Rare Glimpse of Disney's Failed 'Wild Things' Adaptation!
Filed under: Animation, Classics, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Disney, Warner Brothers, Celebrities and Controversy, Family Films, DIY/Filmmaking, Trailers and Clips
Every film fan loves tales of movies that almost were, and Hollywood history is certainly littered with them. Most of the time it's a good thing they didn't take off, but occasionally the result would have been something very special. I think that Disney's version of Where the Wild Things Are might have been one such example. Few people know that in 1983, they were working on their own adaptation with John Lasseter, and trying out that newfangled thing known as CGI. The project fell apart because of budget, and Lasster was fired from Walt Disney Studios as a result of it. A rare clip of the surviving animation has surfaced online at Buzzfeed. I've embedded it below the jump, and while there's not much to it, it's a lovely piece of animation. Max's style is really classic Disney, and we don't get to see how they would have tackled the monsters ... but I really wish this had come to be. An animated and a live action Wild Things in the same universe? That's one I could live in.
Fast forward 26 years, and Where the Wild Things Are is finally making it to the big screen, though not without a similar tale of close calls and filmmaking drama. Isn't it odd that no one ever took up the chance between 1983 and now (and maybe there's rights issues I'm unaware of )? And clearly, there's something in those lush illustrations and simple storyline that have encouraged several filmmakers to become a wild thing, and push the boundaries of filmmaking and creativity.
Fast forward 26 years, and Where the Wild Things Are is finally making it to the big screen, though not without a similar tale of close calls and filmmaking drama. Isn't it odd that no one ever took up the chance between 1983 and now (and maybe there's rights issues I'm unaware of )? And clearly, there's something in those lush illustrations and simple storyline that have encouraged several filmmakers to become a wild thing, and push the boundaries of filmmaking and creativity.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-18-2009 @ 10:07AM
carg0 said...
they accomplished that in '83?
damn...color me impressed.
Reply
7-18-2009 @ 10:26AM
Jay said...
I guess Lasseter felt no animosity towards Disney -- I wonder how much they paid to get him back.
Reply
7-18-2009 @ 3:39PM
rich said...
Whatever Steve Jobs asked for when he sold Pixar to them.
7-18-2009 @ 11:16AM
Gray McAdam said...
I keep reading that this is "such rare footage" when in reality it was featured in the documentary "The Pixar Story" by Leslie Iwerks which was featured on the 3 disc Wall-E DVD.
Reply
7-18-2009 @ 11:29AM
Kurt Munro said...
I saw that vid a while ago and was pretty impressed. I'm surprised they didn't go with it.
Reply
7-18-2009 @ 1:52PM
Joe Apel said...
It should be mentioned that Glen Keane (animator of Aladdin, the Beast, Tarzan, and Ariel) animated Max in this.
Reply
7-19-2009 @ 4:05AM
aaron said...
this isn't a failed attempt they were just testing the new tech at the time. like gray mcadam said its all in the pixar documentary on the pixar shorts dvd.
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