Live Action Berenstein Bears

[Raph's Girl]

WTF? Im sure this will probably be cute but I dunno. If they include the new characters they've added in the last couple years...eh I dunno...I haven't read these books in years but I loved all the originals (before Mama and Papa had a 3rd kid).

I still hold the 1980's animated series greatly in my heart. Never seen the modern tv series (heck didn't even know it even existed till I looked on Wikipedia).

At least this wouldn't have humans....

http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/...ars03_ST_N.htm

It's a bear market for one group of moviemakers.

Shawn Levy, director of the Night at the Museum movies, has signed on to produce a feature film based on The Berenstain Bears books, a comedy he says will be a mix of live-action and computer animation.

Walden Media, the company behind the Chronicles of Narnia films, has acquired the rights to the ursine anthropomorphs, and Levy agreed to help oversee the project.

The books, by Jan and the late Stan Berenstain, have maintained their popularity for almost a half-century. The characters were first published in 1962 in The Big Honey Hunt.

"To stand that kind of test of time is pretty formidable," says Levy, who will produce the film through his company, 21 Laps. "People read them as kids and can now read them to their kids. Any piece of culture that proves that enduring has something special in its DNA."

Though his next film is the more adult Tina Fey-Steve Carell comedy Date Night, the Berenstain films "happen to fit firmly within the wheelhouse of family-genre comedy I do, whether it's Cheaper by the Dozen or Night at the Museum," Levy says. "It's warm-hearted comedy about family, and a different kind of family."

Writers have yet to be hired, but Levy says he wants the film to be an original story incorporating details from some of the more popular Berenstain books.

"I'd like the film to be un-ironic about its family connections but have a wry comedic sensibility that isn't oblivious to the fact that they're bears," Levy says. "The comedy comes from this bear family coexisting in a more recognizably real world."

Levy compared his vision of the film to the tone of Will Ferrell's Elf, which had a sweet, earnest hero who clashed with his cynical surroundings. "I think the movie will be witty but never sarcastic," he says.

Walden Media CEO Michael Bostick says it's vital to honor the "goodwill from generations of families" who have enjoyed the books, but he compares the characters to other outcast families "like The Beverly Hillbillies or The Addams Family, who don't quite fit in but manage to survive."

The Berenstain Bears have existed as 2-D illustrations for so long, they are also getting "a slight makeover to bring it into the three-dimensional style, but we'll embrace the core design elements," Bostick says. "It'll be a slightly modern spin on their look."

Bostick hopes a screenplay will be finished and in preproduction late next year, with the earliest release date being late 2011. "Believe it or not, in this business that's a fast-track," he says.

[Brodie]

I dunno....I'll wait to believe it til I see The Onion as the source.

[BubblyShell22]

I honestly don't know what to think about this. I guess I'll just have to wait and see what comes. I'm a little leery about it though.

[Powder]

Creeped out is what I'll be. I did love the books as a kid though.

[BubblyShell22]

Yeah, so did I. I remember when we would go to Cedar Point, and they had the Berenstein Bears there before they dumped them for Snoopy. You could tour their world, see the treehouse, and even meet them. It was cool. I miss those days.

For the record, I have nothing against Snoopy, but I wish they would've kept the Berenstein Bears there.

[Cowabunga Carl]

The point was they where Bears in a Bear world. To remove them from that sounds to much like what Disney attempted with Country Bears. While that wasn't a bad movie it wasn't a good movie either. Though it is cute.

[Wildcat]

Wow! Ive always been fan of this series, especially growing up.

I read all the books and I have one of the few video games ever made for the bears on Sega Genesis. I also have a plushie collection of the whole family I got for Christmas many years ago.

This is great news for me anyway. If its anything like Cheaper by the Dozen or Elf then its definitly going in the right direction. Those movies were a really good balance of fun and comedy imo.

[Storm Wolf]

I'm getting so leary of all these movies they are making now. Are they really running out of ideas in Hollywood?

I mean..don't get me wrong....I loved the books as a child, but come on? Seriously?

What's next? The very hungry catapillar?

Good Night Moon?

I just don't understand the concept of turning something so simple into a movie. It was more or less a learning/teaching book, right?

I also thought Where the Wild Things Are was a ridiculous movie idea, but I haven't seen and and most have said it was a good movie so I'm willing to give it a try.

But really? Berenstein Bears?

[Voltron]

I hope they eat someone. That'd be bad ass.