It seems that former Disney animator Tim Burton is making the Mouse House his second home as Ain’t It Cool News is reporting that Burton is planning to turn his attention to an alternate interpretation of Sleeping Beauty, entitled Maleficent, after he wraps Alice In Wonderland.
It was believed that Burton would be making a film adaptation of 1960’s Gothic television show Dark Shadows next, but the film is apparently far from ready to shoot, and now Harry Knowles states that he’s heard a “whisper” that Burton will be putting a modern spin on the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale by having the film focus on the villain, Maleficent, shot in a “quasi live actiony kinda way” much like Alice In Wonderland.
Maleficent was the evil fairy in the original Disney classic who casts a spell on Princess Aurora, causing her to sleep until she is kissed by her handsome Prince Charming.
Now, this news is far from concrete and you can only imagine that Burton might employ girlfriend Helena Bonham Carter to play the role of Maleficent and that Johnny Depp will make an appearance at some point – surely he’s too old to play Prince Charming?
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Maleficent?
While the film does sound like it’s right up Burton’s darkened street, the concept does seem, dare I say it – a little uninspired. At first glance, the limited information that Harry Knowles gave makes Maleficent sound too similar to the novel and musical Wicked, which is an alternate telling of the life and times of the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz.
If Burton does indeed go ahead with this film, I hope that he changes things cast-wise from his last few films. While I do enjoy his collaborations with Johnny Depp, I’m at the point where I feel that his casting has now become slightly lazy (never thought I’d ever say that!). Maybe he could give old sparring partner Michael Keaton a call. I also feel that in recent years Burton’s films have been off the boil a bit. In my opinion, the only great film that he’s made since Mars Attacks has been Big Fish, and the less said about Planet of The Apes the better!
More on Maleficent and other Tim Burton films as we get it it.
