Disney Wants GET OUT Director Jordan Peele to Make an Animated Movie, and He Should Bring Back Disney’s Scary Side

Disney Animation wants Jordan Peeleto make a movie for them, and I love the idea of the Get Out director getting the chance to scare the hell out of a new generation of Disney fans. Seriously, give this guy a creepy animated fantasy and let him have some fun with it!

Walt Disney Animation Studios chief creative officer Jared Bush recently expressed his enthusiasm for working with the Oscar-winning filmmaker, and while there’s no official project in development, it’s an exciting possibility. 

Peele has already proven he knows his way around animation, and he once pitched Disney a movie based on one of its coolest and darkest animated properties, Gargoyles.

During an interview with Collider, Bush made it clear that he wants Peele involved with Disney Animation, saying, “Oh my God. I need Jordan Peele to come to Disney Animation immediately.”

Bush praised Peele's willingness to take creative risks and explore unusual stories, which makes him an interesting fit for a studio that could use a little more darkness in its animated films.

Remember when Disney movies were actually kind of terrifying? The studio used to put some pretty disturbing stuff in its animated classics, and those moments are part of what made the movies so memorable.

In Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the Evil Queen transforms into a horrifying old witch and falls off the edge of a cliff. Pinocchio features children being turned into donkeys and sold into slavery. Fantasia unleashes the demonic Chernabog during its unforgettable "Night on Bald Mountain" sequence.

Then you've got Maleficent transforming into a massive fire-breathing dragon in Sleeping Beauty, and the Headless Horseman chasing Ichabod Crane through a haunted forest in The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. That stuff was awesome nightmare fuel, and I loved it!

Disney pushed things even further with 1985's The Black Cauldron, which featured the skeletal Horned King attempting to resurrect an army of undead warriors. The film was a major box office disappointment, but it remains one of Disney's most interesting dark fantasy experiments.

It's a shame the studio hasn't done more with that property, especially considering the wealth of material in Lloyd Alexander's original fantasy novels.

Disney hasn't completely abandoned witches, monsters, and creepy fantasy worlds. Bush co-wrote the upcoming animated film Hexed, which takes audiences into a magical world filled with witches and a sinister queen. But its colorful presentation and playful humor lean more toward whimsical fantasy than actual horror.

There's certainly a place for that kind of storytelling, but I'd love to see Disney make another animated movie that isn't afraid to get a little frightening.

With Get Out, Us, and Nope, Peele has shown how effectively he can blend horror, humor, suspense, and interesting characters. His movies are dark, unpredictable, and disturbing, which are all qualities that could make for a fantastic Disney animated film.

Peele also has animation experience. He co-wrote, produced, and voiced a character in the 2022 stop-motion horror comedy Wendell & Wild, directed by The Nightmare Before Christmas filmmaker Henry Selick.

He also voiced Bunny in Pixar's Toy Story 4 alongside his longtime comedy partner Keegan-Michael Key, who played Ducky. So he's already familiar with Disney's animation world.

But here's what makes this whole thing particularly interesting. Peele already tried to make a Disney movie.

Back in 2018, Peele approached Disney about directing a live-action adaptation of Gargoyles, the awesome 1990s animated series about ancient creatures who awaken in modern-day Manhattan and protect the city from supernatural threats.

Unfortunately, Disney executives were hesitant to move forward with his vision, and the project never happened.

Disney later pursued another live-action Gargoyles adaptation with James Wan's Atomic Monster production company, but that version also fell through.

I still think Gargoyles is one of Disney's most underused franchises, and Peele seems like a great filmmaker to bring it back. The original series had gothic horror, mythology, monsters, tragic characters, and some surprisingly mature storytelling. There's so much there for a filmmaker like Peele to play with.

An animated Gargoyles movie directed by Peele could be something really cool, especially if Disney gave him the freedom to embrace the darker elements that made the original show so good.

Of course, he wouldn't necessarily need to revisit an existing property. An original animated horror fantasy from Peele could be just as exciting.

Disney has spent years making colorful, funny, family-friendly animated adventures, and there's nothing wrong with that. But I'd love to see the studio bring back the creepy, unsettling side of its storytelling that made so many of its classic films unforgettable.

Peele could be the perfect filmmaker to help make that happen. Disney says it wants to work with him, and he's already shown interest in working with Disney.

Now somebody just needs to make the damn movie happen.