User blog:NibiruMul/Rejected Disney Fairy Tale Movies

I thought this would be interesting for a blog post.

I've discovered a complete list of unproduced Disney media on Wikipedia, and I decided to share it with you. Apparently, there are lots of fairy tale films that Disney proposed, but never made.

Here is the list
 * 1) Alice in Wonderland (1933) - This was Disney's first attempt at making an Alice in Wonderland movie, eighteen years before they made their own version. It was supposed to be a combination of live-action and animation, and it was to star former silent film actress Mary Pickford as Alice. Walt Disney scrapped it in favor of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.
 * 2) The Little Mermaid (1933-1941) Long before Disney released The Little Mermaid in 1989, Walt himself wanted to adapt Hans Christian Andersen's story. I found some concept art by Kay Nielsen. Supposedly, this version would have been much more faithful to Andersen's version (possibly even including the original ending) than the film we got.

On a somewhat related note, some of Disney's produced movies, such as Alice in Wonderland, Snow White, and Beauty and the Beast, were meant to be closer to their sources than the finished products. For example, early drafts of Snow White included the first two of the Evil Queen's plots to murder Snow White (the bodice and the poison comb). Alice in Wonderland was meant to include the Gryphon and the Mock Turtle, and the first draft of Beauty and the Beast planned to include Belle's sisters (presumably as the villains).
 * 1) The Emperor's New Clothes (1935) - This was meant to be a short in the Silly Symphonies series.
 * 2) The Emperor's New Clothes (1936) - Similar to the above, except this one was supposed to feature Mickey Mouse as the emperor.
 * 3) Goldilocks and the Three Bears (1936) - A short based on the fairy tale, with Goldilocks drawn to look like Shirley Temple. Supposedly, she was going to voice Goldilocks too.
 * 4) Peter Rabbit (1936) - Okay, so technically this isn't a fairy tale, but worthy of note. Walt wanted to adapt the Beatrix Potter book into a movie. However, Beatrix Potter refused his offer.
 * 5) Reynard the Fox (1937) - Based on the medieval legends of Reynard the Fox, Disney considered this for a feature film.
 * 6) Snow White Returns (1938) - An unproduced Silly Symphonies short that was meant to be a sequel to the feature-length animated film released the previous year.
 * 7) Bambi's Children (1943) - Technically not a fairy tale either, but I wanted to include it anyway. This was based on the novel of the same name, which was a sequal to Bambi (which Disney had made a film of the previous year).
 * 8) The Tales of Hans Christian Andersen (1943) - This was meant to be a co-production with Samuel Goldwyn of MGM fame. It was to be about Andersen's life and to include animated shorts based on The Nightingale, The Emperor's New Clothes, The Little Mermaid, The Fir-Tree, and The Steadfast Tin Soldier.
 * 9) The Emperor's Nightingale (1960) - This was meant to be an adaptation of The Nightingale done with paper cut-out animation.
 * 10) Goldilocks and the Three Bears (1963) - A proposed film adaptation of the fairy tale - the first of several proposed fairy tale adaptations Disney planned during the 1960s.
 * 11) Little Red Riding Hood (1963) - A proposed film adaptation of the fairy tale.
 * 12) Hansel and Gretel (1967) - A proposed film adaptation of the fairy tale.
 * 13) The Bremen Town Musicians (1969) - A proposed film adaptation of the fairy tale.
 * 14) Puss in Boots (1991) - A proposed film adaptation of the fairy tale. I couldn't find much information on it.
 * 15) Mickey's Arabian Nights (1992) - An unproduced Mickey Mouse film based on the Arabian Nights
 * 16) Sinbad the Sailor (1992) - Based on the Arabian Nights story, Disney scrapped it because they thought it would be too similar to Aladdin.
 * 17) Swan Lake (1992) - An adaptation of the ballet that was planned by Disney, but was canceled due to creative differences with animator Richard Rich, who later broke from the company and made The Swan Princess.
 * 18) Totally Twisted Fairy Tales (1998) - This was meant to be a direct-to-video fairy tale anthology, with shorts based on Jack and the Beanstalk, The Three Little Pigs, Little Red Riding Hood, and an unknown fourth short. George Carlin was cast in Jack and the Beanstalk. Only the Little Red Riding Hood one (which was called Redux Riding Hood) ever saw the light of day.
 * 19) The Frog Prince (2001) - This was meant to be a satirical adaptation of the Brothers Grimm story. It was rejected because the executives thought satirical animated films wouldn't do well with audiences.
 * 20) The Emperor and the Nightingale (2002) - A second attempt at making a film adaptation of The Nightingale.
 * 21) Tam Lin (2003) - Based on the Scottish balad of Tam Lin.
 * 22) Uncle Stiltskin (2003) - An adaptation of Rumpelstiltskin that would have functioned as a sort of sequel.

So...what do you think? Which ones do you think would have made the best movies?

What other fairy tales do you think would make good Disney movies?