A classic Italian children’s book from 1945 gets an update in master illustrator Lorenzo Mattotti’s feature debut, “The Bears’ Famous Invasion of Sicily.” Beautifully drawn with bold colors and appealing shapes, the film’s style is classic animation at its best, clear and pleasing, calculated to charm children and adults alike. The revised storyline, however, about how bears and humans clash, make amends, and then realize they’re too different to live together, can lead to unfortunate and inadvertent interpretations neither Mattotti nor the original author Dino Buzzati intended. In addition, the narrative’s pace, whizzing by from one scene to the next, frustrates an adult’s desire to relish the often-striking images, making the film most suitable for kids incapable of critically engaging with metaphor.
“The Bears’ Famous Invasion” first appeared in print toward the end of World War 2, written and illustrated by the multi-talented Buzzati, whose novel...
“The Bears’ Famous Invasion” first appeared in print toward the end of World War 2, written and illustrated by the multi-talented Buzzati, whose novel...
- 6/5/2019
- by Jay Weissberg
- Variety Film + TV
You are probably already familiar with Babar, King of the Elephants, in some aspect. He first appeared in the French children’s books by Jean de Brunhoff in 1931, before they were translated into English in 1933 and pretty much every other language around the world after that. Babar is an elephant who is educated in proper manners and other important values by an old woman, known only as Madame, in the big city. After being trained as such in how to be a proper gentleman, he returns to the jungle kingdom where he was born and passes on these values to the other creatures, including his own children.
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- 9/11/2011
- by Lee Jutton
- JustPressPlay.net
Temple Hill, the production company behind the "Twilight" films, is planning a family film franchise based on the classic "Babar" children's books reports Deadline.
The books, first created by French author Jean de Brunhoff, followed an elephant that leaves the jungle for the big city, then returns with lessons learned to become king. Temple Hill recently made the deal with rights holders Nelvana and The Clifford Ross Company to adapt the property for the big screen.
Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey are producing the project which is being pitched as a family comedy mixing live-action with CG.
The books, first created by French author Jean de Brunhoff, followed an elephant that leaves the jungle for the big city, then returns with lessons learned to become king. Temple Hill recently made the deal with rights holders Nelvana and The Clifford Ross Company to adapt the property for the big screen.
Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey are producing the project which is being pitched as a family comedy mixing live-action with CG.
- 8/4/2010
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Twilight studio negotiates deal to take French cartoon character on a CGI adventure
The grand pantheon of cartoon characters to have made the jump to live action and CGI is not, it must be said, particularly grand: Garfield, Alvin and the Chipmunks, and soon, Yogi Bear have all made the dreaded leap. According to the Deadline blog, Babar the Elephant may be about to join that list, after Twilight studio Summit negotiated a deal to bring the popular French character to the big screen.
Created by Jean de Brunhoff in 1931, and continued by his son Laurent after his death in 1937, Babar's adventures span more than 30,000 publications in 19 languages. Babar is a young orphaned elephant who flees the jungle for human civilisation. After learning the ways of man, he returns to his people and eventually becomes their king, after which, all elephants begin to wear clothes and behave like members of early 20th-century French society.
The grand pantheon of cartoon characters to have made the jump to live action and CGI is not, it must be said, particularly grand: Garfield, Alvin and the Chipmunks, and soon, Yogi Bear have all made the dreaded leap. According to the Deadline blog, Babar the Elephant may be about to join that list, after Twilight studio Summit negotiated a deal to bring the popular French character to the big screen.
Created by Jean de Brunhoff in 1931, and continued by his son Laurent after his death in 1937, Babar's adventures span more than 30,000 publications in 19 languages. Babar is a young orphaned elephant who flees the jungle for human civilisation. After learning the ways of man, he returns to his people and eventually becomes their king, after which, all elephants begin to wear clothes and behave like members of early 20th-century French society.
- 8/4/2010
- by Ben Child
- The Guardian - Film News
Share Twilight’s producers have fixed their eye on another book for the film adaptation treatment – but this time talking elephants are on the menu, rather than twinkly vampires. Yes, French heffer Babar is getting a big screen makeover courtesy of producers Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey. The popular elephant king is currently being trollied around Hollywood as a live-action/CGI hybrid that is being pitched as a family comedy. We're having nervous Garfield flashbacks already. Babar was first created by Jean De Brunhoff in 1931,...
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- 8/4/2010
- by Josh Winning
- TotalFilm
The producers of the Twilight film series, Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey, have bought the rights to make a film based on Babar the elephant, tentatively titled Babar: The Adventures of Badou.
Babar was the creation of Jean de Brunhoff in 1931. Since then, the character has been featured in a multitude of TV series and films, garnering a worldwide following. Babar is a young elephant who leaves the jungle, visits a big city, and returns to bring the benefits of civilization to his fellow elephants, soon becoming their king.
Bowen and Godfrey’s new company, Temple Hill, will team-up with Nelvana and the Clifford Ross Company to co-produce the new film. Expect more details to be revealed once the film is in production. Wyck Godfrey was recently linked to a Janis Joplin biopic with Fernando Meirelles as director and Amy Adams to star.
Empire reported this one.
Babar was the creation of Jean de Brunhoff in 1931. Since then, the character has been featured in a multitude of TV series and films, garnering a worldwide following. Babar is a young elephant who leaves the jungle, visits a big city, and returns to bring the benefits of civilization to his fellow elephants, soon becoming their king.
Bowen and Godfrey’s new company, Temple Hill, will team-up with Nelvana and the Clifford Ross Company to co-produce the new film. Expect more details to be revealed once the film is in production. Wyck Godfrey was recently linked to a Janis Joplin biopic with Fernando Meirelles as director and Amy Adams to star.
Empire reported this one.
- 8/3/2010
- by Jamie Neish
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
After hitting pay dirt with sparkly vampires and the mopey ladies that love them, the producers of the Twilight franchise have decided to take a stab at another literary property with a big following: Babar the elephant.Deadline reports that Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey, who combine like Voltron to form production company Temple Hill, have negotiated a deal with Nelvana and the Clifford Ross Company to bag the rights to make new films based around the beloved trunk-swinger.Babar, first created by Jean de Brunhoff for Histoire de Babar back in 1931, first made it to these shores (and across the pond) in an English language version in 1933. Brunhoff wrote six more stories before he died in 1937, whereupon his son Laurent took over in 1946. The character – a young elephant who ends up becoming king of his species – has been featured in numerous TV series, films and even a musical or...
- 8/3/2010
- EmpireOnline
Twilight Saga producers Temple Hill have latched onto another branded property, one that moves them from scary vampires and werewolves to a beloved elephant. Temple Hill partners Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey have made a with rights holders Nelvana and The Clifford Ross Company to generate family films around Babar, the bestselling book series. Nelvana and Ross produced an animated series based on the elephant that leaves the jungle for the big city, then returns with lessons learned to become king. Those producers are are currently in production on Babar: The Adventures of Badou. Babar first appeared in the 1931 French book by Jean de Brunhoff, who created and illustrated seven titles. His son, Laurent de Brunhoff, continues to write the books. There are more than 30,000 Babar publications in 19 languages. Bowen and Godfrey are shopping to studios a blueprint for a family comedy that will mix live-action with CG.
- 8/3/2010
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
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