Disney has a knack for taking promising franchises and transforming them into something unrecognizable. From beloved animated classics to potential blockbuster adaptations, we're diving into the franchises that Disney seemingly mishandled or completely missed the mark on.
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00:00You are without doubt the worst pirate I've ever heard of.
00:03But you have heard of me.
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo,
00:07and today we're looking at franchises that had promising beginnings,
00:11only for Disney to destroy them, for a period at least.
00:15You're not even looking in the right place.
00:18Come on, Lou.
00:23The Time Quintet Franchise
00:26Hold on.
00:28Ready?
00:30Whoa!
00:35Winning multiple accolades, including the Newbery Medal,
00:39A Wrinkle in Time kicked off Madeline L'Engle's Time Quintet series in 1962.
00:44Disney took their first crack at adapting the novel with the 2003 TV movie.
00:49When asked if the film met her expectations,
00:52L'Engle said,
00:53Oh yes.
00:54I expected it to be bad.
00:56And it is.
00:57What?
00:58I can't breathe.
01:01The flowers.
01:03Hold them to your faces.
01:05L'Engle didn't live to see Disney's big screen version in 2018.
01:10But all signs pointed to a franchise starter with an all-star cast,
01:14an acclaimed director in Ava DuVernay,
01:16and state-of-the-art visuals.
01:19I'm sorry.
01:22I'm okay.
01:25That's it?
01:25Those from Earth need more help than most.
01:28You know this.
01:30You could have prepared them better.
01:32While the film looked stunning,
01:34readers found it thematically lacking while newcomers didn't click with the story.
01:39Proving to be a financial dud,
01:41it'll likely be some time until Disney, or another studio,
01:45revisits the arguably unfilmable source material.
01:49I think I'm gonna go home.
01:52Sure?
01:55Yeah.
01:56There's some things I need to say to my dad.
02:01Maybe now I can finally say them.
02:03The Doug Franchise.
02:18Under Nickelodeon's ownership, Doug only gave us 52 episodes.
02:23By contrast, Disney's Doug received 65 episodes,
02:27a theatrical feature film,
02:29and a bizarre live show at Disney's Hollywood Studios.
02:33Knock again.
02:34Just knock.
02:37Well, hello boys.
02:39You're just in time to see something absolutely fantastic.
02:44Despite producing more content for Mickey,
02:46almost everyone looks back at Doug's Nicktoon days with fonder memories.
02:52When Doug ditched the orange splat for a pair of mouse ears,
02:56the humor got over the top and the storylines felt less personal.
03:01Sorry, Skeet.
03:02I think Cassandra wants me to hang out with her friends.
03:06Oh, that's cool, man.
03:09Well, see you later.
03:11Plus, no Billy West?
03:13Forget that.
03:14And the book slimed an oral history of Nickelodeon's golden age.
03:19Creator Jim Jenkins confessed he took his eyes off Doug too much
03:24during those Disney days once he got overwhelmed with all his responsibilities.
03:29Jenkins generally agrees that Doug's pre-Disney run was superior
03:34other than the Dark Quail Saga episode.
03:37Oh no, it's all my fault.
03:39If I were a real superhero, they wouldn't have had to put themselves in danger.
03:42But without my quail powers, how can I help?
03:46It doesn't matter.
03:47Just do something.
03:48Just start.
03:49The Super Mario Brothers franchise.
03:52Are you from the city?
03:53No, I'm from that little part of all of us that can't stand to see someone else in need or in pain.
04:00Yeah, I bet.
04:01In games, Mario has been going strong for almost 40 years.
04:05When Mario made the jump to feature film in 1993, though,
04:09it derailed any cinematic prospects for three decades.
04:14Starring Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo as the Italian plumbers,
04:18Super Mario Brothers seemed like the surefire hit Disney's Hollywood Pictures needed.
04:23When Disney came on as the film's U.S. distributor,
04:26they insisted the film receive an overhaul.
04:30Now what are we gonna do?
04:33Nobody seemed to be on the same page with Disney wanting the film more family-friendly.
04:38The directors trying to work with more adult material,
04:41and seemingly nobody caring if this was at all faithful to the games.
04:46All right.
04:48Come on.
04:50Come and get it.
04:51Come on.
04:52Come on, rufflehead.
04:53Let's see what you're made of.
04:54While gamers eventually got a real Mario movie,
04:58Oh, wow.
04:59We have hit the big time.
05:02Disney and Nintendo would like to forget the 93 attempt.
05:06I'd call them the Super Mario Brothers.
05:08Yes.
05:12The Inspector Gadget Franchise.
05:21Premiering in 1983 with reruns still attracting new viewers well into the next decade,
05:28fans were intrigued when a live-action Inspector Gadget film was announced.
05:32It quickly became apparent that the film would be nothing like the animated series.
05:37Doing away with Dr. Claw's chilling voice and revealing the villain's face.
05:42It's got a sort of post-modern Captain Hook kind of feel to it.
05:47Very diabolical.
05:49Meanwhile, Gadget was made slightly more competent,
05:53giving Penny and Brian less to do.
05:56As if one poor adaptation wasn't enough,
05:59Disney also produced a straight-to-video sequel that was admittedly closer to the source material.
06:05What's the plan this time?
06:07Watch and see.
06:08The Federal Reserve Bank, with a deposit of over five trillion dollars in pure gold,
06:13was built two years ago after Riverton was declared statistically the safest city in America.
06:20Yet still got bogged down by awkward humor and embarrassing effects.
06:25Weirdly enough, Martin Scorsese was once attached to direct the 1999 film.
06:31Unless Disney gets him on board for a reboot,
06:34it's no-no Gadget for the foreseeable future.
06:46The Mulan Franchise
06:56From direct-to-video sequels to live-action remakes,
07:00Disney has repeatedly dishonored their animated classics.
07:04Mulan may be the most tragic case.
07:07Insult me again and you'll taste the tip of my blade.
07:11Lower your sword.
07:12What?
07:14The 1998 fan-favorite left the door open for more action-packed adventures.
07:19Instead, Mulan II forced the characters into a sitcom plot involving misunderstandings,
07:25lovers' spats, and a third-act wedding that must be stopped.
07:30A marriage was promised!
07:32And a marriage there will be!
07:36I would be honored to wed a Prince of Qigong.
07:39You?
07:40Oh, and don't even get us started on Mushu's character assassination.
07:45When Mulan received the live-action treatment,
07:48some were open to a darker interpretation that changed a few elements.
07:53One change that fans couldn't endorse was turning Mulan into a self-serious loner
07:58devoid of any flaws or personality traits.
08:01Borikan is already far ahead.
08:03The Imperial Army can't stop him now.
08:06But perhaps a small, well-trained force could.
08:12When employed correctly.
08:16So much could have been done with the franchise,
08:19but Disney seems oblivious to why people like the original film to begin with.
08:24Devotion to family.
08:27You have brought honor to us all.
08:29The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.
08:32Pirate or not, this man saved my life.
08:34One good deed is not enough to redeem a man of a lifetime of wickedness.
08:37Though it seems enough to condemn him.
08:39One of Disney's most iconic theme park attractions for decades,
08:43Pirates of the Caribbean was redefined as a billion-dollar blockbuster film franchise
08:48with 2003's Curse of the Black Pearl.
08:51Although the Pirates trilogy wrapped up on a satisfying note,
08:55Disney doesn't believe in happily ever after anymore.
08:59Take what you can.
09:00Give nothing back.
09:04Thus, the franchise had to continue with two more sequels
09:08that over-relied on Captain Jack's antics to guide us through nonsensical plots.
09:14While Disney continued to find treasure in the box office,
09:17the audience reception was that this franchise had gone off the deep end.
09:22You're sure?
09:23Of course I am.
09:29Again?
09:36Please, they're not even loaded.
09:42A sixth film seems inevitable with or without Johnny Depp,
09:46but our interest is gone along with the rum.
09:49At least it had a better run than the Haunted Mansion movies.
09:53Excuse me, why are all these ghosts still hanging around here?
09:57When they died, they couldn't find the light and now, now they're trapped.
10:03Doomed to wander the earth for all eternity.
10:06The Indiana Jones franchise.
10:09I'm retiring.
10:12Oh, well in that case, what are we drinking?
10:15Some might want us to include Star Wars on this list,
10:18but for every acolyte, Disney has given us an Andor.
10:24That's the first untrue thing you've said.
10:27It's been a pleasure.
10:30The same can't be said about Indiana Jones.
10:33Even before Disney acquired Lucasfilm,
10:36Kingdom of the Crystal tarnished the franchise's legacy.
10:39Dial of Destiny did little to restore faith,
10:42proving to be one of Disney's most expensive flops.
10:45Your coordinates are based on markers that have been moving for 2,000 years.
10:51You could be off by 10 degrees.
10:54While one could argue that this film was always meant to be the last hurrah for Harrison Ford,
11:02Disney clearly wanted to lay the groundwork for potential spin-offs.
11:06Audiences just didn't vibe with the new characters, however.
11:09With nowhere else to go, it appears this franchise belongs in a museum,
11:14as far as movies are concerned.
11:16Games are another story.
11:19I've had run-ins with these guys before.
11:22Trust me.
11:24It ain't a walk in the park.
11:25The Chronicles of Prydain Franchise
11:29Troubled thoughts weigh on your heart.
11:32Pray you now, those thoughts impart.
11:361964's The Book of Three was the first entry in Lloyd Alexander's The Chronicles of Prydain series.
11:43The second book, The Black Cauldron, followed a year later.
11:47While five Prydain books were written overall,
11:50Disney tried condensing the first two into an animated feature.
12:15The 1985 film underperformed to the point that
12:19some questioned if Disney would abandon feature animation altogether.
12:24Of course, the Disney renaissance was around the corner,
12:27and even The Black Cauldron would find a cult following.
12:38Disney reacquired the book rights in 2016,
12:42suggesting that a live-action film series may be in the works.
12:46Nearly a decade later, Disney is still sitting on the source material,
12:50giving fans of the books little hope they'll ever see a faithful adaptation.
13:08The Lone Ranger Franchise
13:17Introduced in 1933, this masked icon maintained relevance
13:28across radio, film, serials, and television for decades.
13:33Over time, though, The Lone Ranger's name inevitably dwindled in popularity,
13:38with most attempts to revive the franchise falling flat.
13:41Eighty years after the character's debut,
13:44Disney tried reinvigorating The Lone Ranger for a new generation.
13:59Unfortunately, they made a box office bomb of such epic proportions
14:04that plans for a sequel were immediately scrapped.
14:07Despite having a few pirates of the Caribbean crew members on deck,
14:11casting Johnny Depp as Tonto aged about as well as casting Armie Hammer as the lead.
14:23Whether or not The Lone Ranger ever returns,
14:26this is one franchise that Disney will likely never touch again.
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14:57The Artemis Fowl Franchise
15:04When the first Artemis Fowl book was published in 2001,
15:08Hollywood instantly recognized its cinematic potential.
15:11The then-Disney-owned Miramax ultimately won the bidding war.
15:15The film rights remained under the Disney umbrella
15:18as the project lingered in development limbo for almost two decades.
15:22Time to believe.
15:24Time to believe in fairies.
15:26But they're not real.
15:30Are they?
15:34But as Artemis would soon find out, they are very real.
15:38And they've been living right under your feet for a thousand years.
15:42Although a feature film finally arrived on Disney Plus in 2020,
15:46let's just say that fans are still waiting for a true adaptation.
15:51Until then, they're stuck with a version that got virtually everything wrong,
15:55most notably its titular main character.
15:58Look at you with that grin.
16:00Thinking you're outsmarting everyone in your little suit and sunglasses.
16:04With over 10 books now, Artemis Fowl could be a long-lasting franchise for Disney.
16:10Next time, though, it might be smarter to adapt it as a streaming series.
16:14Let's just hope there is a next time.
16:17With or without Disney.
16:20How did you save me, son?
16:21I just followed the story.
16:25With a little help from a friend.
16:28Which franchise do you think deserves a second chance?
16:31Let us know in the comments.
16:33Now, bring me that horizon.
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