I’ve no issue with their decision to revert their focus back to traditional storytelling – they did so with Tangled and Frozen (2013) which were both met with rousing success, the latter especially (albeit inexplicably – so much so, in fact, that they’re working on a sequel; thanks for the warning). But the sad fact is that Disney have adapted this story before, for their ninth animated feature, the package film Fun and Fancy Free (1947), and therefore I feel as though concerns should be raised as to the originality of the prospective feature. Admittedly, though, the concept art does make Gigantic appear easily distinguishable, and they’ll no doubt work in your typical ‘Disney’ twist.
As of yet, however, the title does seem a tad laboured. Sure, one-word, modish titles such as Tangled and Frozen are effective, but there’s only so many times it can be done before it’s perceived as a lame rehash. What’s more, the new Disney’s modern spin on the traditional fairy-tale is becoming increasingly jarring with each release. A major problem I have with some of their latest adaptations of traditional stories is that the dialogue is, like, totally contemporary, and their juxtaposition of modern attitudes and present day slang with traditional settings just doesn’t work, and sadly a short, snappy title is indicative that this remains the case. Regardless, at least it’s an original concept, which is more than can be said for Pixar’s latest output.
D23 saw Pixar unveil a number of sequels, the most anticipated of which is probably Finding Dory, due for release next year. Details of the plot were unveiled, revealing it to be about Dory’s finding her family. It’s a decent concept but I can’t help feeling that it’s too laboured. Let’s face it, as likeable as Dory is in Finding Nemo (2003), a film focussed entirely on her character may not work. In fact, rule number one of a successful sequel is to not focus on side characters! They did the same with Mater in Cars 2 (2011) and look how that turned out. Details of John Lasseter’s Toy Story 4 also emerged, revealing it to be a love story focussing on Woody and Bo Peep, an endearing, if somewhat pointless, concept – and one that risks tarnishing a near-flawless franchise. Theatrical posters were also unveiled for the upcoming features, including Cars 3 (which I’m sure we’re all looking forward to immensely), and The Incredibles 2, perhaps the only sequel I can get excited about. The original, being a superhero movie, lends itself perfectly to a franchise; it’s simply baffling as to why it’s taken this long to realise it. One merely hopes that it’s as good, story-wise, as the original.
And there you have it - Disney’s most anticipated upcoming animated features. While Moana (2016) and Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur (2015) seem to be the most original concepts, most of the other film ideas seem rather derivative and lazy, at least on paper. Saying that, even the worst of the majority of Disney and Pixar’s output is at the very least watchable. Simultaneously, however, it does worry me that Pixar might be sinking further into mediocrity. With sequels galore in the pipeline, the future status of the previous king of the animated film is dubious at best.
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