As long as these live-action remakes continue to make Disney a boatload of money at the box office, they’re going to keep being produced. The public has already witnessed the reimagining of classics like Aladdin, Dumbo, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Pete’s Dragon and more over the past few years, not to mention the upcoming Mulan, The Little Mermaid and The Lion King releases all on the horizon.
One would think that might be enough when it comes to remakes, but one would be wrong. Following the news that both Pocahontas and Chip ‘n’ Dale will be made into live-action features, we’re now hearing that Disney is also planning to give Treasure Planet the same treatment. As with some of these other projects that we’ve reported on, it’s only in the very early stages of development, but it’s said to be on their list of films that they’re hoping to remake at some point in the near future.
The choice is an interesting one, too, considering that the 2002 animated movie was a total box office bomb. Although critics praised it, audiences were decidedly less enthusiastic. The flick only netted $38 million in the United States against a $140 million budget. Despite being a financial flop though, the film still earned a nomination for Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards.
Disney is likely under the impression then that the property can find a wider audience this time around. They’ll likely assemble a cast that’s just as impressive as the original, too, if not more so. For those who don’t recall, Treasure Planet starred the vocal talents of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Brian Murray, David Hyde Pierce, Martin Short, Roscoe Lee Browne, Emma Thompson, Laurie Metcalf and Patrick McGoohan in his final cinematic role.
The animated film is a science fiction adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic adventure novel Treasure Island, as well as being a revamp of the 1987 Italian miniseries Treasure Island in Outer Space. It’ll be interesting to see if Disney spends big on the production of Treasure Planet this time, considering its epic flop nearly two decades ago, but either way, it’s definitely something to keep an eye on as the studio continues to crank out the remakes.