Benedict Cumberbatch Will Voice The Grinch in a New Animated Adaptation of the Dr Seuss Story

Illumination Entertainment's new adaptation of How the Grinch Stole Christmas will feature the voice of Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock, Star Trek: Into Darkness, the upcoming Doctor Strange…) as the green monster. This will be the studio's second animated adaptation of a Dr Seuss story after The Lorax.

Dr Seuss' 'Green Eggs and Ham' Is Coming to Netflix

Dr Seuss' stories have already been adapted to animation twice, with Horton Hears a Who! (2008, by Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino at Blue Sky Studios) and The Lorax (2012, by Chris Renaud and Kyle Balda at Illumination Entertainment). It's no surprise that it happened, as Dr Seuss imaginative worlds are a perfect fit for animation. And it's about to happen again, since Netflix and Warner Bros. Animation are currently developing a show based on Green Eggs and Ham.

Illumination to Continue CG Dr. Seuss Spree with The Grinch Remake

We found out almost a year ago that Illumination Entertainment, the studio behind 2010's Despicable Me and last year's Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, were going to continue their adaptations of Seuss's works - something that came about as a result of Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri's friendly relationship with the author's widow, which led to Horton Hears a Who! when he was still at Blue Sky Studios - with a film adaptation of The Cat in the Hat, as well as a live-action Dr. Seuss biopic. Today, news emerged that they've secured another Seussian property, and will be remaking How the Grinch Stole Christmas in CG.

Variety reports that Pete Candeland is set to direct, having previously worked on Disney's Aladdin TV series and Gorillaz music videos. The Variety article points out that, despite his lack of big film experience, Candelend may well be a good fit for Illumination, given their previous good track record with relative novice directors. No writers, nor a release date, have been named yet, but Meledandri is producing and Seuss's widow, Audrey Geisel, is executive producing.

I wasn't all too taken with The Lorax - it felt padded and unoriginal, though its heart was in the right place, and you can't argue with its animation - and Illumination's The Grinch is going to have a hard time living up to Chuck Jones' 1966 animated TV special (see top), but The Grinch is definitely one of Seuss's most fertile properties, and, if all things come together well, it could be a really fun film.

Illumination are also working on Curious George, Woody Woodpecker and Addams Family films, as well as a Despicable Me spin-off - Despicable Me 2 is released on 28th June in the UK and 3rd July in the US.

Via Cartoon Brew.

Classic Cartoons #11 - Gerald McBoing-Boing

Confession: I only saw my first UPA short a couple of days ago. Shameful, I know, for a self-professed animation nerd, but after one short, I had no doubts about why the company is so lauded, and how special their art style is. And the short that I started with was this one, Gerald McBoing-Boing.

UPA, United Productions of America, was a prolific animation studio in the 1940s and 50s, that pioneered the use of limited animation that would become a television stable through Hanna-Barbera's use of it. Known largely for their propaganda, industrial and training films, UPA's legacy is largely overshadowed by its rivals of the time, Disney and Warner Bros. But it's effect on animation - particularly on visual style, showing that animation didn't have to be the cutesie Disney style - is huge. Gerald McBoing-Boing is then arguably its greatest hour.

Directed by Robert Cannon and produced by John Hubley, from an original Dr. Seuss story, and distributed by Columbia Pictures in late 1950, the acclaimed short won the 1950 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, and in 1994 it was voted the 9th greatest cartoon ever by 1000 animation professionals. High praise indeed, watch today's Classic Cartoon and see why.

Dr. Seuss' The Lorax Review - It's Funny, It's Lyrical and the Animation's First-Rate; But the Lack of Originality Means it May Start to Grate

If you're reading this in America, this review will seem very belated, given that The Lorax is released on DVD and Blu-Ray over there on the 7th, but the third feature film from Illumination Entertainment - who arrived on the animation scene with Despicable Me back in 2010 - only arrived here in the UK on the 27th July; over 4 months after it was first released in America! So, I went to see the adaptation of the classic Dr. Seuss book on Wednesday, and left with a mixed impression.

Dr. Seuss' The Lorax is by no means a bad film; it's a very faithful adaptation of the Seuss book, with a strong moral message, cute characters and gorgeous animation. However, the characters that aren't cute are underdeveloped and annoying, the pacing is a bit off and the comedy is a trifle inconsistent. The biggest problem with The Lorax though, is that it's unoriginal. You will enjoy it, but you'll also leave with the inescapable feeling that it could've been so much more.

Illumination Entertainment Developing The Cat in the Hat Adaptation

Almost a decade after the critical and box office failure of the live-action adaptation of arguably Dr. Seuss's most famous work, The Cat in the Hat, Universal Pictures are set to have another go at adapting the beloved book, this time as an animated film, Deadline reports.

Universal's resident animation department, Illumination Entertainment, are tasked with adapting the book for a CG animated release, following the enormous success of their adaptation of another of Dr. Seuss's books, The Lorax. The Lorax has topped the US box office for the past two weeks, and that success seems sufficient enough to somewhat expunge the painful memory of the 2003 live-action disaster from the mind of Audrey Geisel, as the widow of Dr. Seuss has agreed to the production of the film. Geisel will also be executive producing the product, with Chris Meledandri set to produce and Rob Lieber penning the script.

Meledandri has been working with the famed author's widow on adapting his works since he ran Blue Sky Studios, with 2008's Horton Hears a Who. Illumination Enertainment are also reportedly working on a live-action biopic about Seuss's life, starring and being produced by Johnny Depp.

Via Big Screen Animation.

New The Lorax Trailer

Courtesy of Yahoo! Movies, we get the next full trailer for the next animated film from Illumination Entertainment, the guys behind Despicable Me, the adaptation of Dr. Seuss's The Lorax.

The Lorax, due to hit cinemas on March 2, 2012, is looking pretty great so far. It looks insanely charming and quirky and the animation is just fantastic, retaining Illumination's very European, stylised character models and capturing the heart of the Dr. Seuss book.

I'm genuinely excited to see how The Lorax turns out, as it looks pretty great thus far.