• Home
  • Tag Archives:  Happy Madison

Bad Toys II – internet video coming to the big screen


Bad Toys II (embedded above) an internet videos from French animators Daniel Brunet and Nicolas Douste. It riffs on Michael Bay productions (specifically Bad Boys II, hence the title) and features a car chase recreated by toys, mixed with animation and stylized effects. The result is a pretty entertaining recreation of a Bay car chase sequence, complete with massive explosions. My main complaint is the action begins to get repetitive, though it does pick up after the chase ends but the short keeps going. And now the short has been optioned for a movie.

The problem is it has been optioned by Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison Productions. Yeah. Also Columbia, but as Happy Madison is the problem, that’s what we’ll complain about. That’s our job. We carry a badge. A complaint badge. It isn’t shiny enough.

The plot will feature a grown man playing with his son’s toys and reclaiming his imagination as the play becomes a big action movie spectacular. Original animators Daniel Brunet and Nicolas Douste will co-produce.

Columbia’s big-screen version will center on a grown man reconnecting with his youthful imagination through his son’s toys, and his play turns into an homage to big-budget action films.

Hey, if this gets me an Action League Now movie, I’ll put up with 100 Adam Sandler toys!

THR via Moviehole

Action League Now

We must become a film! We must!!

You got Joe Dirt in my Tonka Trucks!

A cry of sorrow filled the lands as Sony and Happy Madison Productions announced they were bringing a Tonka Trucks movie to the masses. parents wept, children cried out but were not comforted, the adults moved to a catatonic state as memories of Jack and Jill and Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star filled their minds and emptied their souls. Somewhere in the distance, bells began to chime, as the Doom Clock’s hands inched closer to midnight. The Seventh Seal was opened, prophesying that Candy Land will be the harbinger, and Tonka the last doom upon mankind. Make peace with whatever beings you worship, the Traveler has come, and this time he isn’t a giant marshmallow man!
Tonka Truck

Now this is a Tonka Truck movie I would watch!

CULVER CITY, Calif., June 11, 2012 – TONKA, the Hasbro brand that for 65 years has stood for its line of toy trucks for children, will bring its TONKA toughness to the big screen in a fully animated motion picture to be produced by Sony Pictures Animation, Hasbro and Happy Madison Productions. The announcement was made today by Bob Osher, president, Sony Pictures Digital Productions, Michelle Raimo-Kouyate, president of Production for Sony Pictures Animation and Brian Goldner, president and CEO of Hasbro. The film will also be produced and developed by Goldner and Hasbro’s senior vice president and managing director of motion pictures, Bennett Schneir and will be written by Fred Wolf.

The new TONKA project strengthens the growing ties between Sony Pictures and Hasbro, following the announcements that Sony Pictures is developing motion pictures based on Hasbro’s RISK and CANDY LAND brands. CANDY LAND is also a Happy Madison project.

Commenting on the announcement, Osher said, “In its 65 years, TONKA has become more than a toy or a brand – TONKA trucks are a rite of passage for kids all around the world. Time spent with these toys creates memories that last a lifetime as kids are inspired to play using the boundaries of their imagination. We look forward to creating a family friendly motion picture that brings the TONKA experience to life.”

Raimo-Kouyate added, “Fred and our friends at Happy Madison and Hasbro have a truly inventive take on what it means to be ‘TONKA tough’ that will translate the multi-generational appeal of this world-renowned brand into a fun animated adventure for the whole family.”

“We’re thrilled to be working with Bob, Michelle, and the amazing team of artists and storytellers at Sony Pictures Animation,” said Schneir. “Together with Happy Madison, we’re excited to bring TONKA trucks to life in a terrific story for audiences around the world.”

One of the most recognized brands in Hasbro’s portfolio, TONKA has been the bestselling toy truck globally since 1947. Giving children real-life, relatable experiences, TONKA trucks help kids learn the confidence to get the job done.

via Collider
Album cover

Summer School getting a remake

All the talk of the Dumb and Dumber 2 film getting closer to being made has obscured the real story, which is Happy Madison is prepping a remake of Summer School! The Mark Harmon starring film is one of those comedies that slips through the radar and sort of made its rounds on cable, but was on Showtime more than HBO and Cinemax, so I barely saw it. But I do remember key scenes, including the two Bill and Ted prototypes (one was named Chainsaw and they loved Texas Chainsaw Massacre), Courtney Thorne-Smith from Melrose Place, the guy who was in the bathroom all summer, and Kirstie Alley showing up as another teacher. Mark Harmon is the uncaring gym teacher who is forced to teach summer school. He doesn’t care at first, but learns to care thanks to the threat of being fired, and teaches the kids. Let’s hear it for being threatened with being fired! The original film is funny, but it’s not like it is a holy grail, and many people probably aren’t even aware it exists. So there won’t be too many toes stepped on here. The real question is who will be the teacher in the remake, because that will probably make or break it. I’ll remain cautiously optimistic as to the prospects of this one.

Via MovieHole

Summer School chainsaw

Let's have a Chainsexcellent adventure, dudes!