Will We Ever See These Princess Movies?

The virus in Corona has drastically changed life as we know it. One of the industries that got hit the hardest by this pandemic was the entertainment industry. Back in April, Disney announced that their upcoming live-action adaptation of Mulan would be delayed until July 24th. Now, it has been delayed again to August 21st. How much faith can we place in this new release date after so much disappointment? Theatrical delays are at least understandable due to the difficulty of social distancing in a crowded theater. Not every princess movie in the works was set for a theatrical release, though. I was hoping that Disney would at least stick to their July 17th release date for Secret Society of Second-Born Royals, since that was going to be uploaded to their Disney+ streaming service to watch from home. Yet, it seems that even superheroes lack the powers to maintain their release as this action-packed fairy tale has been pushed back to September 25th.

Disney isn't the only studio to deliver broken promises. A lot of people enjoyed my review of Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs from Locus Studios, even though they were never able to get the distribution rights to release their masterpiece in America. This is the case for many smaller independent film studios. The recent pandemic only makes it that much harder. A little while ago, I saw a trailer for a movie called The King's Daughter, which was initially scheduled for a 2015 release before being delayed to 2020, but that's probably not going to happen with everything anymore either. The movie is based on a 1997 novel called The Moon and the Sun by Vonda N. McIntire and tells the story of a young woman from a convent who is adopted by King Louis XIV and befriends a mermaid who can grant immortality. The trailer looks like everything we love about princess movies with a little magic, a little history, and beautiful costumes. Distribution complications combined with the pandemic create the perfect storm for this movie to potentially never release to the public. You can watch the trailer below.

There are also movies that were still early in their production when the virus hit. The highly anticipated live-action adaptation of Disney's The Little Mermaid was just about to begin filming when studios were locked down. Rumors have been circulating on Twitter about a new library scene, a ballroom scene, a more modest look for Halle, and a tail that combines CGI and practical effects. All of this information implies that the film is still very much in production, even if it's only within the planning phases. The majority of it will be filmed in London, so its progression is dependent on the U.K.'s lockdown schedule. With the way things stand right now, it will most likely come out in the summer of 2022 instead of the initial plan for the summer of 2021.

Another princess movie that began shooting in London this year is a new "Cinderella" adaptation starring the lovable pop sensation Camila Cabello. The movie began shooting in February before it got halted by the lockdown. Cinderella is the latest in a long line of modernized retellings of the classic fairy tale. Its teen pop vibes and performance list featuring Beyoncé's "Single Ladies" give the impression that it will have more in common with Hilary Duff's 2004 adaptation, A Cinderella Story, than something like Drew Barrymore's 1998 history-inspired piece, Ever After. The movie was initially slated for a February 2021 release, but at this point, who knows if or when we'll ever see it on the big screen? Can we even be certain of anything anymore?

Fear not; there is a light at the end of the tunnel. One princess movie has kept its promises thus far. The tenth sequel in The Swan Princess franchise recently released a trailer with a projected digital and DVD release of August 4th, which just happens to be my birthday! The Swan Princess: A Royal Wedding features the cursed Chinese couple from the previous entry in the series, Kingdom of Music. With so many sequels, the only way that the franchise has been able to produce new stories is by passing down the torch to new characters every four movies or so. Once Odette and Derek's adventures were complete, the focus shifted to their adopted daughter, Alise, and her friend, Lucas. After the last movie, the spotlight is now on Princess Mei Li and Prince Chen, who have the opportunity to share their happily ever after with us in this upcoming sequel. With any luck, this will be the one movie that actually keeps its scheduled release this year. Check out the trailer below.