If Hollywood’s not adapting toys or comic books, they’re finding old cartoons to turn into movies. Following on from Scooby Doo, Alvin And The Chipmunks and the upcoming Smurfs movie (due December 2010) comes news that they’re stepping up a gear with a live-action adaptation of 70s cartoon classic, Hong Kong Phooey. Alex Zamm has signed up to direct from a script by David Goodman.
Zamm’s credentials aren’t great, with his work on Inspector Gadget 2 and Doctor Dolittle 5 not exactly inspiring confidence, but at least it shows he has some experience mixing CGI with real footage. Having Goodman as screenwriter is better news though, as he’s an executive producer and writer for Family Guy, suggesting the film might actually be funny. One of the producers is X-Men 2 director Bret Ratner, a self-professed fan of the cartoon.
However while the Scooby Doo movie was popular enough to have a sequel and Alvin And The Chipmunks broke the bank, it’ll be interesting to see how well a Hong Kong Phooey movie does more than 30 years after the cartoon first appeared.
The story of Penrod Pooch, a janitor by day, who’s actually kung-fu crimefighter Hong Kong Phooey by night (although most of the actual crimesolving was done by his cat), wasn’t actually that popular when it was first aired, and only 16 episodes were ever made. Most of its reputation rests on the nostalgia of people in their 30s and 40s, so it’ll be interesting to see if the unusual seuperhero concept can translate to a whole new audience.