Could Disney have made Little Shop of Horrors?

[2099net]

I don't know if this belongs here or not, but I've decided to post it in off-topic.

Now, I don't know how many of you are familiar with the musical Little Shop of Horrors, but like the classic Disney films of the 80's and 90's the music and lyrics for the show are by Ashman and Menken.

I suspect most will be familiar with the film verision starring Rick Moranis and Steve Martin but it's worth noting that in the stageplay, not only is Audrey eaten by the plant, but Seymour sacrifices himself to save the world... and fails!

I was just wondering if you thought there was room for Disney to make an animated Little Shop of Horrors film? Could it of been on of Disney's Animated Classics? Or is it too dark? Could/can Disney do darker animated films, or is there just no market for them?

[Maerj]

I said no. I love the movie, I have the original version (Released on September 14, 1960) on DVD and the 1986 musical version. Great film, but yeah I think it would be way too dark to make a good animated classic. It could make a good non-Disney animated film perhaps, maybe even a series or miniseries.

[Chernabog]

I said no. I love the movie, I have the original 50's version on DVD and the 80's musical version.

Sorry but the original film is from 1960, not the 50´s

[Maerj]

Oops! Sorry, I will fix it so that it has the correct release date.

[Billy Moon]

I suspect most will be familiar with the film verision starring Rick Moranis and Steve Martin but it's worth noting that in the stageplay, not only is Audrey eaten by the plant, but Seymour sacrifices himself to save the world... and fails!

That's also how the original film version ended (or at least similarily). The musical film version ended like that originally, as well, but they rewrote and reshoot the ending after the previews because the audience wanted a happy ending. (Please! )

BTW, shouldn't the subject line be "Could Disney have made..."?

[2099net]

I'm still somewhat curious about this. After all 101 Dalmations was pretty dark if you took the actual plot literally. The Queen in Snow White was pretty dark as well. I think Disney could, just about, pull off an animated Little Shop of Horrors, but the storyline would have to be changed (just like Walt changed lots of other storylines in his films). I also accept that the 'happy ending' would be required, even though I much prefer the tragic/ambiguous ending to the stageplay. A Disney animated Audrey II would blow my mind!

Since I started this thread, I've thought about Nightmare Before Christmas. Originally this was to be a Disney branded release (If I remember correctly, the first trailer on the DVD starts with "Walt Disney Pictures Presents..."), but was changed to Touchstone. Presumably this was because the company thought the content of the film was too "dark" for the Disney name.

But would releasing NBX themselves hurt Disney? It seems to be pretty much considered as a Disney film now, and if I understand correctly it is one of Disney's biggest earners in Japan still - even after all this time (It's only down to its success in Japan it's in Kingdom Hearts and Capcom are making a NBX game).

As for Little Shop, the musical was written before Ashman and Menken did any work for Disney (the movie was made in '86, as Maerj states, but the stageplay would have been written before then). So it must have been one of the writings, perhaps the only writing, that brought the duo to Disney's attention. If anyone is curious about the music in the musical, I would say it has the same general wit as the songs "Gaston" and "The Mob Song" from Beauty and the Beast, but the whole production has a sort of 60's vibe to it.

That's also how the original film version ended (or at least similarily). The musical film version ended like that originally, as well, but they rewrote and reshoot the ending after the previews because the audience wanted a happy ending. (Please! )

The musical doesn't end exactly the same as the movie was to end. Seymour lets himself get eaten by the plant with the aim of attacking and killing the plant from the inside. But he fails (of course). Then the cuttings from Audrey II are taken and shipped out across America. The end is Audrey II alone in the shop, laughing to himself and the final song encourages us ("the audience") not to feed any of the cuttings if we encounter them ourselves. There's no final scene of the plants taking over the world, but it's sort of implied.

And so the film misses out on two if it's most powerful songs. The Somewhere That's Green (Reprise) sung by a dying Audrey, which is very emotional, and the Finale Ultimo (Don't Feed The Plants) which is not only one of the songs with the wittiest lyrics, but also leaves the production with an unresolved ending, and encourages the audience to ensure the world is saved. That said, the film has "Mean Green Mother From Outer Space" which is missing from the stageplay, so I suppose it's swings and roundabouts.

BTW, shouldn't the subject line be "Could Disney have made..."?

Er. Perhaps.

[Billy Moon]

BTW, shouldn't the subject line be "Could Disney have made..."?

Er. Perhaps.

Yes it should. There's no such thing as "could of", "should of" or "must of".

Do you know if the original ending of the film is available on DVD? It wasn't on the R2 DVD, it was only mentioned in the commentary.

Anyway, Audrey II rocks. And so does the Audrey I.

[2099net]

Do you know if the original ending of the film is available on DVD? It wasn't on the R2 DVD, it was only mentioned in the commentary.

Anyway, Audrey II rocks. And so does the Audrey I.

I've got the R1 (revised) DVD without the ending on, but I think there are brief (and I mean brief) snippits of it in the outtakes section of the disc. It shows Audrey II (and perhaps other plants) towering over the city.

I think the original film ending would be wrong. The point of the musical is the cuttings are just beginning to be distributed and (as the song puts it)

"Unsuspecting jerks from Maine to California
Made the acquaintance of a new breed of flytrap
And got sweet-talked into feeding it blood."

But it ends with some hope, saying we can fight back if we want to (see my current sig). So the ending is... what you want it to be. Either the plants take over or they don't. I do think it would be wrong to show the plants winning.

[Maerj]

Ends with hope? Er...hmmm, not really, IMHO. The ending clearly shows the plants taking over and destroying everything, Godzilla style. Then the last shot is of a plant laughing at the audience. As they say in the commentary track, the end worked for the Broadway play version, but it just didn't work in the movie. I just watched that ending again last night and it wasn't good. Nice effects, but it was just creepy.

[2099net]

Ends with hope? Er...hmmm, not really, IMHO. The ending clearly shows the plants taking over and destroying everything, Godzilla style. Then the last shot is of a plant laughing at the audience. As they say in the commentary track, the end worked for the Broadway play version, but it just didn't work in the movie. I just watched that ending again last night and it wasn't good. Nice effects, but it was just creepy.

No, in the play you don't see the Godzilla style ending. It just ends with all the cuttings being taken and distributed across America, and Audrey II laughing in the shop. The rest is implied but not shown - the cuttings are going all over the world ("bigger then Hoola Hoops") and the Earth is doomed. Or is it?

The song "Don't Feed the Plants" is used to tell us not to feed any of the cuttings if we see them. So the ending is ambiguous, do the cuttings grow into more Audrey II's who consume the planet or are the humans strong enough to resist their promises?

Note: Don't Feed the plants is not in the film, but is on the film soundtrack (with slightly altered words). It was missing from the film because the ending is different - and it doesn't really fit with either ending (the Godzilla ending or the plant in the garden ending).

[Maerj]

Ends with hope? Er...hmmm, not really, IMHO. The ending clearly shows the plants taking over and destroying everything, Godzilla style. Then the last shot is of a plant laughing at the audience. As they say in the commentary track, the end worked for the Broadway play version, but it just didn't work in the movie. I just watched that ending again last night and it wasn't good. Nice effects, but it was just creepy.

No, in the play you don't see the Godzilla style ending. It just ends with all the cuttings being taken and distributed across America, and Audrey II laughing in the shop. The rest is implied but not shown - the cuttings are going all over the world ("bigger then Hoola Hoops") and the Earth is doomed. Or is it?

The song "Don't Feed the Plants" is used to tell us not to feed any of the cuttings if we see them. So the ending is ambiguous, do the cuttings grow into more Audrey II's who consume the planet or are the humans strong enough to resist their promises?

Note: Don't Feed the plants is not in the film, but is on the film soundtrack (with slightly altered words). It was missing from the film because the ending is different - and it doesn't really fit with either ending (the Godzilla ending or the plant in the garden ending).

Ah, okay. I thought that you were talking about the film ending, that is the ending I was referring to. "Don't Feed the Plants" IS in the original ending to the film, at least it is on the DVD. They play it while an older couple is watching television and the plants break in and get them. There are some extremely brief snippets of that scene in the deleted scenes section. I believe it continued to play, instrumentally, as the plants devoured trains and then destroy a city. Then the army fights them as they grow large enough to climb over the Statue of Liberty. After that it fades out with a "The End" and then Audrey II comes back to laugh at the audience one last time.

[Matty-Mouse]

Welll in the 90's there was a little shop of horror's cartoon series. I don't see why Disney couldn't have made it into an animated movie.

I love "The Little Shop Of Horror's" so much!

[Billy Moon]

They play it while an older couple is watching television and the plants break in and get them. There are some extremely brief snippets of that scene in the deleted scenes section. I believe it continued to play, instrumentally, as the plants devoured trains and then destroy a city. Then the army fights them as they grow large enough to climb over the Statue of Liberty. After that it fades out with a "The End" and then Audrey II comes back to laugh at the audience one last time.

Ok, that would have been a little too much, I agree. But it irritates me that they changed the ending completely with Seymore and Audrey (I) surviving and living happily ever after. It was too obvious, unimaginative and boring. A sad ending (for the main characters, if not for the whole world) would have been much more dramatic and effective.
I like the stage play ending the best.