DISNEY FILLS THEATERS WITH POTENTIAL BLOCKBUSTERS IN 2013 AFTER LACKLUSTER 2012 MOVIE LINEUP

UPDATE:  Because previous 3D conversions have not met financial expectations Disney has announced that is cancelling the theatrical release of THE LITTLE MERMAID 3D that was scheduled for a 2013 September 13th opening.

UPDATE: To replace the lost revenue from pulling THE LITTLE MERMAID 3D from theaters a new addition has been added to Disney's summer blockbuster lineup: PLANES will be released on AUGUST 9: http://ageekdaddy.blogspot.com/2013/04/flying-into-movie-theater-near-you-soon.html 

Disney started off 2012 with what was supposed to be the studio’s next BIG franchise,  JOHNCARTER, which turned out to be a huge flop and potentially a $210 milliondollar loss to the company that cost movie division chairman Rich Ross his job.  Check out my earlier post about how Disney fumbled a chance to market the 100^th Anniversary of Edgar Rice Burrough’s “Princess of Mars” book that the JOHN CARTER movie was based upon:  http://www.ageekdaddy.blogspot.com/2012/04/who-is-john-carter.html.  JOHN CARTER was followed up by the THE ODD LIFE OF TIMOTHY GREEN that received a lot of buzz on the Internet with the paid-to-post mommy bloggers but had disappointing numbers at the box office.

While Disney never really overcame the damper of JOHN CARTER it did have a few marginal successes in 2012 with the PIXAR movie BRAVE along with another animated movie by Disney Studio’s called WRECK-IT-RALPH.  Marvel Studio’s AVENGERS came through in the summer to save the year by providing Disney with a legitimate blockbuster in 2012.

2013 is a new year though and Disney is going gangbusters to do a turnaround from 2012.  They have 4 new movies from Disney Studios plus are rereleasing the Little Mermaid in 3D, plus 2 movie sequels from the popular PIXAR brands Cars & Monsters Inc.  and 2 sequels from previous Marvel Studios blockbusters franchises Iron Man & Thor.  DreamWorks Studios is also throwing in a new comedy to the mix called the “Delivery Man” featuring actor Vince Vaughan.  It looks like this year will be a fun and entertaining one for us at the movies and a profitable one for the corporate execs at Disney based on this lineup. 

The following is a synopsis of the 2013 Disney movie schedule with information provided from the company:

OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL

Release Date: March 8^th

Disney’s fantastical adventure “Oz The Great and Powerful,” directed by Sam Raimi, imagines the origins of L. Frank Baum’s beloved wizard character. When Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz, he thinks he’s hit the jackpot—fame and fortune are his for the taking—that is until he meets three witches, Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and Glinda (Michelle Williams), who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone’s been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity—and even a bit of wizardry—Oscar transforms himself not only into the great and powerful wizard but into a better man as well.

IRON MAN 3 from Marvel Studios

Release Date: May 3rd

Marvel’s “Iron Man 3” pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy’s hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Stephanie Szostak, James Badge Dale with Jon Favreau and Ben Kingsley, Marvel’s “Iron Man 3” is directed by Shane Black from a screenplay by Drew Pearce & Shane Black and is based on Marvel’s iconic Super Hero Iron Man, who first appeared on the pages of “Tales of Suspense” (#39) in 1963 and had his solo comic book debut with “The Invincible Iron Man” (#1) in May of 1968.

MONSTERS UNIVERSITY from Disney/Pixar

Release Date: June 21^st

Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan are an inseparable pair, but that wasn’t always the case. From the moment these two mismatched monsters met they couldn’t stand each other. “Monsters University” unlocks the door to how Mike and Sulley overcame their differences and became the best of friends.

THE LONE RANGER

Release Date: July 3^rd

Native American spirit warrior Tonto (Johnny Depp) and man of the law John Reid (Armie Hammer) are opposites brought together by fate and must join forces to battle greed and corruption

THE LITTLE MERMAID 3D from Walt Disney Animation Studios

Release Date: September 13th - CANCELLED

Swimming into the hearts of a new generation—beautifully restored and this time in 3D—“The Little Mermaid” features the beloved Ariel (voice of Jodi Benson), a fun-loving and mischievous mermaid, who is enchanted with all things human. Disregarding her father’s order to stay away from the world above the sea, she swims to the surface and, in a raging storm, rescues the prince of her dreams. Determined to be human, Ariel strikes a bargain with the devious sea witch Ursula (voice of Pat Carroll), trading her fins and beautiful voice for legs. With her best friend Flounder (voice of Jason Marin), misguided seagull Scuttle (voice of Buddy Hackett) and the calypso-singing Caribbean crab chaperone Sebastian (voice of Samuel E. Wright) at her side, Ariel must win the prince’s love and save her father’s kingdom – all in a heart-pounding race against time. Originally released in 1989, “The Little Mermaid” garnered two Academy Awards®, including Best Original Score (Alan Menken) and Best Original Song (Menken/Howard Ashman, “Under the Sea”). Directed by Ron Clements and John Musker, who went on to direct “Aladdin” and “The Princess and the Frog,” “The Little Mermaid” returns to the big screen on September 13, 2013, and will be presented in Disney Digital 3D™ in select theaters

DELIVERY MAN from DreamWorks Pictures

Release Date: October 4th

From DreamWorks Pictures comes “Delivery Man”, the story of affable underachiever David Wozniak (Vince Vaughan), whose mundane life is turned upside down when he finds out that he fathered 533 children through sperm donations he made twenty years earlier. In debt to the mob, rejected by his pregnant girlfriend, things couldn’t look worse for David when he is hit with a lawsuit from 142 of the 533 twenty-somethings who want to know the identity of the donor. As David struggles to decide whether he should reveal his true identity, he embarks on a journey that leads him to discover not only his true self but the father he could become as well.

THOR: THE DARK WORLD from Marvel Studios

Release Date: November 8th

Marvel’s “Thor: The Dark World” continues the big-screen adventures of Thor, the Mighty Avenger, as he battles to save Earth and all the Nine Realms from a shadowy enemy that predates the universe itself. In the aftermath of Marvel’s “Thor” and “Marvel’s The Avengers,” Thor fights to restore order across the cosmos…but an ancient race led by the vengeful Malekith returns to plunge the universe back into darkness. Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all.

Starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Idris Elba, Christopher Eccleston, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Kat Dennings, Ray Stevenson, Zachary Levi, Tadanobu Asano, and Jaimie Alexander with Rene Russo and Anthony Hopkins as Odin, Marvel’s “Thor: The Dark World” is directed by Alan Taylor, produced by Kevin Feige, from a story by Don Payne (credit not final) and screenplay by Christopher Yost and Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely (credit not final) and is based on Marvel’s classic Super Hero Thor, who first appeared in the comic book “Journey into Mystery “ #83 in August, 1962.

Marvel’s “Thor: The Dark World” continues the big-screen adventures of Thor, the Mighty Avenger, as he battles to save Earth and all the Nine Realms from a shadowy enemy that predates the universe itself

FROZEN from Walt Disney Animation Studios

Release Date: November 27th

From the studio behind 2010’s “Tangled” and this year’s “Wreck-It Ralph,” Walt Disney Animation Studios presents “Frozen,” the most daring comedy-adventure ever to hit the big screen. When a prophecy traps a kingdom in eternal winter, Anna (voice of Kristen Bell), a fearless optimist, teams up with extreme mountain man Kristoff (voice of Jonathan Groff) and his sidekick reindeer Sven on an epic journey to find Anna’s sister Elsa (voice of Idina Menzel), the Snow Queen, and put an end to her icy spell. Encountering mystical trolls, an amazing and comedic snowman named Olaf, Everest-like conditions and magic at every turn, Anna and Kristoff battle the elements in a race to save the kingdom from destruction.

The film is directed by Chris Buck (“Tarzan,” “Surf ’s Up”) and Jennifer Lee (screenwriter, “Wreck-It Ralph”), and produced by Peter Del Vecho (“Winnie the Pooh,” “The Princess and the Frog”). Featuring music from Tony®-winner Robert Lopez (“The Book of Mormon,” “Avenue Q”) and Kristen Anderson-Lopez (“In Transit”).

SAVING MR. BANKS

Release Date: December 20th

Two-time Academy Award®–winner Emma Thompson and fellow double Oscar®-winner Tom Hanks topline Disney’s “Saving Mr. Banks,” inspired by the extraordinary, untold backstory of how Disney’s classic “Mary Poppins” made it to the screen.

When Walt Disney’s daughters begged him to make a movie of their favorite book, P.L. Travers’ “Mary Poppins,” he made them a promise—one that he didn’t realize would take 20 years to keep. In his quest to obtain the rights, Walt comes up against a curmudgeonly, uncompromising writer who has absolutely no intention of letting her beloved magical nanny get mauled by the Hollywood machine. But, as the books stop selling and money grows short, Travers reluctantly agrees to go to Los Angeles to hear Disney’s plans for the adaptation.

For those two short weeks in 1961, Walt Disney pulls out all the stops. Armed with imaginative storyboards and chirpy songs from the talented Sherman brothers, Walt launches an all-out onslaught on P.L. Travers, but the prickly author doesn’t budge. He soon begins to watch helplessly as Travers becomes increasingly immovable and the rights begin to move further away from his grasp.

It is only when he reaches into his own childhood that Walt discovers the truth about the ghosts that haunt her, and together they set Mary Poppins free to ultimately make one of the most endearing films in cinematic history.

Disney presents “Saving Mr. Banks,” directed by John Lee Hancock and produced by Alison Owen, Ian Collie and Philip Steuer. Executive producers are Paul Trijbits, Andrew Mason, Troy Lum and Christine Langan. The screenplay is by Kelly Marcel from a story by Sue Smith and Kelly Marcel.

PLANES  from Disney/Pixar

Release Date:  Tentatively Summer/Fall 2013
August 9, 2013

A spin-off of the highly successful Pixar CARS movies was originally scheduled to hit theaters in Spring 2013 but that has been pushed back to a potential Fall or later release date with some rumors even being that it may go straight-to-DVD rather than to the big screen.  

UPDATE: Flying into a movie theater near you - Disney's PLANES: ageekdaddy.blogspot.com/2013/04/flyinghttp://-into-movie-theater-near-you-soon.html