- 4 months ago
The Mouse House doesn't always work magic! Join us as we examine films that had enormous potential before Disney fumbled the execution. From beloved book adaptations to expensive franchises, these movies had all the right ingredients but still ended up as memorable disappointments that left fans wondering what could have been.
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for failed movies that have potential, until Disney got their hands on them.
00:20Number 10, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
00:30Topping Kingdom of the Crystal Skull shouldn't have been this hard, but maybe we didn't give Spielberg enough credit, since Disney's follow-up fumbled even harder.
00:40With a $3 million budget, the fifth indie movie was a costly disaster.
00:45James Mangold directing? Great on paper. Harrison Ford? Gave it everything he had in a standout performance.
00:50NATO? Wax and wood. Anything else? It's heavy.
01:02But even they couldn't save this sluggish final chapter.
01:05The action was bland, the new characters were predictable, and the whole thing felt like a setup for a spin-off no one asked for.
01:11All it offered were nostalgic reminders of past indie movies.
01:14What do you think?
01:17No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
01:19I'd take a bottle of water.
01:23Whoa!
01:25Oh, bring me the-
01:26Number 9, Mulan.
01:30This reboot had the chance to boldly reimagine the animated film.
01:38The new Mulan could have been a grounded war epic with heart.
01:41What we got instead was a soulless, sanitized version that forgot what made the original special.
01:46The once charming characters were now devoid of personality.
01:49The humor?
01:50Practically non-existent.
01:52Even the action scenes were ruined by amateur editing and camera work.
01:55Yes, commander.
01:56While they did toss in a few notes from Reflection, it felt more like a guilt trip than a tribute.
02:14The film's lack of soul undercut any attempt at being serious.
02:18When that happens, you're left with nothing worth remembering.
02:21Number 8, Strange World.
02:32Whoa.
02:34What are you-
02:36Oh, ah!
02:36Disney's hot streak in the 2010s ended fast, and Strange World was the proof.
02:41We will admit that the premise was interesting.
02:44A Jules Verne-inspired adventure that echoed Atlantis and Treasure Planet.
02:47Visually, the film also had some flair, but none of it mattered due to the bland characters
02:52and atrocious pacing.
02:54Oh, Ethan!
02:55Dad!
02:55Stay behind me.
02:56Who's he?
02:57Ethan, meet your grandpa!
02:58Dad's Jaeger's plane?
03:00The one and only.
03:01It didn't help that every emotional beat was undercut by bad attempts at humor.
03:05Disney wanted the film to be fun and meaningful, but both the sci-fi elements and characters
03:10lacked depth.
03:11What made it really sad is that nothing about it was exciting.
03:14For a film with such extensive world-building, it built nothing lasting at all.
03:18Dad!
03:20Get out of the way!
03:21Here they come!
03:27Number 7, The Lone Ranger.
03:31Hey, hold it right there.
03:36I'm afraid I have to take you in.
03:38After striking gold with Gore Verbinski's Pirates films, Disney thought throwing money
03:42at anything would make them rich, even an old western no one really cared about.
03:46The Lone Ranger had trouble written all over it from the get-go.
03:50Johnny Depp's casting was controversial, given his questionable connection to Native American
03:54heritage.
03:55The production budget had also ballooned to a whopping $250 million.
03:58Worst of all, the story just couldn't decide what it wanted to be.
04:12It dragged when it should have galloped, and not even the creative set pieces could stave
04:15off the boredom.
04:16Turns out, not everything needs a reboot.
04:18Number 6, A Wrinkle in Time.
04:39All the pieces were there.
04:41A beloved young adult novel, a visionary director, a star-studded cast, including Oprah Winfrey.
04:47Yet somehow, A Wrinkle in Time never found its rhythm.
04:50The special effects were out of this world.
04:52But when your visuals outshine your characters, you have a problem.
05:05Emotional arcs were also half-baked, leaning so hard into its moral lessons that it forgot
05:10to tell a good story.
05:11Disney banked on this being a huge franchise.
05:14Instead, it was one of their biggest box office blunders.
05:16Fans will just have to wait for the book to get adapted properly.
05:30Number 5, The Black Cauldron.
05:32This dark fantasy came when Disney animation was not so popular.
05:47In an effort to get teenage viewers, they worked on an adaptation of Lloyd Alexander's series,
05:52The Chronicles of Perdaine.
05:53However, cramming two books into one script should have been the first sign that it wasn't
05:57going to work.
05:58Several of the crew left due to such choices, including John Musker and Ron Clements, the
06:03duo who'd later direct The Little Mermaid and Aladdin.
06:0512 minutes were then deleted after they were told the film was too violent.
06:18What hit theaters afterwards was an awkward blend of horror and childish fantasy.
06:23Too shallow for teens, too scary for kids, and too muddled for just about anyone else.
06:27It's mostly remembered now for almost sinking Disney's animation department.
06:31And if that wasn't bad enough, it ended up losing financially to the Care Bears movie.
06:36Yes, the Care Bears movie.
06:40Munchings and crunchings in here somewhere.
06:43Guggy!
06:45You're alive!
06:46He's alive!
06:48Number 4, Tomorrowland.
06:50With George Clooney starring, and Brad Bird, the man behind The Incredibles, and Mission
07:03Impossible Ghost Protocol directing, Tomorrowland had every reason to succeed.
07:07But Disney aimed for the stars, and missed.
07:10The world's futuristic design was gorgeous, captured by Bird's distinct visual direction.
07:15We can tell that the filmmakers had a love for the original theme park land.
07:18However, underneath the shine, was pretty hollow storytelling.
07:33The plot meandered, the tone was awfully preachy, and lacked a sense of wonder.
07:37We were supposed to be transported to a new world, but it felt like we were stuck in a
07:41Disneyland commercial.
07:42Maybe the studio should stop pouring hundreds of millions into movies based on their parks.
07:46All right, that's enough.
07:52That's enough!
07:53Number 3, John Carter.
07:55Will I go?
07:58Go, damn you!
08:04This take on Edgar Rice Burroughs' Martian books should have been a hit.
08:08Sci-fi, romance, and action, all wrapped up in a classic pulp adventure.
08:12Andrew Stanton had the pedigree and passion after directing Finding Nemo and WALL-E.
08:17Unfortunately, his transition to live-action filmmaking proved rocky.
08:29Endless reshoots, a bloated runtime, and an abysmal marketing push killed any momentum.
08:35Even the title confused people.
08:37Was it a drama?
08:38A fantasy?
08:39Science fiction?
08:39No one knew who or what John Carter was.
08:42Many thought the film looked expensive, but also uninspired.
08:45It's no surprise that Disney buried one of its biggest flops in the dirt.
08:49Orc-o-hen.
08:52Orc-te.
08:55Weaves.
08:58Arsum.
09:00Arsum.
09:01Number 2, Wish.
09:03Isn't truth supposed to set you free?
09:06Or why do I feel so weighed down by it?
09:10We were all hoping this was going to be something special.
09:12Wish was supposed to be a celebration of Disney's 100 years of magic.
09:16The semi-traditional animation, classic musical numbers, and Oscar-winning lead Ariana DeBose
09:22seemed to represent everything Disney stands for, except it didn't.
09:26Nearly everything about it felt forced.
09:28The stylized mix of 2D and 3D animation looked unfinished.
09:32Oh, fantasy land in the sky, huh?
09:36How about Maryland?
09:39The perfect nanny for your horrible children.
09:43Popping this one!
09:45Making the film look like a knockoff of Disney's own films.
09:48Even the songs sounded like they were cooked up by an algorithm.
09:51They're catchy, sure.
09:52But none of them stir emotion like musicals are supposed to.
09:55In trying to pay homage to its greatest hits, Disney forgot what made them timeless,
09:59and settled for releasing a lackluster tribute.
10:02Hang it on the wall.
10:03In the dungeon.
10:04Please, no!
10:05The dungeon smells really bad!
10:09Long live the queen!
10:11Long live the queen!
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10:26Number 1.
10:29Artemis Fowl
10:30This one should have been a slam dunk.
10:40With so many beloved books, a built-in fanbase, years of anticipation, and a skilled director at the helm,
10:46Artemis Fowl had everything going for it.
10:48Things went sideways fast when the film finally released on Disney+.
10:52So what happened?
10:53For starters, the movie changes so many things
10:56that it's barely recognizable to fans of the book.
11:06So much of the original plot was dropped for clarity, but it still left viewers confused.
11:11We don't even know where to begin with the special effects and cinematography.
11:14Did Disney give up halfway through production and think we wouldn't notice?
11:17What could have been a smart, slick fantasy turned into a cautionary tale
11:21of how not to adapt books into movies?
11:26Everybody, stand back!
11:33It's feeding time!
11:35Were any of these movies just a few changes away from being a hit?
11:38Tell us which movie you think was the most likely to succeed down in the comments below.
11:41Those days are coming on.
11:44We'll see you next time.
11:45We'll see you next time.
11:45Bye.
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