Another big year for movie anniversaries is 2024. especially in the horror genre, since it’s the 45th anniversary of the iconic movie Alien. The Ridley Scott-directed movie from 1979 is regarded as one of the scariest movies ever made. But now that a new children’s book based on the terrifying franchise is coming out next year, it appears that Disney is trying to make the Alien franchise more approachable for younger readers.
The Disney Storybook Art Team will illustrate the book A is for Alien: An ABC Book, which will be included in the Little Golden Books series. “In space, no one can hear you laugh as you read this Little Golden Book featuring the characters from the iconic film Alien!” is how the description puts it. Take a space adventure with Ripley and the rest of the Nostromo crew as they introduce the alphabet from A to Z.” Children ages two to five are the target audience for this spooky adventure.
Given how gloomy and annoying the Alien franchise can be, this seems like a very strange move, but it’s good that Disney has found innovative ways to reimagine Fox properties. especially their horror-themed products.
Apart from The Nightmare Before Christmas and Hocus Pocus, Disney isn’t particularly well-known for horror films. On the other hand, they now own some of the most cherished horror franchises, including Alien and Predator, thanks to their acquisition of Fox.
Given that they’re creating a children’s book for a hard-R franchise, this is kind of funny, but gateway horror is essential for introducing the genre to younger audiences. Many of us would not be horror fans today if it weren’t for films like The Nightmare Before Christmas.
This would be an enjoyable way for fans of the genre to have their children explore one of the major franchises while they are learning to read, since the Alien universe is growing every year. Hopefully, there aren’t too many “chest bursters” and “facehuggers” scarring children for life. Still, it’s hysterically funny to imagine Disney artists taking on these well-known bloody sequences.