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EXCLUSIVE: After a spirited auction, DreamWorks Animation has acquired rights to make a feature out of Captain Underpants, the popular 8-volume book series by Dav Pilkey. DreamWorks Animation wasn’t the only bidder, but won the title this morning.
The books revolve around a couple of precocious fourth graders named George Beard and Harold Hutchins. Looking to get back at nasty, student-hating principal Mr. Benny Krupp, the boys hypnotize the principal and cause him to become Captain Underpants. He’s a superhero who is nice and helpful to children and manages to get into all kinds of misadventures with the fourth graders shadowing him to make sure he doesn’t get hurt. The principal has no recollection of his heroics when he returns to normal. Pikey has completed eight volumes with a ninth in the works, Captain Underpants and the Terrifying Return of Tippy Tinkletrousers. Scholastic publishes the books.
DWA chief creative officer Bill Damaschke said he and his colleagues have chased Pilkey for movie rights since he first began publishing the series in 1997, but the author never wanted to sell them. “I know he’d been approached many times, and finally, Kassie Evashevski at UTA and Amy Berkower at Writers House phoned us and simply said, ‘He’s ready,’” Damaschke said. “There’s a great anarchic combination of kid and adult humor, and George and Harold are these terrific mischievous characters. And we felt that hypnotizing the principal is one of those great ideas. We’re all big fans of the book.”
UTA repped Pilkey and the lit agency in making the deal.
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I LOVE CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS!!!!!!!!!!
I hated these books as a kid, and that was when they where really popular, I really don’t think anyone reads them anymore
My kids can’t get enough of the Captain books and will be sooooo excited about this!
I work in an elementary school library, and, trust me, kids are still reading them. ALL THE TIME.
I still read them when I can and I’m 21
This concept would work much better on the small screen. I could see it doing well on Cartoon Network. Any live-action adaptation (especially of feature length) is pretty much going to be unwatchable/not much fun.
age appeal? 6-9 years old. Perhaps, if they are true to the style of the art as presented on the cover, they’ll do some really cheap version to make it worth while. Isn’t this sort of the same as WImpy Kid anyway?
These books are over-rated. They will not hold up in a feature adaptation. They’re simple and one-joke. The author clearly must know this, which is why he’s probably held out so long.
Haven’t there only been spin-offs in the last few years?
“Considered one of the most popular contemporary authors for readers in elementary school, (Dav Pilkey) is also regarded as a talented artist and inventive humorist as well as a subtle moralist. …He underscores his works–even at their most outrageous–with a philosophy that emphasizes friendship, tolerance, and generosity and celebrates the triumph of the good-hearted.” -The Educational Book & Media Association
Perhaps you have poor reading comprehension and lack of imagination. Obviously, you do not understand kids or kids who are reluctant readers.
Agree wholeheartedly! This series got my reluctant reader hooked on books…and Pilkey has great underlying humor. Fun series and should be a fun animated bit. Good for Dav (I love his other works too, Dumb Bunnies, etc…again, great humor for those open to it and it’s subtleties…def more than one-joke imo).
My son & his friends love these books. He is almost 11. I told him about the movie & he is very excited to see it. I think most of you will be surprised about how many kids will want to see this movie. These books are in the school library. Kids from 7-12 read them. I have read every book w/him. They are funny but I will probably be hitting the vodka after seeing it.
not just 7-12 I say your never to old for the books there a great time waster
Perfect for dw animation–lots of poopy jokes.
At least it’s not live-action I presume.
That’s the brilliant thing about children’s audiences, Zz, they’re constantly replenished with new, fresh-faced, optimistic kids…
Absolutely… This is not a film, this is tv.
I remember when these books came out when I was in elementary school. Never really got into them but it is interesting that the feature film rights have not been sold until now, guess the author needed some easy money.
I am excited for this as long as they do not cast Tom Cruise as the principal.
Well, no, because the company is called Dreamworks Animation, ya see…
I’m going to guess that the hater-comments are folks who don’t have kids, haven’t been around kids in at least 10 years, and haven’t spent any discernible amount of time in libraries or bookstores (especially not the kids’ sections). These books (and Pilky’s other series, Ricky Ricotta) is HUGELY popular, especially with middle-reader boys. Heck, I loved reading them, even when I was in the middle of earning my MLIS! They’re clever, charming, message-driven, and very, very funny, despite (or because of) the juvenile humor.
And, no, these are NOTHING like Wimpy Kid. That’s like suggesting, since they both star adult males called “Doctor”, that Doctor Who is the same as House.
Did Kyle Gass of Tenacious D fame finally find his vehicle to rise to stardom?
That would be awesome
CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS is less popular now than 10 years ago but kids today are still aware of it, whether they read the books or not. Other popular books with comic-style illustrations that studios should look into are MIDDLE SCHOOL THE WORST YEARS OF MY LIFE and the BIG NATE series.
This series got my seven-year-old son reading! and also fueled his passion for drawing. He even created his own comic book and sent it to Dave Pilkey. Can’t wait to tell him that their making an animated film.
I hope that me and my shadow is Successful because maybe Dreamworks Animation will come to their senses and make it 2d because personally Dav Pilkey’s art style works better in Hand Drawn.
I’ve heard it said that Dav Pilkey had wanted the late Chris Farley (of SNL fame) to play Captain Underpants in a TV skit shortly before Farley untimely death from a drug overdose. I also think (please correct me if I’m wrong) that Pilkey once stated that he would never authorize a Captain Underpants movie starring a real actor as the Captain unless Farley were in the role, which of course is not possible now.
However, Pilkey apparently was open to eventually giving the green light to an animated version of Capt. Underpants…should be interesting.
Guys, its DreamWorks and LAUREN FAUST that we are talking about here. It will OBVIOUSLY be an animation of some sort, no doubt at all…….
i think his books are awsome people so yeah!
Here is a suggestion, make peaple actually act and have Jack Black be the waistband wonder.
Wrong. VERY wrong.
And I hope Pilkey demanded and received points, a percentage of the film’s gross box office earnings, because that movie’s gonna make about a bazillion dollars, and even just 1% of a bazillion is, well, A LOT!
I remember reading the books when I was a kid and loved them! I am so excited for the company who brought us great hits like “Shrek”, “Kung Fu Panda”, and “How To Train Your Dragon” to make the book series into a film franchise! Can’t wait!