Does Sailor Moon qualify as a Disney Princess if she is on Hulu and Disney owns Hulu? Longtime admirers of the magical girl Anime might find such silly logic jokes entertaining.
However, many are unaware of how close Usagi Tsukino was to becoming a Disney Princess. Disney nearly produced a movie in the early 2000s based on the well-known animation Sailor Moon.
This would have been created at the end of the Disney Renaissance and, had it been a success, may have ushered in a period of live-action Anime movies that we haven’t yet seen.
The greatest moment to discover the plot of the live-action Sailor Moon movie that Disney never produced may be right now, given that the launch of Disney+ offers fans a nostalgic look back on Disney’s wider past.
What is Sailor Moon?
Naoko Takeuchi wrote and drew the manga series Sailor Moon. From 1991 until 1997, it was serialized in Kodansha’s shjo manga magazine Nakayoshi; the 52 individual chapters were published in 18 volumes.
The series recounts the adventures of Usagi Tsukino, a schoolgirl who transforms into the eponymous character in search of a magical item known as the “Legendary Silver Crystal” (Maboroshi no Ginsuish, lit. “Phantom Silver Crystal”). She leads a band of companions known as the Sailor Soldiers, subsequently renamed the Sailor Guardians, in their fight against villains in order to prevent the theft of the Silver Crystal and the collapse of the Solar System.
Toei Animation produced an anime series based on the manga, which aired in Japan from 1992 to 1997. Toei also created three animated feature films, a television special, and three short anime films. Lovely Guardian Sailor Moon, a live-action television adaption, broadcast from 2003 to 2004, and a second anime series, Sailor Moon Crystal, began simulcasting in 2014.
Why is Sailor Moon so popular?
Sailor Moon is a well-recognized anime and manga series. For many, it was their first introduction to anime, particularly the “Magical Girl” genre. There are numerous reasons for its fame and popularity.
Magical Girls are a genre unto itself, although it’s fun not to take the genre too literally. The main character of D.N. Angel’s story is a unique Magical Boy named Daisuke, who changes into the famed phantom thief Dark.
Sailor Moon wasn’t the first female superhero, let alone the first in anime, but its popularity rejuvenated the Magical Girl anime genre.
Sailor Moon not only formalized the idea that a girl could be a hero and save the day but that all kinds of girls had the power to band together and be the change they wanted to see in the world. To this day, most people associate magical girls with Sailor Scout-like heroes who encourage the best in others.
Who owns Sailor Moon?
DiC Entertainment translated the first two seasons of Sailor Moon. A number of iconic animated films, including Inspector Gadget, Rainbow Brite, and Care Bears, were created by this studio.
ABC and DiC combined in 1993. A few years later, Disney purchased ABC, obtaining the majority of the corporation.
Disney soon started making live-action movies based on DiC properties. The two films that stand out the most among them are Meet the Deedles from 1998 and Inspector Gadget from 1999, respectively.
Undoubtedly, when searching through DiC’s library of assets, Disney recognized the rising popularity of Sailor Moon as a brand-new property worth turning into a live-action movie.
However, DiC only held the rights for Sailor Moon’s first two seasons. Cloverway Inc. granted a license for the following two seasons.
Additionally, DiC broke away from Disney to start its own business, even though Disney still held the license to a number of DiC properties.
The most notable example is Inspector Gadget, which got a sequel in 2003, years after DiC and Disney split.
Was Sailor Moon popular in the 90s?
The majority of children who grew up in the 1990s will recall Sailor Moon, the exciting transformation scenes, and the famous sentence above.
The show played a significant role in popularising the magical girl concept among general viewers.
Usagi Tsukino, a kind-hearted 14-year-old schoolgirl who meets Luna, a magical talking cat, is the main character of Sailor Moon.
Usagi receives the ability to change into Sailor Moon, a magical girl who wears a sailor uniform, from Luna.
Usagi must use her newly discovered abilities to vanquish the Dark Kingdom’s terrible armies and save Princess Serenity, the moon princess.
Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, and Sailor Venus are present with Usagi as fellow Sailor Guardians.
They struggle to defend Earth from evil forces and the universe as a whole by drawing strength from their strong relationship.
The series enjoyed enormous popularity both in Japan and abroad. Many 90s kids still talk fondly about the series thanks to the dazzling transformation scenes and attractive schoolgirls in sailor uniforms, which have become their own pop culture icons.
The Anime is action-packed and features a delightful balance of friendship and romance, particularly between Usagi and Mamoru’s love story (Tuxedo Mask). But love is not a sign of frailty.
In Sailor Moon, many characters possess superhuman abilities. Sailor Moon is undoubtedly the most potent of them all.
Sailor Moon is regarded as one of the strongest female Anime protagonists and is an extraordinarily powerful character who lives and breathes love.
Princess Serenity of the Moon Kingdom is Sailor Moon’s secret identity, the fearless leader of the Sailor Guardians.
The vivacious Guardian began battling villains at the age of 14, but by the end of the series, she had reached the age of 16. Throughout the series, Sailor Moon defeats evil with her kindhearted empathy.
She always succeeds because she believes in friendship and love. Usagi has the power to vanquish evil, turn the Earth into a utopia, and stop any impending Armageddon.
Since the world of Sailor Moon was so adored, 35 official Sailor Moon games were produced, the majority of which were published in the 1990s. Sadly, virtually every one of them was never made available outside of Japan.
How many Sailor Moon movies are there?
Here’s a list of all the sailor moon movies:
| Sailor Moon R-Promise of The Rose | The movie, which takes place after the second arc of Sailor Moon R, was first released in Japan in December 1993. It tells the tale of the alien Fiore, an old friend of Mamoru’s, as he attempts to steal Mamoru with the aid of the evil alien flower known as the Xenian. Fiore looks remarkably like Ali and An from Sailor Moon R, despite not being related to any of them. The movie also gives Mamoru some background information by describing what happened to his family and the reasons he lives alone. The significance of Sailor Moon’s relationships with her loved ones is also emphasized in the movie. |
| Sailor Moon S | This film is referred to as Sailor Moon: Hearts On Ice in the US. The Sailor Guardians fight an extraterrestrial ice princess as the black cat Luna falls in love with a human astronomer named Kakeru in this side story by Naoko Takeuchi, which was adapted for the film. The film is remarkable for having a lighthearted rendition of The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, a folktale that contains Princess Kaguya, as well as for letting you see partially through Usagi’s magical mascot Luna. It would also be the only movie to feature Luna in her human form up until the debut of Sailor Moon Crystal. |
| Sailor Moon Super S-Ami’s First Love | A brief animation special titled “Ami’s First Love” debuted in theatres as the Sailor Moon SuperS movie’s introduction. The Manga side story “Chapter 2 – Ami’s First Love” served as its inspiration. |
| Sailor Moon Super S-The Movie | The third and last film in the Anime series is titled “Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon SuperS: The Movie.” Pioneer Entertainment and Optimum Productions, who released the film in two versions, dubbed it into English. The first version, which had DiC’s music and censorship of the Sailor Senshi transformations, was broadcast on television and published on VHS. Though it continued to use the opening song from the dub with the English-language track, the second version, which was published on DVD, was unedited and featured the majority of the original soundtrack. “Black Dream Hole” was the subtitle given to the English dub. |
| Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal The Movie | The 2021 Japanese animated action fantasy film Sailor Moon Eternal serves as a direct sequel and “fourth season” to the Sailor Moon Crystal Anime series. It is based on the Dream arc of the Sailor Moon Manga by Naoko Takeuchi. Chiaki Kon is in charge of directing the two-part movie, which was co-produced by Toei Animation and Studio Deen. Kazuyuki Fudeyasu wrote the script. Naoko Takeuchi is the chief supervisor. On January 8 and February 11, respectively, the first of the two parts of the movie was released in Japan in 2021. |
Conclusion
- Along with the devoted fanbase it already has, which helped make Sailor Moon one of the most well-liked superhero series of the 1990s, the Anime Sailor Moon continues to gain new admirers.
- Toei Animation continues to produce several versions of Naoko Takeuchi’s Manga, and the classic series, which aired from 1992 to 1997, continues to be a popular show.
- Sailor Moon is in charge of a franchising empire that encompasses practically every print or video medium. However, she is most known on a global scale in her animated, small-screen incarnation.
- The Anime series debuted in 1995 and the most recent one ended in 2016. This spans a period of more than 25 years.
- The franchise’s animated adaptations may be readily categorized by series and decade, making it easy for new fans to learn about the origins of the series or devoted two-decade Moonies to review their favorite episodes.