While Shrek found 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. Although Shrek was based on the 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 notorious box office flop not killed a major film studio and changed the course of cinema history.
That’s because years before Shrek was even released, Steve Oedekerk, the director of Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, was set to team up with Fox Animation Studios for a film that would poke fun at beloved releases of the Disney Renaissance. While The Little Beauty King was canceled during the pre-production stage, the similarities to DreamWorks’ Shrek were 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 King would have been the first animated movie to take sharp satirical aim at the clichés of the Disney Renaissance. While movies like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King were 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 of The Little Beauty King were 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 that The Little Beauty King planned 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 King proves 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
While The Little Beauty King never made it to theaters, Shrek found 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, Shrek turned 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, Shrek differentiated 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, Shrek managed to make a familiar story feel totally original in a way that appealed to children and adults alike.
It’s clear that The Little Beauty King would have sought to crudely satirize conventions of earlier Disney movies, yet what made Shrek stand out was that it actively deconstructed fairytale tropes while managing to deliver an even more effective message. The standard Disney ending would have had Shrek turning 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. While Shrek worked as a crude satire, it was its sense of heart that meant it endured over the years.
The Failure Of тιтan A.E. Forced Fox Animation Studios To Close
After тιтan A.E. Flopped, It Killed Its Studio
The cancelation of The Little Beauty King was 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 with Anastasia, the studio struggled to repeat this achievement, and the underrated sci-fi box office flop тιтan 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), and тιтan A.E. (2000).
While тιтan 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 after тιтan A.E. hit theaters, Fox Animation Studios was forced to announce its closure. This unfortunate decision not only led to the cancelation of The Little Beauty King but also every movie that the studio had in the works.
The Little Beauty King Wasn’t The Only Movie Fox Animation Had Planned
All Upcoming Projects Were Canceled
Not only did the failure of тιтan A.E. tank an entire studio and potentially change the course of film history by halting plans to make The Little Beauty King, but it also meant plans to adapt Wayne Barlowe’s illustrated novel Barlowe’s Inferno were canceled (via USA 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 тιтle ahead of Ice Age. These examples showcase the domino effect one movie’s failure had on the entire film industry.
While the planned The Little Beauty King director Steve Oedekerk would still find success in 2001, with him serving as producer on Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, this Oscar-nominated film would not have nearly the same enduring pop culture influence as DreamWorks’ Shrek from 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 after тιтan A.E.
The Little Beauty King appeared poised to tap into many of the same elements that meant Shrek resonated with viewers.
The history of animation is filled with intriguing what-ifs, and The Little Beauty King appeared poised to tap into many of the same elements that meant Shrek resonated with viewers. As a box office hit that grossed an incredible $488.9 million against its $60 million budget (via Box Office Mojo), as well as taking home the Oscar for Best Animated Feature, it’s impossible to say whether The Little Beauty King could have achieved similar acclaim. The Little Beauty King certainly had the potential to take Shrek’s place in cinema history, but since it was never made, we’ll never know.
Sources: Oedeville, USA Today, Box Office Mojo
