Devaluing the Classics
If I sat down and decided to write the sequel to Romeo and Juliet, I think the line of people wanting to lynch me would be reminiscent of the wait for Space Mountain at Disneyland on Memorial Day weekend. And Citizen Kane: The Early Years would have Orson Wells doing spins in his grave. It’s one of the unwritten rules of writing… Don’t fuck with the classics.
Now I have the greatest respect for Disney’s animation. I think that Walt and the boy’s were pioneers in a field that very few took seriously. The idea of a full-length animated movie was a gamble only Walt saw as worthwhile. Disney has made some of the most memorable versions of the classic stories, absolutely brilliant work. But the problem is that when a creative genius sets a standard for others to follow, eventually they pass on, and invariably a ‘businessman’ takes the reigns. Look at the mess of Roddenberry inspired drudge that has leaked out of the closet since his passing. If the stuff was any good, wouldn’t he have pitched it when he was alive?
Tonight I saw a commercial for The Huntchback of Notre Dame II. I don’t remember there being a second novel. Or the previously released Cinderella II; didn’t the first one end with “They lived happily ever after”? Did the author lie? Was he not privy to the rest of the story? They did two Aladdin sequels, two, and neither of them had Robin Williams. Now I understand a company’s desire to make money, that’s what companies do, but this is just wrong.
Are we so devoid of ideas that we have to trash what we considered sacred? There are plenty of all-ages comic books that would make terrific cartoons. Disney would be better served getting the rights to Hero Bear and the Kid or turning a great cartoon strip like Calvin and Hobbs into a movie then trying to add on to stories we all know. And maybe, just maybe, there are a couple classics they haven’t gotten to. Anyone for a Three Musketeers cartoon?
If I sat down and decided to write the sequel to Romeo and Juliet, I think the line of people wanting to lynch me would be reminiscent of the wait for Space Mountain at Disneyland on Memorial Day weekend. And Citizen Kane: The Early Years would have Orson Wells doing spins in his grave. It’s one of the unwritten rules of writing… Don’t fuck with the classics.
Now I have the greatest respect for Disney’s animation. I think that Walt and the boy’s were pioneers in a field that very few took seriously. The idea of a full-length animated movie was a gamble only Walt saw as worthwhile. Disney has made some of the most memorable versions of the classic stories, absolutely brilliant work. But the problem is that when a creative genius sets a standard for others to follow, eventually they pass on, and invariably a ‘businessman’ takes the reigns. Look at the mess of Roddenberry inspired drudge that has leaked out of the closet since his passing. If the stuff was any good, wouldn’t he have pitched it when he was alive?
Tonight I saw a commercial for The Huntchback of Notre Dame II. I don’t remember there being a second novel. Or the previously released Cinderella II; didn’t the first one end with “They lived happily ever after”? Did the author lie? Was he not privy to the rest of the story? They did two Aladdin sequels, two, and neither of them had Robin Williams. Now I understand a company’s desire to make money, that’s what companies do, but this is just wrong.
Are we so devoid of ideas that we have to trash what we considered sacred? There are plenty of all-ages comic books that would make terrific cartoons. Disney would be better served getting the rights to Hero Bear and the Kid or turning a great cartoon strip like Calvin and Hobbs into a movie then trying to add on to stories we all know. And maybe, just maybe, there are a couple classics they haven’t gotten to. Anyone for a Three Musketeers cartoon?
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