Dorothy Gale's faithful dog will narrate the classic story throughout the film as the primary character.
- Jul 16, 2018
AceShowbiz - "The Wizard of Oz" will be developed into an animated version by Warner Brothers. Academy Award nominee Mark Burton has been hired to pen the script. The veteran scribe, who is known for his works on "Shaun the Sheep", "Madagascar", "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" and "Gnomeo and Juliet", will retell the story of "The Wizard of Oz" from a dog's perspective.
Adapted from "Toto: The Dog-Gone Amazing Story of the Wizard of Oz", which was written by Michael Morpurgo and illustrated by Emma Chichester Clark, the project will focus on Dorothy Gale's journey to magical world through Toto's eyes. The faithful dog will play the lead role and he will narrate the classic story throughout the film just like he does in the book as the main character.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Burton will work with Jared Stern and Winsor Yuan, who are serving as executive producers for the animated feature. Stern previously worked on Warner Bros.' animated movies "The Lego Batman Movie" and "The Lego Ninjago Movie" as well as Walt Disney's "Wreck-It-Ralph", while Yuan's credits include short films such as "Silk" and "Lost Boy Found".
Another animated version of the film entitled "Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return" was released by Clarious Entertainment in 2014. The musical fantasy starred well-known actors such as Lea Michele, Hugh Dancy, Dan Aykroyd, Jim Belushi and Kelsey Grammer. It grossed $18.7 million worldwide against a $70 million budget.
The classic story was based on L. Frank Baum's first published children book "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" in 1900. The author then went on to write thirteen more books based around the magical land of Oz.
Warner Animation Group is also currently working on two other projects namely, "The Cat in the Hat" and "Lego" spin-off movie "The Billion Brick Race".
