WhileShrekfound global success through the clever way it parodied Disney’s fairytale adaptations, one canceled film sought to do the exact same thing several years earlier. AlthoughShrekwas based onthe 1990 picture book of the same name by William Steig, it was the 2001 film version that helped put DreamWorks on the map and made Hollywood stand up and take notice of satirical stories that could appeal to the whole family. However, this story could have been totally different had a notoriousbox office flop not killed a major film studioand changed the course of cinema history.
That’s because years beforeShrekwas even released, Steve Oedekerk, the director ofAce Ventura: When Nature Calls, was set to team up with Fox Animation Studios for a film that would poke fun atbeloved releases of the Disney Renaissance. WhileThe Little Beauty Kingwas canceled during the pre-production stage, the similarities to DreamWorks’Shrekwere striking. As a great what-if of animation history, it’s hard not to wonder how things would have changed if it had been released on schedule.
The Little Beauty King Sought To Satirize The Disney Renaissance
Steve Oedekerk Was On Board To Direct
The Little Beauty Kingwould have been the first animated movie to take sharp satirical aim at the clichés of the Disney Renaissance. While movies likeThe Little Mermaid,Beauty and the Beast, andThe Lion Kingwere beloved properties that found major success with children around the world, it was also clear that Disney had landed on a winning formula as they took classic Grimm fairy tales or even Shakespearean tragedies and repackaged them under the guise of a family-friendly musical.
While the exact plot details ofThe Little Beauty Kingwere not revealed, archival stills from the abandoned project showcase incredibly Disneyfied visuals to go with a decidedly non-Disney-style story. With imagery of a Disney-style princess singing on the toilet while surrounded by anthropomorphic bathroom appliances, it’s evident thatThe Little Beauty Kingplanned to embrace a vulgar sense of humor not traditionally seen in Disney movies. Although DreamWorks may have been the first studio to actually release such a movie,The Little Beauty Kingproves they were not the only ones thinking about satirizing the tropes of Disney.
DreamWorks' Shrek Found Global Success With The Same Idea As The Little Beauty King
Shrek Poked Fun At Fairy Tale Tropes And Clichés
WhileThe Little Beauty Kingnever made it to theaters,Shrekfound major success at the box office with the same satirical idea of parodying all things Disney in 2001. Telling the story of an embittered ogre embarking on a quest with his Donkey sidekick to save a princess and regain control of his swamp,Shrekturned the wholesome aesthetics of classic Disney stories on their head as it imbued its story with edgy, adult humor that went over young viewers' heads and was packed with references that deliberately highlighted the absurdity of many classic fairy tales.
With an A-list voice cast including Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz,Shrekdifferentiated itself from classic Disney by starring a cynical, reluctant, ogreish hero and replacing the Broadway-style musical songs of Disney classics with ironic pop music by bands like Smash Mouth. By turning everything viewers thought they knew about classic fairy tales on its head,Shrekmanaged to make a familiar story feel totally original in a way that appealed to children and adults alike.
It’s clear thatThe Little Beauty Kingwould have sought to crudely satirize conventions of earlier Disney movies, yet what madeShrekstand out was that it actively deconstructed fairytale tropeswhile managing to deliver an even more effective message. The standard Disney ending would have hadShrekturning into a prince, but the fact that Princess Fiona maintained her ogre form offered a more thoughtful message about inner beauty and standing outside society’s expectations. WhileShrekworked as a crude satire, it was its sense of heart that meant it endured over the years.
The Failure Of Titan A.E. Forced Fox Animation Studios To Close
After Titan A.E. Flopped, It Killed Its Studio
The cancelation ofThe Little Beauty Kingwas a direct result of the closure of Fox Animation Studios, a subsidiary of 20th Century Fox Animation established by animators Don Bluth and Gary Goldman. While Bluth and Goldman found success withAnastasia, the studio struggled to repeat this achievement, andthe underrated sci-fi box office flopTitan A.E.from 2000 caused Fox Animation Studios to shut down. Despite being a star-studded adventure about displaced humans fighting for survival in space, this future cult classic just didn’t connect with viewers at the time.
In its six-year history, Fox Animation Studios released just three films:Anastasia(1997),Bartok the Magnificent(1999), andTitan A.E.(2000).
WhileTitan A.E.had a sense of maturity and real emotional stakes that meant it now stands as an underrated hidden gem, its underwhelming box office take of just $36.7 million against a $75 million budget killed its studio. Just ten days afterTitan A.E.hit theaters, Fox Animation Studios was forced to announce its closure. This unfortunate decision not only led to the cancelation ofThe Little Beauty King butalso every movie that the studio had in the works.
All Upcoming Projects Were Canceled
Not only did the failure ofTitan A.E.tank an entire studio and potentially change the course of film history by halting plans to makeThe Little Beauty King, but it also meant plans to adapt Wayne Barlowe’s illustrated novelBarlowe’s Infernowere canceled (viaUSA Today.) This was set to become 20th Century Fox’s first fully computer-animated movie, and if it were released, it would have earned this title ahead ofIce Age. These examples showcasethe domino effect one movie’s failure had on the entire film industry.
While the plannedThe Little Beauty Kingdirector Steve Oedekerk would still find success in 2001, with him serving as producer onJimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, this Oscar-nominated film would not have nearly the same enduring pop culture influence as DreamWorks’Shrekfrom the same year. Although Oedekerk was able to continue working on interesting new projects, the Fox Animation Studios founders, Bluth and Goldman, were not as fortunate, as they never directed another feature-length movie afterTitan A.E.
The Little Beauty Kingappeared poised to tap into many of the same elements that meantShrekresonated with viewers.
The history of animation is filled with intriguing what-ifs, andThe Little Beauty Kingappeared poised to tap into many of the same elements that meantShrekresonated with viewers. As a box office hit that grossed an incredible $488.9 million against its $60 million budget (viaBox Office Mojo), as well as taking home the Oscar for Best Animated Feature, it’s impossible to say whetherThe Little Beauty Kingcould have achieved similar acclaim.The Little Beauty Kingcertainly had the potential to takeShrek’splace in cinema history, but since it was never made, we’ll never know.
