By Disney seems to be handing us a big old dose of nostalgia in the past few years, and it doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. It was announced by Deadline that The Hunchback of Notre Dame is getting a new live-action makeover. The new take will include elements from the classic novel first written by Victor Hugo in 1831 as well as the 1996 animated feature film. I get chills hearing this news as that movie was a big part of my childhood. Who could forget the incredible score and voice cast?
Regarding the music, a lot of Tony- Award Winning talent will be involved in the new project. Playwright David Henry Hwang who won a Tony for M.Butterfly will take the helm of Disney’s latest live-action musical. Legends Alan Menken, as well as Stephen Schwartz, will take care of the music. Josh Gad will produce it alongside Mandeville Films. They gave us the live-action adaption of Beauty and the Beast. This for sure gives me hope that it is going to indeed be amazing.
We sadly don’t have any casting announcements to make as of yet but stay tuned. It has been rumored, however, that Josh Gad was being looked at for playing the famous hunchback, Quasimodo. As long as this film has some of the amazing songs from the original — “Hellfire” for example. Although Tony Jay is no longer with us I will still gladly see it. Disney has a slew of live-action adaptions headed to theaters such as Dumbo, Aladdin, The Lion King and most recently announced Mulan and Pinocchio.
Are we getting a tad overloaded with these “live-action” adaptations? I think so. One can’t really judge, however, until you see it on the big screen. Disney veterans, however, may stay away from these newer versions and simply stick to the animated classics.
