ABC’s movie mix: classics, reboots and Halloween

ABC has finally answered a lingering question about its fall schedule:
What, exactly, will it show Sundays, on the Disney movie night?
The answer is a mix of new-ish films — the reboots of “Little Mermaid” (shown here) and “Haunted Mansion” and the latest Indiana Jones tale — and classics (“Coco,” “Moana” “Mrs. Doubtfire”). There will be a Halloween emphasis in October, before broadening the range.
All of that will start a week later than originally announced – on Oct. 6, instead of Sept. 29.
ABC and CBS have used Sunday movies to fill gaps caused by the pandemic and the strikes. ABC then went a step further, putting them on the fall schedule, under the “Wonderful World of Disney” banner.
Here are the films announced today, plus some critic-type comments, good and bad:
— Oct. 6: “The Little Mermaid” (2023). A terrific, 1989 cartoon was remade into an OK, non-cartoon musical. Halle Bailey is a fine Ariel, but the film has little of the visual beauty or emotional power we might have expected.
— Oct. 13: “Haunted Mansion” (2023). Some 20 years after Eddie Murphy made a Disney film with this title, here’s another version. It’s sort of Halloween lite, with modest fun.
— Oct. 20 and 27: “Hocus Pocus” (1993) and “Hocus Pocus 2” (2022). The original – with Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy as revived witches – has long been a key to October programming on the Freeform cable channel … so much that the sequel was created with the same stars. It received mixed reviews, but high viewership numbers.
— Nov. 3: “Coco” (2017). Set during the Day of the Dead events in Mexico, this is a movie that mixes visual beauty, deep emotion and gorgeous music. It won Oscars for best animated feature and for the song “Remember Me.”
— Nov. 10: “Mrs. Doubtfire” (1993). Robin Williams starred in this comedy, playing a divorced day who disguises as a British housekeeper so he can stay close to his kids.
— Nov. 17: “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” (2023). Harrison Ford, now 82, is an action star for all ages. He returned easily to a character he first played 43 years ago. The result is a sharp adventure romp.
— Nov. 24: “Moana” (2016). Here’s another animated gem, with smart songs (some by Lin-Manuel Miranda) and gorgeous visuals.
— And then, one assumes, Christmas movies or specials.