Coming Attractions: More Children's Books into Movies

Cats

Animated. Based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot, by way of the Musical/Blockbuster/Phenomenon by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Voices: ?
Director: ?
Writer: Tom Stoppard
Executive Producer: Andrew Lloyd Webber
Production Company: Amblimation in association with Really Useful Film
Distributor: Universal
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Work started: November 1, 1994.

Doctor Dolittle

Based on the novel by Hugh Lofting. 20th Century Fox is working on a version starring Eddie Murphy. This could end up in the Bad Ideas Hall of Fame. What do these studio executives have for lunch?

Feathertop

Animated. Based on the Nathaniel Hawthorne story Feathertop from Mosses from an Old Manse. A courageous scarecrow comes to life. Scheduled for Fall 1996 completion.

Director: Rick Rich (The Swan Princess)

The Frog Prince

Animated.

Voices ?
Director: Will Vinton
Animation Director: Barry Bruce
Writer: Jim Cox
Executive Producer: Will Vinton
Producer: David Altschul
Music: David Pomeranz
Production Company: Will Vinton Prods.
Distributor: ?
Location: Portland, OR
Work started: February 1, 1994.

Hercules

Animated. Based on the myth, but given the usual Disney Twist. Zeus sends snobbish Hercules to Earth to perform the 12 labours in order to learn how to be a hero. Huh?

Voices: Tate Donovan (Hercules), James Woods (Hades), Danny DeVito, Susan Egan

Jungle Book II: Mowgli and Baloo

Based on "characters created by Rudyard Kipling." A sequel to the live-action Jungle Book.

Pippi Longstocking

Animated. Based on the novel by Astrid Lindgren. Production will begin in late spring 1996. Scheduled for completion in 1997.

Director: Clive Smith
Production Company: Nelvana (Canada), and firms in Sweden and Gemany.

The Quest for Camelot

Animated. Based on the 1976 novel The King's Damosel, by British writer Vera Chapman. Susannah, an independent young woman living in the days of King Arthur's court, must embark on a dangerous quest for the Holy Grail in order to save her sister from a ruthless and powerful knight. Scheduled for release in late 1997.

Voices: Christopher Reeve (King Arthur), John Gielgud (Merlin), Jane Seymour, Eric Idle, Jessica Hathaway, Andrea Corr.
Directors: Frederick Duchau
Writer: Elizabeth Chandler ("A Little Princess"), Jacqueline Feather, David Seidler, Will Schifrin
Songs: David Foster, Carole Bayer Sager
Producer: Frank Gladstone
Production Company: Warner Brothers Feature Animation.

Rumpelstiltskin

Live-action. Looks like this one is destined to go direct-to-video. Look for it anytime after August 1996.

Cast: Vivian Schilling, Arturo Gil
Director: Irving Ramsey
Writers: Mike Snyder
Executive Producers: Eric Parkinson, Vivian Schilling
Producer: Michael Slikfin
Production Company: Mega Communications
Distributor: Hemdale Communications
Location: Budapest, Hungary

Shrek

Animated. Based on the picture book by William Steig. A project of Dreamworks SKG.

Snow White

Live-action. A version of the fairy tale set in the 18th-century Austrian Black Forest (another source says 15th-century, but what's 300 years?) with outcasts and criminals taking the place of the seven dwarfs. Apparently, this will not be for young children, and may be dark and eerie, and rated PG-13 May be titled The Grimm Brothers' Snow White, or Snow White in the Black Forest.

Cast: Sigourney Weaver (Wicked Stepmother), Sam Neill
Director: Michael Cohn
Writers: Tom Szollosi, Deborah Serra
International Distributor: Polygram Film

The Thief Of Always

Animated. Based on the novel by Clive Barker. After mysterious Mr. Rictus promises to end his boredom with a trip to the magical Holiday House, ten-year-old Harvey learns that fun has a high price.

Voices: ?
Director: Robin Budd
Writer: Clive Barker
Executive Producers: Michael Hirsh, Patrick Loubert, Toper Taylor, Clive Barker
Production Company: Nelvana Ltd.
U.S. Distributor: Paramount

Tom Thumb

Live-action.

Cast: ?
Director: ?
Writers: Ron Yanover, Mark Geldman
Executive Producers: Sharad Patel, Mark Damon
Producer: Raju Patel Production Company: MDP Worldwide Distributor: MDP Worldwide
Locations: England, Ireland
Start: April 1995.

The Wind in the Willows

Live-Action. Based Kenneth Grahame's classic children's book about Toad of Toad Hall and his riverbank friends, Mole and Rat.

Cast: Terry Jones, Eric Idle, Steve Coogan, Nicol Williamson, Antony Sher
Director: Terry Jones
Producers: John Goldstone, Jake Eberts
U.S. Distributor: Buena Vista

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