The animation game is one that is changing constantly, and each year, studios compete to raise the bar while making millions. Sure, some movies fall right on their face, but the ones that manage to reach the top make the big bucks and are watched again and again by adoring fans.
Disney is still the biggest animation studio on the planet, and from the outside looking in, it seems like they simply don’t miss when it comes to making movies that conquer the box office and feature classic characters. However, a quick look a their history will reveal a number of projects that have been cancelled along the way. One movie, in particular, was far too racy for Disney to release in theaters.
Let’s take a look at the film that was simply too wild for Disney to handle.
‘Wild Life’ Centered Around Finding A New Club Star
During the latter part of the 90s and 2000s, Disney would find themselves in a slump, as some of their releases just weren’t catching on like they used to. The studio was clearly willing to take some risks, and at one point, the studio was working on a project called Wild Life, which wound up causing some problems.
It’s hard to imagine a Disney film being centered on finding a new attraction for a fading nightclub, but low and behold, this was the primary plot point for Wild Life. The former star of the club had been losing popularity, and it is up to them to find a new star. This, naturally, is to keep up with the competition that is looking to put them out of business for good.
According to Lost Media, “Red and Kitty-Glitter then find their new star in Ella, a talking elephant they found in the zoo. Ella is reluctant to be a new star for Club Wild Life, but after an accident on the stage where she is electrocuted by wires, she instantly transforms into a singing diva and becomes rich and famous, much to Red and Kitty's delight.”
The site also notes that Ella grows tired of this life and wants to head back to a simpler place, which causes conflict with her and Red and Kitty-Glitter. Yeah, this movie would have been a drastic departure for Disney, and while the plot itself is bizarre enough by Disney standards, one particular line from the movie was simply too racy for Roy Disney.
One Joke Was Too Much For Roy Disney To Handle
To get a movie made, you need to impress the big wigs at any studio. The folks making Wild Life thought they had something great going, but they had a fear that Disney was not going to be totally on board with the more mature themes and humor that they had written into the script.
According to Lost Media, “This constant fear was realized when Roy Disney, then vice chairman of the board, viewed the presentation reel in fall 1999 and stated that he was “appalled” at the mature humor (particularly one joke where two gay characters are about to enter the sewers and one remarked "have you ever been down a manhole before?") and ordered the film to be shut down.”
To say that things were not working out in the filmmaker’s favor would be a huge understatement. Imagine getting this far into production only to have Roy Disney himself get completely and utterly offended by what you presented him. This was a huge blow to the production of Wild Life, and soon, the film would be put to rest.
The Film Was Scrapped
After one poor showing, Disney dropped the flick and everyone was forced to venture out to other projects. The studio working to bring this film to life, The Secret Lab, swung and missed with the film Dinosaur, and this was obviously the nail in the coffin for their time working with Disney.
The film has lived on in infamy, as there are a number of concept drawings and even an animated scene that has leaked online. It gives people an understanding of what the filmmakers were going for and how big of a change it would have been for Disney during that time.
Even after dropping the film altogether, Disney would still work on other projects that went on to disappoint at the box office. It was a lengthy slump for the studio, who worked tirelessly to turn things around. While there is no guarantee that Wild Life would have flopped, it does say a lot that Disney was willing to pass on it during an era when they made box office bombs like Treasure Planet.
Wild Life was canceled after Roy Disney deemed it too hot to handle, and we cannot imagine this film ever seeing the light of day in the future.