Sometimes, despite an initial creative vision or promising team, Disney movies get shelved indefinitely or scrapped altogether. Despite the studio’s consistent releases, especially since the 90s, you might be surprised to learn Disney has quite a few projects left behind.
Here’s a look back at all of the projects that were either put on permanent hiatus or cancelled during the 1930s. In the future, it’s always possible one of these will end up in theaters!
Note: the dates listed next to each title are the dates of project cancellations. None of the films in this era have specific reasons for project cancellations, so only the plot summaries (when known) are noted below.
- Peter Rabbit (1936) – Disney pitched an animation based on the book series by Beatrix Potter. But at the time, Potter refused to grant the rights to create the film.
- Reynard the Fox / The Romance of Reynard (1937) – This film would have combined tales, poems, and written stories from 11th century Europe, all focused on a mischevious fox.
- Penguin Island (1938) – This film, set on a fictional island, follows a partially blind Christian monk. He mistakes the penguins for people, and begins baptizing what he thinks is a pagan society.
- Abdul Abulbul Amir (1939) – This story followed two heroes, forced to fight each other due to pride.
- The Wizard of Oz (1939) – Disney attempted to create an animated version of the story before MGM got the rights. Obviously, the live action ended up going forward, and the Disney version never came to fruition.
This list does not include sequels or remakes of previous Disney films. For an even more comprehensive list, including animated short films, check out the Wikipedia page here.
Previous editions of this roundup: