Because what little boy wants to see a movie about a girl with really long hair? And that’s all they think of when they hear Rapunzel, the Brothers Grimm tale about a princess trapped in a high tower by a sorceress, her hair her only means of escape. Just like the reason those same little boys didn’t see The Princess and the Frog was because the word ‘Princess’ was in the title. Maybe Disney should’ve gone with The Princess and the Beast.

So is the rationale behind the executive title change of the Mouse’s upcoming animated pic, Tangled. [L.A. Times, via Joblo]

Here it is in layman’s terms:

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New stills of Disney’s Tron: Legacy have emerged via /Film. They mostly consist of shots from the new trailer which will be attached to Alice in Wonderland this Friday. It was also recently announced on /Film that the film will feature 5 scenes in an extended aspect ratio, only in IMAX 3D. Check out the images below. Read the full story

After The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian bombed at the box office with a meager $141 million dollars, short $81 million of its production budget, it was thought that nobody could resurrect this beloved franchise. Soon after Caspian’s loss, Disney had dropped out of co-producing and distributing the third in C.S Lewis’ series, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. In a recent interview producer of the Narnia films, Mark Johnson expressed his own disappointment:

“We made some mistakes with Prince Caspian, and I don’t want to make them again. [Caspian] was a little bit too rough for families, and too much of a boys action movie.” ChristianityToday

But in recent times the fate of the Narnia films has been looking positive. Previous co-producer Walden Media has joined with 20th Century Fox to bring The Voyage of the Dawn Treader to life. A new director, Michael Apted replaces Andrew Adamson who brought the first two Narnia films the screen.

Now in post production, attention has turned to the film’s promotional trail, with the latest involving a special screening of the film for 100 Christian leaders with an “encyclopedic knowledge of C. S Lewis and the Narnia books”. The response was overwhelmingly positive:

“There seems to be a high level of respect for the material. My sense was that they really want to go to the authenticity of C. S. Lewis, maybe more so than ever.” (Steve Bell, Willow Creek Association)

Whether Dawn Treader does well in the box office may determine the fate of the rest of Narnia books yet to be adapted into films. But as the filmmakers are well aware Dawn Treader needs to appeal to the fans, Christian or otherwise, if it has any hope of succeeding and to do so they must stay true to the essence of the original story.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader opens in cinemas this year on December 10.

Do you think the Dawn Treader will be succeed in the box office?

Don Hahn’s documentary on Disney animation, Waking Sleeping Beauty, has been making the festival circuit the past few months to excellent reviews. The trailer has debuted, which you can watch over in HD at Apple or below via Firstshowing. Read the full story

THR is reporting Disney is going to debut their two massive blockbusters on the annual ShoWest convention in Las Vegas this March. The event is a movie theater industry trade show will show Toy Story 3, which doesn’t come out until June 18th and Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, which hits May 28th. These screenings are pretty far in advance, so I’m very interested in seeing what the response is. If you want to know more about it /Film but up a nice video blog last year and here is a list of all the films that were featured at the event to get an idea of what they show. Read the full story

Many theater owners complained about G.I. Joe’s quick DVD release last year. Now, as THR reports that Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland theatrical run may get cut short, expect similar complaints. Disney CEO Bob Iger has been talking of changing theatrical windows for awhile, now this is the first test. The usual run for a film is 16 weeks, but Disney wants just 13 for the Johnny Depp-starring fantasy film. Their reason is that family-friendly Disney films usually make a whole lot of bank on DVD/Blu-ray. It is also reported that Alice will come to video-on-demand services earlier. Another plus of the shorter theatrical window is that 3D screens will open up for Clash of the Titans, which opens April 2nd. Read the full story

There has been some controversy if the money machine known as Avatar will stay in 3D theaters when Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland hits. While, I’m not very excited for the film, some great news has come our way via AICN. A source over there says a certain trailer will be attached to the Alice In Wonderland: Read the full story

Last year it was announced that filmmakers were working on 3D-ifying the original mastered versions of the 1991 animated film The Beauty and the Beast. Yesterday (on StitchKingdom.com via Collider.com) it was reported that the film’s release was going to be delayed over a year. It was slated for release on Valentine’s Day 2010. A new release date has yet to be announced. Read the full story

The Walt Disney company is planning on making a remake of the 1979 sci-fi movie The Black Hole. The Hollywood Reporter is saying the director and the producer of the 2010 sequel Tron: Legacy, Joseph Kosinski and Sean Bailey respectively, will be teaming up with Clash of the Titans writer Travis Beacham to handle the movie.

The Black Hole can best be described as an incredibly campy and classically written space opera. Think early Star Trek episodes. Yes, that campy. Ironically, at its time, it was the most expensive movie Disney made. The Tron: Legacy team may be able to pull it off. Black Hole has many sci-fi similarities with the original Tron so the already have one foot firmly planted in the ground. A part of me hopes that this movie will take advantage of its over the top roots and be tongue-in-cheek.

Disney is pulling a lot of old things out of the bin. Should they stop recreating old movies?

With official news that Rob Marshall is directing Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides with Johnny Depp just out in the open comes further news that Disney’s McG-steered Captain Nemo film is dead in the water, with no McG or start date or cast to speak of (not that there was ever a cast). The film was set to start filming in February. [Variety] Read the full story