“Let our powers combine… Earth! Fire! Wind! Water! Heart! Go, Planet! By your powers combined, I am… Captain Planet!” If you remember this familiar mantra, then you’ll recognize it from the popular cartoon series ‘Captain Planet and the Planeteers’. Yesterday, the Cartoon Network announced that it had signed a development agreement with Angry Filmworks to bring this eco-friendly superhero and his 5 companions to the big screen. This agreement gives Angry Filmworks the exclusive rights to develop and package ‘Captain Planet’ and advance it towards production.
Run by Don Murphy and Susan Montford, Angry Filmworks is best known for producing the highly successful ‘Transformers’ movies. Their latest project is the Hugh Jackman feature ‘Real Steel’ with Steven Spielberg serving as executive producer. They are also credited for producing the films ‘The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen’ and ‘Shoot ‘em Up’.
This deal is apparently one that Murphy and Montford are enthusiastic about. According to Murphy, “We are extremely excited about bringing the good Captain back to life. 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.” Montford added, “With the earthquakes, tornadoes, melting icebergs and all the other problems threatening the world right now, Earth really needs her greatest defender.”
‘Captain Planet and the Planeteers’ was created in 1990 by TV mogul Ted Tuner in an effort to inform younger viewers about serious evironmental issues. It followed the adventures of 5 teenagers who were recruited by Gaia, the goddess of the Earth, in an effort to fight back and educate others in the need to be environmentally responsible. To achieve this, each teen was given a magical ring that had a specific power: earth, wind, water, fire and heart. When the threat they faced was too big, they would combine their powers to create Captain Planet to help them save Earth from environmental catastrophe. The most recognizable voices of the series were Whoopie Goldberg (who was the voice of Gaia) and Levar Burton (Lt. Commander La Forge from ‘Star Trek:TNG’) who played Kwame. The animated series ran for 6 years and was nominated for 3 Daytime Emmy Awards.
Since this film is still in the development process, it may be some time before we actually see it in the theaters. But what do you think? Is there room for this environmentally friendly superhero to make it big?
