Will Ferrell and Adam McKay Revive 'Manimal'; Steve Carell Leads 'Brooklyn Family Robinson'

The combination of Will Ferrell and Steve Carell has been incredibly with two Anchorman movies not just performing well at the box office, but becoming cultural touchstones. People love those films and can't get enough of either actor right now as they do their own thing, and now both have projects on the way that are sure to get a lot of attention....but especially Farrell's because it is bizarre.

So a couple of years ago Sony Pictures Animation began developing a feature film based on the terrible TV series Manimal. Although it only lasted for eight episodes back in 1983, the show has become a cult favorite mainly due to it being the butt of jokes. Simon MacCorkindale starred as Jonathan Chase, a guy with the power to transform into any animal, using that ability to fight crime. The show was hella cheap and often looked like somebody just took some photos at the local zoo to capture Chase's transformations. It's a crazy concept, perfect for Ferrell and Adam McKay who are on board to produce the live-action/CGI film. As of now Ferrell is not taking on the role of Chase, nor is McKay in line to direct but both of those things could change. Jay Martel and Ian Robert will provide the screenplay. Good luck making that work. Friggin' Manimal.

And Carell is now set to lead Brooklyn Family Robinson, an original script by Finding Nemo writer David Reynolds. Plot details are slim but it's described as a family adventure comedy about a patriarch who uproots his family from the city to the islands. [THR]

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Sony Pictures Animation bringing TV's 'Manimal' to the big screen

Because you and the 10 other people who liked Manimal asked for it, Sony Pictures Animation is bringing the ultra-crappy 1983 TV series to the big screen. For some ungodly reason, Manimal has turned out to be a cult hit for some folks, especially in other countries with considerably lower standards than us.  Here in America the show ran for only eight episodes before wiser heads prevailed and shit-canned it off the boob tube for good. But Sony sees something worthy in the property, and they've picked up the rights to make it into a live-action/CGI film.

The show followed Dr. Jonathan Chase, a billionaire who learned the secrets of shapeshifting while traveling through Tibet. While he could turn into anything, he was limited by the show's super low budget and basically only changed into a hawk and panther. Chase was played by the late British actor, Simon MacCorkindale, and co-starred Melody Anderson, who some might recognize from Flash Gordon. The show's producer, Glen A. Anderson, is on board in the same capacity. I bet he never expected to get that phone call. "Hey Glen, wanna make a Manimal movie? Hello? Hello?"

So this pretty much completes Sony's unholy nostalgia trilogy what with The Smurfs, the recently announced Alf film, and now this. In this case, there aren't any fond memories of Manimal, and the brand has no value, so I don't know who they're targeting here. [THR]

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