One of the oldest and most famous theme park rides ever is set to become a movie. Disney announced yesterday that it would be developing the movie with Jon Turtletaub (National Treasure) signing on as director, Jared Stern (Wreck-It Ralph) to write the script and Dan Lin (The LEGO Movie) producing. The announcement comes on the 50th anniversary of the ride’s initial launch at Anaheim. I’m sensing franchise potential here!
Turtletaub’s most recent film Last Vegas grossed over $134 million worldwide and Deadline are reporting that Disney are looking to It’s A Small World as a possible franchise successor to Pirates of the Caribbean which totalled in approximately $3.7 billion. It’s hard to imagine that the movie adaptation of a musical attraction featuring tiny people from around the globe would come anywhere close to Pirates success. Turtletaub is currently working on a third National Treasure film with Jerry Bruckheimer so it’s likely production dates won’t be announced until next year.
Gavin Logan – Follow me on Twitter
Originally published April 23, 2014. Updated April 12, 2018.
