Your favourite childrens stories being brought to life on screen
When Winnie The Pooh and best mate Piglet stroll hand in hand into cinemas this week, they usher in a bright new chapter for some of the best-loved childrens films ever made. Here are some of the biggest to be released over the next months.
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When Winnie The Pooh and best mate Piglet stroll hand in hand into cinemas this week, they usher in a bright new chapter for some of the best-loved childrens films ever made. From Dumbo the flying elephant to Aladdin and Little Women’s march sisters, the characters we grew up with are being dusted off and polished for a new generation of fans.
CHRISTOPHER ROBIN
In cinemas Thursday
Winnie-the-Pooh fans will love this sweet live-action Disney movie starring Ewan McGregor as a grown-up Christopher Robin, who has long forgotten his magical friends in 100 Acre Wood – until they come to find him. Directed by Finding Neverland’s Marc Forster, Jim Cummings voices Pooh, Peter Capaldi Rabbit, Sophie Okonedo Kanga and Toby Jones Owl, honouring A.A. Milne’s original creations.
THE GRINCH
Released November 29
The team behind Minions and Despicable Me have set their sights on Dr. Seuss’s famous tale The Grinch and turned it into an animated movie with Benedict Cumberbatch voicing the miserable grump who sets out to steal Christmas but gets his heart changed in the end. Directed by Yarrow Cheney and Scott Mosier, this Universal Pictures version is bound to be a Christmas classic for a new generation.
MARY POPPINS RETURNS
Released January 1
One of the most anticipated movies of the year, Disney’s Mary Poppins is returning to the big screen 55 years after the original. This time Emily Blunt takes on the role of the world’s favourite nanny. Jane and Michael Banks are all grown up, but when Michael suffers a personal loss, Mary Poppins turns up to bring some joy back into their lives. Also starring Meryl Streep, Colin Firth, Emily Mortimer, Angela Lansbury, Julie Walters, Ben Whishaw and yes, Dick Van Dyke, it is packed with promise. P.L. Travers must be turning in her grave.
DUMBO
Released March 2019
Tim Burton is bringing back the 1941 Disney classic Dumbo in a live-action fairy-tale. Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell) is an ex-circus star hired by circus owner Max Medici (Danny DeVito) to look after Dumbo, a baby elephant whose giant ears makes the struggling troupe a laughing stock. But when it’s discovered he can fly the silver-tongued V.A. Vandevere (Michael Keaton) and Colette Marchant (Eva Green) see dollar signs. As does Disney.
ALADDIN
Released May 2019
Guy Ritchie is on board to bring a live-action version of Aladdin back to the big screen for Disney, with Mena Massoud as the title character, Will Smith as Genie and Naomi Scott as Princess Jasmine. Not many details have been released, but insiders say the movie is a lot of fun with a hint of Ritchie’s signature style.
THE LION KING
Released July 2019
Meanwhile, Disney is also working on another live-action and CGI remake of The Lion King, directed by Jon Favreau, with Donald Glover as the voice of Simba, Beyonce as Nala, Chiwetal Ejiofor as Scar and Seth Rogan as Pumbaa. It’s a musical like the original and don’t panic, Circle of Life is still in it.
LITTLE WOMEN
Released December 2019
The Louisa May Alcott classic is getting a reboot thanks to Lady Bird’s Greta Gerwig, who directs a star-studded cast, including Emma Watson as Meg March, Eliza Scanlen as Beth, Saoirse Ronan as Jo, Florence Pugh as Amy and Meryl Streep as Aunt March. Timothee Chalamet plays Laurie Laurence in this Columbia/Sony project.
MOWGLI
Released 2019
“I think we can both agree Mowgli that you are something the jungle has never seen before,” hisses Cate Blanchett as snake Kaa in what looks like a thrilling live-action remake of the Rudyard Kipling classic, from Warner Bros. Starring Rohan Chand as the boy raised by wolves, with director Andy Serkis as the voice of Baloo, Christian Bale as Bagheera and Benedict Cumberbatch as Shere Khan, this version looks set to be one of the best.
LADY AND THE TRAMP
Released 2019
There’s no stopping Disney, which is also funding a live-action remake of its 1955 hit Lady And The Tramp. Directed by Charlie Bean, Justin Theroux is voicing Tramp and Tessa Thompson Lady. It will be streamed on Disney’s upcoming digital service next year.
THE FARAWAY TREE
Release date TBA
StudioCanal, the makers of Paddington is joining with Sam Mendes’ Neal Street Productions for a live-action adaptation of some of the most-loved stories ever – Enid Blyton’s Faraway Tree series. Horrible Histories’ Simon Farnaby, who also wrote Paddington, is penning the script and said he is “very much looking forward to bringing the likes of Old Saucepan Man and Dame Washalot to the big screen for old fans and new.”
PINOCCHIO
Release date TBA
Another live-action remake on Disney’s hit list is Pinocchio, which is set to start filming next year, directed by Paddington’s Paul King. Meanwhile, Robert Downey Jr is making a version for Warner Bros. with Ron Howard directing and Guillermo del Toro has also been trying to get finance for his dark version of the 1883 novel by Italian writer Carlo Collodi.