A couple of days ago, Disney secured an Internet domain name for something called “Strange Magic.” Being a magical kind of company, this could have meant anything, but fans of Disney’s Frozen suspected that it revealed the name of a sequel to the hit animated musical—this, since the words “strange magic” were uttered in that movie, and we all know that a follow-up is coming sooner or later. (And considering how lucrative Frozen has been for Disney in terms of textiles alone, it’ll probably be sooner.) But today, Disney stomped on those hopes by announcing that Strange Magic is just the name of an upcoming, non-Frozen-related animated comedy based on an idea from the guy who does all the Star Wars.
Taken from an original story by George Lucas and developed by the Disney-owned Lucasfilm, Strange Magic is described as a madcap fairy tale inspired by A Midsummer Night’s Dream, following a cast of goblins, elves, fairies, and imps as they fight over a powerful potion. Like Frozen, it will be a musical. Unlike Frozen, it will not feature original songs, but will instead sport a collection of popular tunes from the last six decades. So, the chances of these fairy tale creatures giving a rendition of “Love Potion No. 9” around the halfway point are looking pretty good.
Alan Cumming, Evan Rachel Wood, Kristin Chenoweth, Maya Rudolph, and Alfred Molina will all lend their voices to the film Disney has planned for release on January 23, 2015, with Frozen 2 scheduled for sometime after it’s had its fill of watching fans sweat.
