A live-action Aristocats movie is in development at Disney.
As reported by Deadline, Disney will adapt the 1970 animated classic into a live-action film, which is currently in early development with Will Gluck (Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway) and Keith Bunin (Onward) set to write the script. Gluck will produce under his Olive Bridge Entertainment banner.
It was also reported that the film would have a similar live-action style to Lady and the Tramp, which premiered on Disney+ in 2019. However, as The Aristocats is in its earliest stages, very little is known about the film at the time of writing, including if it will premiere theatrically or on Disney+.
The Aristocats was first released in 1970 from Walt Disney Productions, based on a story from Tom McGowan and Tom Rowe. The animated musical film followed a family of Parisian, aristocratic housecats who are kidnapped by their mistress's jealous butler after she promised her entire fortune to the beloved pets. After being stranded in the French countryside, Duchess (Eva Gabor) and her three kittens, Toulouse, Maria and Berlioz, meet the alleycat, Thomas O'Malley (Phil Harris), who promises to guide them back to Paris. The film featured the classic song, "Everybody Wants to Be a Cat," among others and it is currently unknown if the live-action adaptation will be a musical as well.
The Aristocats will be the latest in a long list of live-action adaptations of classic animated films from Disney, with the most recent release being 2021's Cruella, starring Emma Stone. As for projects currently in production, the live-action adaptation of Snow White recently found its male lead in Tony Award-winner Andrew Burnap to star opposite Rachel Zegler's titular princess. Other live-action remakes in the works include Pinocchio, Hercules and Lilo & Stitch.
Disney's next live-action film to hit theaters will be The Little Mermaid starring Halle Bailey as Princess Ariel, which is currently set for a 2023 release date. The live-action remake of Disney's 1989 animated classic began production in 2016, but Bailey, known for her work as one half of the R&B duo Chloe & Halle, was not cast in the lead role until 2019. She wrapped filming on the project in July 2021, but her casting was initially met with some backlash, as she is a person of color who was cast as a mermaid that was depicted as white in the original.
"I feel like I'm dreaming and I'm just grateful and I don't pay attention to the negativity," the actor said at the time. "I just feel like, you know, this role is something bigger than me, and greater, and it's gonna be beautiful. I'm just so excited to be a part of it, and, yeah."
Source: Deadline