Have we reached peak Disney prequels? The news of a Prince Charming movie may be a bit much!
The Disney live-action adaptations of its animated classics have been debated a lot among Disney fans. Some do enjoy them, and they have been serious box-office hits. However, many feel they fail to capture the magic of the original animated classics, and some (The Lion King) just come off as awful trying to make these tales “realistic.”
Disney is only increasing it with the upcoming Mufasa, a prequel to the 2019 Lion King, which explores the unneeded origins of the future king character. That would have been tricky enough with an animated version, let alone the live-action, as fans disliked how the movie took a “photo-realistic” approach to the property.
Now we’re getting another unique spin as Deadline reports that writer/director Paul King will be helming a new film based on Prince Charming, co-written with Simon Farnaby and Jon Croker. There aren’t plot details yet, but this looks like the version of the character from Cinderella.
So the question is, do we really need this movie or could it possibly be the final straw to the Disney spinoff films?
Why a Prince Charming film could work
Before we get to the negatives, here’s why the tale could work. The idea of exploring Prince Charming, a guy who’s mostly a cipher on film, is interesting. Most Disney classics only had the prince character as the guy the heroine bounces off of, moons over, maybe occasionally saving the day (Phillip in Sleeping Beauty), but not so much the center of things.
There have been takes on fairy tales like Cinderella, which explore how the Prince wants a life of his own and an independent spirit. That’s why he’s drawn in the end to Cinderella being unlike the usual vapid noblewomen he meets and drawn to her. A movie exploring that, a Charming trying to change himself, can be fun.
There’s also potential in Charming being…well, not so charming. He could be a brat more into having fun and a royal life before an adventure sobers him up. It can play on the line from the musical Into the Woods with “I was raised to be charming, not sincere” and how he has to learn to be his own man.
There’s also hope, given who’s involved. Paul King came to fame with the first two Paddington movies, making them huge critical and box office hits packed with charm and warmth. His Wonka, a prequel involving the Willy Wonka character, sounded bad but turned into a delightful musical and King working with Disney seems better. Having him put a spin on a musical Disney character can be a fantastic experience if done right.
Why this movie may be a mistake
However, these good points are offset by bad ones. A prequel to a classic fairy tale is a tricky proposition as we know the Prince ends up with the heroine so it’s hard to care about any lady he meets along the way. While King made a Wonka prequel worked better than it sounded, Charming doesn’t have that same history to play with.
There’s also how folks are getting tired of these live-action adaptations. The Little Mermaid wasn’t a flop, but not the billion-dollar box office Disney hoped for. The upcoming Snow White looks risky and spinoffs of classic tales are so-so (Maleficent). The audience is uncertain as girls may not be as interested in Charming while boys would be wary of Disney. A revisionist take from King is possible yet still feels offbeat.
It also feels like Disney has decided they’ve gone to a deep enough well on the princesses, so they are now working to side characters for spinoffs. What’s next, Gronk from The Emperor’s New Groove or the animals from Tarzan getting their own movies? It’s just hard to imagine this film connecting with mainstream audiences.
It's an issue coming up more lately that Disney is relying on IP of older films and sequels rather than something fresh. They're not alone with other studios doing the same but the idea Prince Charming gets folks in the theaters when Marvel and Star Wars are having trouble doing so seems foolish. Many may be more inclined to an original adventure rather than this character.
Perhaps it can be a surprise, as King has pulled that off before. Maybe it ends up becoming a fun musical adventure and a success. Still, given Disney has already gone too deep using IP as it is, this looks more scraping the bottom of the barrel rather than a charming idea for a box office hit.