Disney will follow up Beauty and the Beast 3D with The Lion King 3D. Speaking with producer Don Hahn in London, Empire got some quick info about upcoming Disney projects. While there's still no release date for the 3D version of 1991's Beauty and the Beast (it was originally slated to open in February before it was pulled from the schedule; it's now projected to open sometime in 2011), the studio is already working on giving the 3D treatment to The Lion King. Said Hahn, "I'm actually trying to work out a 3D conversion of The Lion King. I’ll be doing that when I go back to the States in a couple of weeks." However, he added that we shouldn't expect to see the final product any time soon.
He also provided a brief update on Who Framed Roger Rabbit 2—which hired the original writers to pen a script back in November—saying that while there hasn't been much news on the project, it's still moving forward. "If you’re a fan, pretty soon you’re going to be very, very, very happy." Roger Rabbit 2 will be, unsurprisingly, in 3D. Hahn also provided an update on the adaptation of a classic Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, The Snow Queen. Hit the jump for what he had to say on that project.
While The Lion King 3D and Who Framed Roger Rabbit 2 are moving forward, the hand-drawn adaptation of The Snow Queen, has been frozen. Hahn explains:
“It’s on the low shelf – we can’t reach it! But seriously, we don’t have the story. It’s a bit like Beauty And The Beast, which sat there for years. We cracked Beauty finally by putting in the objects and creating more plot. The Snow Queen we’ve had a lot of trouble with and I’ve spent years on it. I love it and I think it’s one of the last great fairy tales. It’s kind of crappy that it’s just sitting there right now.”
The story, according to Wikipedia, is about a struggle between good and evil as experienced by a little boy and girl, Kay and Gerda. Kay is hit with the splinters of the devil's mirror and as a result sees the world an evil place. He's abducted by the cold-hearted Snow Queen who promises to free the boy if he can spell "eternity" with the pieces of ice in her palace. Gerda sets out to rescue her friend Kay from the Snow Queen and the influence of the devil's mirror. Wikipedia also says that "The story is one of Andersen's longest and is considered by scholars, critics, and readers alike as one of his best." I can understand why they would put this on hold, especially after Disney's latest hand-drawn animated film, The Princess and the Frog, failed to deliver at the box office.
