This is Happening: A Berenstain Bears Movie
Posted by Neil Miller (neil@filmschoolrejects.com) on November 3, 2009
Shawn Levy, director of the Night at the Museum franchise, is embarking on something akin to making a movie out of a board game — which is dumb (we’re looking at you, Ridley Scott) — he’s producing a movie based on the popular series of children’s books known as The Berenstain Bears.
As you may note, The Berenstain Bears follows the story of Papa Bear, the woodworker father; Mama Bear, his homemaker wife; and their three children: Brother Bear, Sister Bear, and Honey Bear. Their stories are set in Bear Country, a society composed entirely of bears. Their story lines typically follow the Bear family as they deal with topics relevant to both children and parents. They appears in a 1985 TV series of the same name, as well as another series that ran on PBS in 2003-2004.
Personally, I was not aware that The Berenstain Bears was such a lucrative property. I had read the books when I was young and watched the animated TV series in the 80s, but reading what Shawn Levy had to say about the property makes it sound like something very epic.
“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.”
He also went on to say that he wants the film to be an original story, but will be incorporating elements and details from many of the 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 told USA Today. “The comedy comes from this bear family coexisting in a more recognizably real world.” He also compared it the film to the tone of the Will Ferrell led holiday comedy Elf, which leads me to believe that it will be potentially funnier and more adult than you’d initially expect. As he put it, it will be “witty, but never sarcastic.”
On the whole, this doesn’t seem like a great idea. But then again, its not as if this is the fiftieth time The Berenstain Bears have been adapted for the big screen. This would be the first. And you can’t blame Walden Media, the studio behind the film, for wanting to take a recognizable brand and repackage it in this economic climate. It makes too much sense. Lets just hope that the film also makes sense once it is finished.
Read more articles by Neil Miller
