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Rachel Zegler might currently be filming her first Disney princess movie in Pinewood Studios in London (after, of course, pausing filming to address her famous Oscars snub), but the actress is already on her way to playing an animated heroine who isn’t Snow White!
The West Side Story actress and Golden Globe award winner will be voicing a princess in the upcoming animated musical called Spellbound, which is going to be the product of Alan Menken, Apple Original Films, and Skydance Animation. Alan Menken has composed music for many animated Disney movies, particularly The Little Mermaid (1989), The Lion King (1994), and Beauty and the Beast (1991), and he has won eight Academy Awards, eleven Grammy Awards,, a Tony Award, seven Golden Globe Awards, and a Daytime Emmy Award.
Alan Menken might be best known for his long history as a Disney composer, but the songwriter has actually composed music for several different animated films outside of Disney’s purview, spanning all the way from animated television specials like Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue (1990) to raunchy animated comedies like Seth Rogen’s 2016 movie Sausage Party.
Rachel Zegler Credit: @kaleteter
This new movie Spellbound is going to follow Princess Ellian (the main character, an animated princess voiced by Rachel Zegler) “as she embarks on a mission to save her kingdom after a spell turns her parents into monsters”.
Alan Menken is known for his collaborations with fellow Disney talents like Glenn Slater (shown below), but he will be teaming up with screenwriter Linda Woolverton this time. Linda Woolverton joined Menken in working on the live-action Beauty and the Beast back in 2017. Other screenwriters will be Lauren Hynek and Elizabeth Martin, while the director will be Vicky Jenson.
Alan Menken and Glenn Slater. Alan Menken and Glenn Slater have worked on Galavant and Tangled (the Disney princess movie that starred Zachary Levi as Flynn Rider/Eugene Fitzherbert and Mandy Moore as Rapunzel). Credit: broadway.com
Glenn Slater will actually be back for this movie too — so even though Spellbound isn’t a Disney movie, we can probably expect a lot of Disney influences and signature Slater/ Menken music! Menken and Slater teamed up for Galavant, after all, and the crowd-pleasing fairy tale musical series is filled with classic Disney aesthetics.
Rachel Zegler as Maria in ‘West Side Story’ Credit: 20th Century Studios
Will you be interested in seeing this animated film, or are you too busy catching up with other musicals streaming on Disney+?
