Paul King, the director behind the Paddington franchise and WB’s Willy Wonka movie, has teamed up with Disney Studios to develop a live-action Prince Charming movie.
King is also working on the script with writers Simon Farnaby and Jon Croker. The project is still in early development so as of right now, there aren’t many details to share. But, it won’t be about Cinderella’s Prince Charming.
Prince Charming is a recurring character archetype in Disney’s classic animated fairy tales, often symbolizing the idealized male hero who comes to the rescue of the princess.
The first appearance of a “Prince Charming” is in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), where he is simply referred to as “The Prince.” In this film, his role is relatively brief, as he appears at the beginning and end to awaken Snow White from her enchanted sleep with “love’s first kiss.”
Following this, Cinderella (1950) introduces another Prince Charming, who similarly plays a more background role, primarily seen at the royal ball where he falls in love with Cinderella before later finding her with the glass slipper.
In these early portrayals, Prince Charming characters often had minimal character development, serving as plot devices to bring about the “happily ever after.”
As Disney’s storytelling evolved, so did the portrayal of its princes. In Sleeping Beauty (1959), Prince Phillip stands out as a more developed version of the Prince Charming archetype.
Phillip not only courts Princess Aurora but also battles the evil and sinister Maleficent, showing courage and skill beyond mere romantic prowess. This shift signaled a gradual change in Disney’s approach to its male leads, with later films like The Little Mermaid (1989) and Beauty and the Beast (1991) featuring princes or male characters with more personality and complex roles in the narrative.
While I’m curious to see how Disney and King take the Prince Charming archetype and build a film around it, it’s a film concept that I’m not really interested in watching.
What would your pitch be for a Prince Charming movie!?
Source: Deadline
