The Daily Cartoonist

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Lio optioned for movie deal

Alan Gardner231 mins

Mark Tatulli’s Lio has been optioned by movie producer David Kirshchner (“American Tail” movies, “Curious George” and the Chucky horror features) who plans to make it a live-action feature. No date has been set for production. Bridget McMeel and John Glynnof Amuse, the film and television division of Universal Press, will be executive producers.

“I’ve always had an affinity for characters like the Addams Family and Edward Scissorhands, who are seemingly dark but humorous and thoughtful at the same time,” Kirschner said.

More when information becomes available.

23 thoughts on “Lio optioned for movie deal”

  2. Hopefully they make it a silent movie. As a Charlie Chaplin fan, seeing one made in ‘modern times’ (raise your hand if you get that one…) would be a dream come true. And Lio is practically tailor-made for it. Adding a voice to a comic character in general can be bad enough. But if they give a voice to a mute character… that could be a problem.

  3. The best comic strip adaptation I’ve seen to date was the Far Side cartoon. It worked because it stuck closely to the comic; the fact that it was animated made it easier to translate.

    I think Lio is great, and I hope any adaption will strive to live up to the high standards of the strip.

  4. It would be cool to make it a silent movie, although I’m not sure whether I would like a live-action Lio.

  8. “Iâ??ve always felt that a Pearls Before Swine animation would be in the works by now.”

    Too right! Or maybe he can implement the idea he voiced on Comics Coast to Coast about doing short animations of the comics. It works for “What the Duck” already!

  10. Perhaps the future of comics isn’t the web after all – it is the old new media like TV and movies. Boondocks, Over the Hedge and now Lio.

    Great news, Mark!

  11. I’ve always felt that Calvin & Hobbes would work excellent on the big screen, (with CGI Animation) of course Calvin would probably end up looking more like, “Dash” (the little kid from The Incredibles).

  13. “â??Perhaps the future of comics isnâ??t the web after allâ?

    No, Alex, itâ??s the web. And mobile.”

    Actually, I’m of the firm belief that the future of comics is going to be hard-light holograms beamed directly into your living room to act out the strips… 😀

  15. Thanks to all!

    One thing worth clearing up, though…no decision has been made whether it will be live-action or animation. For that matter, we haven’t even decided if it will be with or without dialogue. This is all just in the planning stages right now.

  16. Hey Mark, this is great news. I would hope it would be animated rather than live action, as Lio’s style would be great to see translated into animation. It’s an interesting question, wether a film based on the strip should have dialogue. Can a feature film be sustained without dialogue?

    I’ll tell you what I’ve often thought Lio would lend itself very well to, and that’s a series of animated shorts. And a short film like that can very well be sustained without dialogue.

  17. I remember talking to T Lewis when the rights for Over the Hedge were bought. That must have been ten years or so ago. It takes a LONG time, esp. if it’s animation.

  18. Lio would look great in the style of The Triplets of Belleville. That was a near-silent animated movie that worked really well. Although, if you want to actually make money, you should do the exact opposite of that.

  19. Mark, Congratulations!

    I love reading Lio and I am a big fan of Stop-motion animation. I always thought it would translate well to the stop-motion world, in the same style as A NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS.

    I hope you seriously consider Stop-motion animation.

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