Wednesday
09Jul2008
The Quest for an 'Elfquest' Movie Has Begun
Wednesday, July 9, 2008 at 12:39AM 
Here's another opportunity for a big time movie studio
to do the right thing and let an animated creation remain in its original form.
The Hollywood Reporter says Warner Bros. will
adapt the comic series Elfquest, and that
Rawson Thurber will write, direct, and produce
it.
Elfquest began 30 years ago as a self-published
comic by Richard and Wendy Pini. It's one of the few titles to have been
released by both Marvel and DC at various points in its journey. The central
characters were members of the Wolfriders, an elf tribe that fought with humans
and trolls on some distant but similar planet. Also, they fought accident
attorneys, who are the enemies of everyone.
That's not true. Well, accident attorneys are the enemy;
Wolfriders didn't fight them, though.
Now, fans of the series will want to know who this
Rawson Thurber character is. I had that same thought, the same Elfquestion, if
you will. Turns out he must have something on the ball; he wrote the script for
and directed the Michael Chabon adaptation The Mysteries of Pittsburgh,
currently making the festival circuit. Of course, he's also responsible for the
worst Ben Stiller character ever since he also wrote and directed Dodgeball.
The thing on his résumé that excites me the most,
though, is
Terry Tate: Office Linebacker, which began as a
Thurber-directed Super Bowl commercial for Reebok that became one of the first
real viral online video series in 2002.
Hollywood has been after Elfquest for a long time
(there was an aborted attempt several years ago), so it seems a little peculiar
that it would just drop in this guy's lap, frankly. Maybe Thurber has a
brilliant plan, although the Reporter indicates that the format is not yet
known. I'm hoping for animation for a number of reasons, but primarily in this
case because it would be easier to create the world in the story and its
inhabitants that way than with live actors, effects, and makeup. It would look
like a really odd videotaped production of Cats if they went live action.
Reader Comments (3)
As a fan of ElfQuest, myself, I'm cautiously excited about it. Wendy's new column over at the ElfQuest website says that Thurber is a life-long ElfQuest fan who has been fighting hard for the movie, and says no decisions are final, but it will probably be a combination Live Action/CG movie, along the lines of Hellboy or Lord of the Rings.
That's good news about Thurber being a fan. I think they're asking for a lot by going the LOTR way. Why not create your own super cool animated world instead of obviously owing to another franchise?
Its so hard to wait for any news of the movie. I hope they don't soften the story line for kids. Elfquest is supposed to have a bite to it!! I agree that animation would be preferable. Wendy Pini's art is amazing. No, stinking human could even come close. Luckily, I trust Wendy and Richard Pini's judgement. They have fought hard to stay true to their vision over the years. I'm so excited but two years is forever :( Spread the word, because Ayooah!! Here comes Elfquest.