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Nerd Processor
Forget ‘Dumbo’: It’s Time for Disney to Remake ‘Fantasia’
The only Disney classic that could really use a modern update
This weekend, Disney’s Dumbo soars into theaters — because he’s a flying elephant, get it? — marking the latest in the studio’s efforts to move all of its 2D, hand-animated classics into the world of 3D through the use of live-action Hollywood talent and copious amounts of CGI.
That’s all well and good, but as usual the company has picked the wrong movie to remake. Because the only Disney film that truly deserves this big-budget modernization is Fantasia.
To be clear, I am not one of those guys who’s upset that Disney is ruining its classic films by remaking them for today’s audiences. Movie blockbusters have been consumed by CGI for years, and it’s what most kids today recognize as film quality. Of course they’d rather see a 3D animated flying elephant around a virtual 3D set with live actors inserted into it instead of a 2D elephant flying around a hand-painted background. Your beloved childhood memories aren’t lost by Disney putting real actors and modern SFX in Dumbo, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, or any of its other animated classics.
But the modernization effort doesn’t add much, either, other than to Disney’s…
