A full 14 years ago, Disney released a delightful reimagining of Rapunzel in the form of Tangled, a charming twist on the classic tale.
The flick was already a remake, of sorts, despite the lack of a previous Repunzel effort from the House of Mouse. That won’t be enough to stop the greedy overlords at Disney from milking the property for all its worth, obviously, and many fans are expecting the company’s new favorite method of milking to target Tangled within the next few years.
We are currently mired in the exhausting era of live-action Disney remakes, which has seen longtime animated classics like The Lion King, Aladdin, and Mulan get visually impressive but overall soulless remakes with a live-action cast. It was by no means the financial behemoth Frozen turned out to be, but — should Disney see even a minor monetary gain in the effort — Tangled may be next in line.
Is Tangled getting a live-action remake?
Rumors of a live-action Tangled remake have been swirling for years now, as people eye the list of popular Disney flicks and wonder which one is next on the live-action chopping block. Disney has yet to officially green-light — or even tease — a live-action version of Tangled (or, more broadly, the story of Rapunzel), but most viewers think its just a matter of time.
Assuming Disney’s live-action remakes continue to do well, they’re probably right. These fresh efforts at beloved films are never as good as the originals, but they do pull in money. And, to Disney’s dollar-sign shaped eyes, money equals success. Which means that most, if not all, of our beloved animated Disney releases will get the live-action treatment eventually.
When it comes to Tangled, however, we’ve still likely got a wait on our hands. All of the Disney films we’ve seen adapted so far — The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, The Jungle Book, Cinderella, Dumbo, Pinocchio, and Mulan — were released, at the latest, in the ’90s. Some of them came out decades earlier, leaving far more time between their original run and their eventual re-emergence.
Tangled is nearly 15 years old, but its far from distant memory. That doesn’t guarantee that Disney will hold off, of course, but viewers should expect a few more classic Disney stories — like Snow White and the Seven Dwarves or even The Aristocats — before the company sets its sights on Tangled.