The recent announcement of the upcoming horror movie Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey was certainly a shocking one. The revelation that the beloved Winnie the Pooh and his cute friend Piglet had been reimagined as horrifying killers has divided opinions all around, and the movie's release is both anticipated and dreaded.
Yet if something as wholesome as Winnie the Pooh can be reimagined into horror, it is possible that some of Disney's most popular classics could be taken down the horror movie route. With some of the original source material of their most adored movies being dark already, as well as renowned Disney characters having the potential to be sinister, some of the House of Mouse's other franchises can be given a dark and terrifying twist.
The live-action animation hybrid Mary Poppins is one of Disney's most beloved movies to date. Based on the books by P.L. Travers, many are familiar with Julie Andrews' magical singing nanny who arrives to make a difference not just to the children she looks after but to their parents too.
Yet with her unexplainable powers and her strict no-nonsense attitude, it is possible to turn Mary Poppins into a sinister horror movie villain who frightens the children rather than shows them animated wonders in a chalk drawing. (Speaking of which, a nightmarish animated sequence could be a great addition to the horror.) What's more, it could be overcoming the evil supernatural nanny that brings the family closer instead.
Disney's Pinocchio has a live-action remake which is to be released soon, and there is a lot of anticipation to see the reimagined version of the beloved animated classic. Yet the famous tale of a puppet's quest to become a real boy has a lot of potential for phenomenal horror.
From Monstro the whale to the nightmarish sequence of boys turning into donkeys, Pinocchio already has some great starting points to be turned into a horror movie, and that is without the darkness of the original tale by Carlo Collodi. While it's guaranteed that the Disney remake may not be so scary, there is also Guillermo del Toro's stop motion movie to look forward to.
That's So Raven was a Disney Channel sitcom that ran from 2003 to 2007. It focused on the adventures of a high school student whose secret psychic abilities could sometimes be a little off the mark, resulting in hilarious mishaps all around.
This series could be given a treatment akin to the sitcom Sabrina the Teenage Witch being rebooted into the horror series The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. For instance, Raven's miscalculations in her visions could result in frightening consequences instead of comical ones. It would be made even more difficult as no one is aware of her powers.
The Princess and the Frog deviated a little from the original fairy tale by having heroine Tiana also become a frog when she kisses Prince Naveen to break the spell. It could deviate even further from the story if it were to be reimagined as a horror movie.
For example, in the spirit of David Cronenberg, especially in his infamous remake of The Fly, Tiana and Naveen's transformation into frogs could be slower and more grotesque, giving them a limited amount of time to reverse the spell cast by the underrated Disney villain Dr. Facilier. In fact, Dr. Facilier and his "friends on the other side" could provide a number of scares in their own right.
Pete's Dragon was a musical fantasy from 1976, which was eventually remade into an animated film in 2016. The original depicted Elliot the dragon as an adorable animated creation, and while the 2016 Elliot was more intimidating than the original, he was still a lovable character.
Elliot could be made into a rather scary movie monster. Dragons alone can be formidable but with his ability to turn invisible, it is possible to turn the character of Elliot into a vengeful imaginary friend for Pete. As for Pete himself, there are endless possibilities for the boy, considering the role of children in horror movies on the whole.
Toy Story is arguably Pixar's most successful franchise ever. This is in large part due to the lovable characters of the movies such as Woody, Bo Peep, and Buzz Lightyear, whose spin-off movie is one of the most anticipated movies of 2022.
Movies such as Child's Play and Annabelle prove just how scary the concept of toys coming to life can be, and the Toy Story movies could easily be taken down this path. In fact, the first movie touched on some rather horrifying moments with bully Sid playing Frankenstein to create a number of scary-looking toys. In a horror reboot, the toys could turn malicious in order to protect their child (Andy) or take revenge for mistreatment (Sid).
The popular musical classic The Little Mermaid is also receiving a live-action remake. And although it's a colorful love story, The Little Mermaid is ultimately a Faustian tale, only instead of selling her soul to the devil, Ariel is selling her voice to Ursula the sea witch.
A lot can go wrong in Faustian stories, including The Little Mermaid. However, this is better demonstrated in Hans Christian Andersen's original tale than in the Disney movie (for example, in the original tale, Ariel's human legs feel like she is constantly walking on glass). With these factors in mind, this musical Disney movie has the potential to be reimagined as a horror.
Lilo & Stitch is a wholesome tale about family and friendship which ultimately spawned sequel movies and a television series. The basis of the intergalactic life and scientific experiments in this universe could act as a basis for sci-fi horror.
Within the series, Lilo and Stitch's quest to capture and rehome the numerous alien creations could be depicted in a similar light to some of the scarier episodes of Doctor Who or even the Alien movie franchise. And although Stitch would most likely have his scary moments as a powerful alien experiment, it is difficult to imagine him not being friends with Lilo, no matter what the genre.
One of Disney's biggest success stories is Frozen, the story about royal sisters Anna and Elsa. Frozen changed the old Disney formula in various ways, and could arguably change it further with a horror reimagining.
Elsa's ice powers are a good starting point for a potential horror story. They ultimately can cause a lot of damage when uncontrolled, both to others and Elsa herself, and that could be taken even further in a horror movie. This is even more appropriate as according to BBC, Elsa was originally supposed to be the villain of the movie, based on Hans Christian Andersen's evil Snow Queen.
Encanto is unquestionably one of Disney's most popular movies to date. Yet Mirabel's quest to save the magic of her family and their house could possibly work as well with the horror twist.
Firstly, the idea of a sentient house could easily lead to the haunted house trope, especially with the home's gradual decay from losing its magic. Secondly, the individual powers of the Madrigals could come with a horrific curse, in particular Bruno, who could be reimagined into a horror character in his own right. There is also no question about the dark path Abuela Alma could have gone down.
The reveal of Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey came as a shock to many, but it could open to other Disney franchises to be reimagined as horror.Emily Whittingham