Should Disney make a movie of the Ramayana?

[ScottMalaysia]

My wife and I went to see The Princess and the Frog last night. It got me thinking that it would be good if Disney made an animated movie of the Ramayana. I mean, not a serial like it has been done in India, but a feature-length cartoon with most of the main story - the breaking of the bow, marriage to Seeta, exile to the forest, kidnapping of Seeta, meeting Sugriva, Hanuman and the Vanaras, the battle before Lanka and Rama and Seeta's return to Ayodhya. I can just imagine a song featuring Hanuman and the Vanaras.

What do you guys think? Would you enjoy a Disney animated Ramayana movie? Do you think it would be a bad idea? Would it be trivializing the Gods by turning them into cartoon characters? Would Disney change too much of original story? I myself would really like to see it.

[kshama]

Namaskar ScottMalaysia Ji,

Personally I do not like movies or cartoons. I think a movie/animated movie cannot grasp the whole essence of the Ramayana. But that's me. Everyone has their own opinions.

I have seen animated Indian tv movies and serials too. In fact, in Malaysia, in astro too, there are lots of animated Indian pictures based on religious themes being shown now and then. Kids will certainly benefit from watching them. It will make them aware of things that their parents never told them about certain gods or goddesses.

[Spiritualseeker]

I agree kshama. Though I am no expert on Ramayana or any hindu scripture I do think that the Eternal Truths found within them are not quite understand when in a film. If there was some commentary in the film then I think it may be good.

[saidevo]

I remember to have seen a cartoon movie of the rAmAyaNa with dialogues in Hindi and liked it. It was a Japanese production but I don't remember the title of the movie. Now on searching, I find that this could have been what I saw in a TV channel long back:

Warrior Prince, The Legend of Prince Rama
http://www.matchless-gifts.com/store/products/Ramayana-Animated-Cartoon-(DVD).html

There is an article about this movie in HT:
http://www.hinduismtoday.com/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=1025

[sanjaya]

A Disney movie about the Ramayana would be quite interesting. No doubt Sita would have an impossibly thin waist and Hanuman would serve partly for comic relief, but whatever, it's Disney.

As others have already said, a Disney film would likely subtract out most of the spiritual value from the Ramayana. But how many of us go to the movies for spiritual upliftment? Besides that, we all know that the book is always better (save for novels based on movies). It's still important for Indian kids to know the stories of Hinduism, and a well-done movie wouldn't be a bad way to do that. I for one would be interested to see what Disney could come up with, were they to take on the task.

[ScottMalaysia]

I understand that a movie wouldn't convey most of the Hindu spirituality contained in the Ramayana. However, it would let people know about the story of Lord Rama and Princess Seeta. The animated films of the Ramayana made in India would only appeal to Hindus, however, a Disney movie would appeal to a large number of people. Most Western people would have had no idea of who Hua Mulan was before the Disney film about her was released. So a Disney movie of the Ramayana would do the same thing about Lord Rama.

However, I don't think that a Disney animated movie of the Mahabharata would be feasible - there are just too many simultaneous plot lines and background stories contained in it. Also, it doesn't really have any romance in it - the Pandava brothers are fighting over their kingdom, not for love. Most Disney movies have some romance in them - for stories where there is no romance, like Mulan, they add it themselves.

[sanjaya]

I understand that a movie wouldn't convey most of the Hindu spirituality contained in the Ramayana. However, it would let people know about the story of Lord Rama and Princess Seeta. The animated films of the Ramayana made in India would only appeal to Hindus, however, a Disney movie would appeal to a large number of people. Most Western people would have had no idea of who Hua Mulan was before the Disney film about her was released. So a Disney movie of the Ramayana would do the same thing about Lord Rama.

That's a good point. For better or worse, Bollywood just doesn't hold a candle to the original.


However, I don't think that a Disney animated movie of the Mahabharata would be feasible - there are just too many simultaneous plot lines and background stories contained in it. Also, it doesn't really have any romance in it - the Pandava brothers are fighting over their kingdom, not for love. Most Disney movies have some romance in them - for stories where there is no romance, like Mulan, they add it themselves.

The whole Mahabharata likely couldn't be done, and even if it were, Disney shouldn't be the one to do it. However, Hollywood did a pretty good job with the Greek epic about the Trojan War. This story is basically the Western Mahabharata, and has the same problem of simultaneous plotlines and backstories. Hollywood, however, focused solely on the latter part of the war. Granted, Hollywood removed all of the supernatural elements of the story, which might not work quite so well for the Mahabharata.

[masterbbb]

My wife and I went to see The Princess and the Frog last night. It got me thinking that it would be good if Disney made an animated movie of the Ramayana. I mean, not a serial like it has been done in India, but a feature-length cartoon with most of the main story - the breaking of the bow, marriage to Seeta, exile to the forest, kidnapping of Seeta, meeting Sugriva, Hanuman and the Vanaras, the battle before Lanka and Rama and Seeta's return to Ayodhya. I can just imagine a song featuring Hanuman and the Vanaras.

What do you guys think? Would you enjoy a Disney animated Ramayana movie? Do you think it would be a bad idea? Would it be trivializing the Gods by turning them into cartoon characters? Would Disney change too much of original story? I myself would really like to see it.

from my prospective (as a self-proclaimed disney expert) it would not fit in the disney theme. the stories in the ramayana would not suit disney feel good ending movies, at least in animation.

though there is a ramayana animation movie that i did see on youtube.it does go through most of the story, and does omit small details for the sake of time, but it is good. it is cut into many 10 minute parts to fit youtube, but you could probalay download it all somewhere, though i don't know.


i have yet to find the version i am talking about, though rajshri has a great list of ones in english and hindi. but i am a little too lazy to go through there thousands of videos

[Sagefrakrobatik]

I saw something close to this. When I was in Kerala with other students, Toonz animation, an animation studio that works with larger animation companies like Disney and others was starting to plan for a movie about Hanuman. One of the students asked if it would be filmed in the states they said only in India and limited areas. I think movies, if done properly would be a great way to introduce Americans to Hindu scriptures.

I think if you get James Cameron with peter Jackson together to co-direct the Mahabarata--then it will be fine.

[truthseeker96]

i think it's a great idea!

[Ashvati]

Would this movie in ten parts on youtube happen to be "Sita Sings the Blues"? I loved that movie.

And yeah, those two directors, if not anyone from India, or at least someone with a good reputation for epic movies, would be a must for a movie of the Mahabharata. They would most likely have to omit the Bhagavad-Gita from it, but I would be happy if they at least managed to water it down to the information most relevant to the situation at hand or even just had Krishna smack Arjuna in the back of the head and say "just do your duty" (as out of character for him as that may be).

I would be quite skeptical of disney doing a good adaptation of The Ramayana, but I would probably go see it anyway unless there were an overwhelming number of bad reviews from Indians/hindus. Even if it completely missed the point, as long as it generated genuine interested in hinduism and indian culture, I would consider its impact on the world overall a good thing. Now lets just hope they don't decide to do it and churn out something horrible and hope that voice acting from known celebrities alone sells it (*cough* Racing Stripes *cough*)

[sanjaya]

Would this movie in ten parts on youtube happen to be "Sita Sings the Blues"? I loved that movie.

And yeah, those two directors, if not anyone from India, or at least someone with a good reputation for epic movies, would be a must for a movie of the Mahabharata. They would most likely have to omit the Bhagavad-Gita from it, but I would be happy if they at least managed to water it down to the information most relevant to the situation at hand or even just had Krishna smack Arjuna in the back of the head and say "just do your duty" (as out of character for him as that may be).

I would be quite skeptical of disney doing a good adaptation of The Ramayana, but I would probably go see it anyway unless there were an overwhelming number of bad reviews from Indians/hindus. Even if it completely missed the point, as long as it generated genuine interested in hinduism and indian culture, I would consider its impact on the world overall a good thing. Now lets just hope they don't decide to do it and churn out something horrible and hope that voice acting from known celebrities alone sells it (*cough* Racing Stripes *cough*)

Actually, I wonder if Disney would do a better job with the Ramayana than the Mahabharata. The Mahabharata isn't exactly the happiest story. In fact there's a tradition among many Hindus of not reading the whole text of the Mahabharata at home, lest the misfortune contained in its pages befall your household as well.

This wouldn't be Disney's first foray into non-Western stories. Aladdin and Mulan are two movies that come to mind. Disney has a tendancy to tell these stories from a Western point of view, but this is part of what makes Disney what it is, so I wouldn't really mind. And Ramayana is just the sort of tale that they could spin into a love story. I think it would be more likely for them to do the Ramayana. I would be interested to see what they come up with.

[Ashvati]

I've never heard about that tradition about the Mahabharata, but it does sound about right. Like I said, I would go to see the Ramayana if they did it, but I would expect to be conflicted or disappointed. Which means I would be all the happier if they did well with it.

[Sahasranama]

I am really curious about this. Disney can use a lot of imagination. They can display the gods, demons, monkeys and the magical power.. I hope they use every tool in their toolbox to display something that's captivating. One problem with Disney movies is that their message is always naive and simplistic. The Ramayana has a lot of depth, so I hope they look very closely at the scriptures to understand the significance of the stories. It would also be good for Disney to scrutinise the Ramayana by Ramananda Sagar, so they can get a good feel for the story.

[Ashvati]

Hopefully they would also realize they need to tread lightly with how they depict gods. The treatment they gave the greek gods in Hercules was fine for that pantheon, since its not a living religion, but for hinduism they really can't do quite the same thing without offending a lot of people.