I’ve mentioned before that there was a Marmaduke movie in the works and that even some voice talent had signed on. Yesterday it was announced the starring role of Marmaduke would be voiced by Owen Wilson, who also voiced Lightening McQueen in Cars. The movie is a mix of CG and live action and will star (or feature) Judy Greer, Lee Pace and William H. Macy, Fergie, Emma Stone, George Lopez, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Steve Coogan, Damon Wayans, and Marlon Wayans.
The plot thus far has been revealed to be about:
The film sees Marmaduke navigate a volatile Mutts vs. Pedigrees turf war, woo the purebred of his dreams and overcome a fall from grace.
I hate to hear that, since it’s a good indication that the movie isn’t going to be particularly respectful of its source material. I don’t remember Marmaduke ever even having so much as a thought balloon above his head. The reason that the Scooby Doo movies “worked” at all is because the casting of the humans was dead-on and Scooby was just a CGI version of that cartoon Great Dane. With CGI what it is today, it seems to me the film-makers could do a credible job of giving us a Marmaduke full of the personality that’s made him such a popular character without resorting to humanizing him.
I know, I know: It’s probably sad that I put that much thought into a movie about Marmaduke. But I always LIKED the comic strip, so kill me.
be afraid, be VERY afraid. remember the Garfield live action/cg movies ? be afraid, be very afraid..
Actually that is a particular point of distinction Brad Anderson likes to mention (I got to meet him this summer when gave a talk at his hometown in Brocton, NY); that Marmaduke is just a dog, and as opposed to virtually all the other cartoon animals out there, doesn’t think or talk. I think this imparts a different feeling when the character doesn’t have words to fall back on, and instead has to use more emotive expressions and poses etc.
I don’t recall the same updating-with-a-voice approach working with Heathcliff (the other silent one) either, even with Mel Blanc’s talent, and doubt this version of Marmaduke will be remembered anywhere near as long as the fifty years the original feature’s been around.
Ka-chow!
As a Marmaduke fan, I do not plan to see this movie. For adaptations, I prefer the animated cartoons from the early 1980s (with Paul Winchell and Russi Taylor). Those cartoons may not be the caliber of Disney’s output, but compared to what’s been announced for this movie, they are gems.
I really don’t understand why they feel the need to give Marmaduke a voice….Beethoven didn’t have a voice and look how many of those movies they were able to push out…I think the fact that he is a big, clumsy dog should be more than enough…