While visiting Assisi, Italy, last week, I was enjoying Jon Sweeney's When Saint Francis Saved the Church. The book jacket claims that another of Sweeney's books, The Pope Who Quit, was optioned by HBO. That got me thinking, Why hasn't Disney made a musical called Francis! Here's why I ask.
I grew up in a Catholic neighborhood, with signs of Saint Francis everywhere. There he stood, a child-sized cement statue with a tonsure and a soap on a rope belt, surrounded by birds and bunnies. It was Disneyesque. Why Disney hasn't made a movie, Francis, I don't know. All the ingredients of successful cinema are at Disney's fingertips.
- You've got the most gorgeous setting: a hill town in Italy, splendid piazzas, awesome churches, trinket-filled shops with happy shopkeepers, terrific trattorias with bright tablecloths lining the cobblestone streets. Step aside, Aladdin!
It's all there, isn't it? Picturesque settings in the hill towns of Italy. A medieval monk who talks to animals. A broken father-son relationship. Forbidden love. The backdrop of war. A sequel with a strong female lead. And a theme park. (Not to mention a billion Catholics, millions of them devoted to St. Francis, who might just buy a ticket to the movie.)
Far-fetched? I don't think. Walk the streets of Assisi, like I did last week, and you'll see posters everywhere with a very Disney looking Claire, and the words, A Musical--Chiara di Dio.
It's a no brainer. So I've got to ask, Disney, what are you waiting for?