Jan and Stan Berenstain’s literary series “The Berenstain Bears” will be hitting the big screen as director Shawn Levy reveals he would be producing a feature film based on the staple kids’ books. The bears first appeared in “The Big Honey Hunt” back in 1962 and later evolved to TV, DVDs and video games. It was subject to several NBC specials with two animated series in the late 70’s and early 80’s. The story revolves on a family of bears living in Bear Country with an aim of aiding kids to deal with several family issues such as a mother’s pregnancy or bullying.
By incorporating an interesting mix of live-action and computer animation, Levy aims to make the film a “warm-hearted comedy about family, and a different kind of family. 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.”
Comparing his vision to Will Ferrell’s “Elf”, the film depicted a sweet, earnest hero who didn’t fit with his cynical surroundings. For Levy, “I think the movie will be witty but never sarcastic.”
Producer of “Chronicles of Narnia”, Walden Media has earned the rights to the feature. They are hoping the project would begin production next year to achieve a 2011 release however no writer, actors, or director have been signed up yet. Levy states how he envisions the film to possess an original story taking in essential details from the popular Berenstain books.
