The Queen

The Queen would be a 2030 American computer-animated adventure fantasy film directed by Byron Howard from an screenplay co-written with Josie Trinidad, and produced by Clark Spencer. Produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, the film would star the voices of Lupita Nyong'o, Alfre Woodard, Letita Wright, and Wanda Sykes, and would center on a magical queen who is betrayed by her king and dethroned. Kris Bowers would compose the score for the film.
Work on the film would start by early 2028, with Howard set to direct and co-write the film alongside Trinidad. Nyong'o and Wright would join the film in the lead roles in mid-2028. Sykes and Woodard would join the cast in late 2028, and animation would begin in early 2029. Howard would describe the film as "a deconstruction of the wicked witch fairy tale trope", and as a commentary on how people can take advantage on fake news and stereotypes to rise to power. Howard would also partially base the story on his experiences coming out as gay during his youth. The animators would create a new animation system that combines 2D and 3D animation for the film's magic sequences.
The Queen would be released on November 2, 2030, and would become a success critically and financially, with praise going towards the film's screenplay, themes, direction, vocal performances (particularly Ngong'o, Woodard, and Wright's), score, animation, and visual effects. The film would earn 997 million dollars at the worldwide box office over a budget of 120 million dollars, becoming the studio's 15th hightest-grossing film. The Queen would earn three Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Original Score, as well as an Annie Award nomination for Best Film.
== Synopsis ==
A long time ago... in a kingdom far far away... there lived a generous and noble queen, who ruled her kingdom with kindness and wisdom, but she has a secret: she is also a witch. She kept that hidden so the kingdom wouldn't turn on her, as witches are seen as evil. However, the captain of her guards, who has secretly longed for power, becomes aware of this, and staged a coup d'etat against her, framing her for a crime she didn't commited and exiling her. The queen, dethroned and alone, must now find the strength inside her and regain her kingdom.
== Voice cast ==
* Lupita Nyong'o as Queen Hexe, a noble queen with a heart of gold and secretly a witch, who is exiled following a plot against her. According Nyong'o, the character would have to "learn to ignore what others say" througth the film.
* Alfre Woodard as Tückisch, Hexe's treacharous and power-hungry captain of the guards, who takes over her kingdom and turns everybody into her slaves after a plot against her.
* Letita Wright as Princess Nett, a young and naive princess who is used by Tückisch as part of her plot to take over the kingdom.
* Wanda Sykes as Helferin, a talking raven with a comedic actitude, and Hexe's closest friend.
Additionally, Alan Tudyk would voice Menshen, Hexe's personal informant on her people's needs. Jeff Bennet would voice Matthew, Tückish's assistant and co-conspirator.
== Music ==
Kris Bowers would compose the score for the film. Bowers would choose to "not to make it a typical fairy tale movie score", as he would feel that "this is not a typical fairy tale movie. It subvert tropes and has a very contemporaray feel in ways that few films have". For Hexe, Bowers would compose a theme "that feels magical but has a sense of vulnerability to it", while Lügner's theme would "be something that can be both heroic and deceitful" to reflect his deceitful personality. Bowers would create a "young and whimsical, but maturing theme" for Nett, and a "funy and lighthearted theme" for Helferin.
== Reception ==
On Rotten Tomatoes, The Queen would have an approval rating of 99%, with an average rating of 9.2/10, based on 264 reviews. The website's critical consensus would read, "Timely and thougthful, The Queen is another smartly-written fairy tale satire that manages to go beyond that to tackle very timely themes througth the eyes of a very relatable protagonists, ultimately creating a timeless story." On Metacritic, the film would have a weighted rating of 83 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim".
== Trivia ==
* Director Byron Howard would describe Disney's The Owl House and the superhero film Doctor Strange as big influence's on the film's approach to magic.
* According to Howard, executive producer Jennifer Lee would be strongly involved during the writing process in order to make sure Hexe "dosen't become Elsa 2.0".
=== Easter eggs ===
* The film would begin with a live-action sequence featuring several fairy tales including Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Sleeping Beauty, and The Little Mermaid. The sequence itself would be an homage to how early Disney films began with live-action book sequences.
* Pinocchio would be briefly seen at the start of the film inside a puppet store.
* Among the objects on Hexe's secret room it would be Mickey Mouse's sorcerer hat.
* Two of the books in Hexe's secret room would be titled "Wing It Like Witches" and "Witches Before Wizards", which were the titles of two episodes of Disney's The Owl House (2020-present).
* The tapestry seen througth the castle would resemble the Magic Carpet from Aladdin (1992).
* Among Nett's flowers would be the Magical Golden Flower from Tangled (2010) and the Enchanted Rose from Beauty and the Beast (1991).
* During the final battle, Hexe would order Tückish to leave her kingdom in a very similar way to how Simba ordered Scar to leave the Pride Lands during the climax of The Lion King (1994).