Cartoon Network, Angry Filmworks Begin Creation of 'Captain Planet' Movie
“By your powers combined, I am Captain Planet!” That's right, the blue-skinned, green-haired, eco-friendly superhero may eventually be coming to a movie theater near you in a live-action feature film.
A press release on Tuesday from Stuart Snyder, president and COO of Turner Broadcasting System Inc.'s Animation, Young Adults and Kids Media division, says that Cartoon Network has struck a development agreement with Angry Filmworks to begin working on the film.
“The messages of Captain Planet are even more relevant today,” said Snyder. “We feel this team can bring the world’s first eco-hero to life in a powerful motion picture that is not only pertinent but entertaining.”
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The original cartoon show, “Captain Planet and the Planeteers,” began in 1990 and featured a group teens who each received a ring, with each ring containing a different power. When they combined their powers in the air (via beams of light that came out of their rings) Captain Planet appeared and fought the bad guys who proved to be hazards to the environment. Once he successfully defeated his eco-foes, he would return to the rings and allude to the teen characters' responsibility to help the Earth, saying, “The power is yours!”
Ted Turner partnered with DIC Enterprises to create the original show as a means of informing young viewers about serious environmental issues. At the end of each show the characters offered practical advice, like making sure garbage makes it into a receptacle as opposed to throwing it on the ground, in order to show kids that they too could help the environment.
Angry Filmworks now has the exclusive rights to develop and package the property and move it closer to production, and notable producers Don Murphy and Susan Montford will be taking up the project. Murphy, notably, was a producer for the “Transformers” movie franchise, while Montford worked alongside him and Executive Producer Steven Spielberg on an upcoming Hugh Jackman film called “Real Steel.”
“We are extremely excited about bringing the good Captain back to life,” said Murphy. “His adventures are known worldwide and he is recognized across generations. We expect to make a spectacular series of films with the amazing team at Cartoon Network.”
“With the earthquakes, tornadoes, melting icebergs and all the other problems threatening the world right now, Earth really needs her greatest defender,” said Montford.
The Captain Planet cartoon series lasted six full seasons during its original run. It featured a number of celebrity voices, including Whoopi Goldberg (Gaia), Martin Sheen (Sly Sludge), Meg Ryan (Dr. Blight), and Sting (Zarm). “Captain Planet and the Planeteers” also received several Daytime Emmy nominations and won multiple Environmental Media Awards.
