Eddie Murphy's going to the dogs as he's just committed to providing the voice of the main character in Alcon Entertainment's Hong Kong Phooey, an animated family-friendly comedy based on the TV series which only ran for one season in the mid-'70s. The Hanna-Barbera show involved a dog who could do kung fu and a cat who was his trusty sidekick. Scatman Crothers provided the voice of the mild-mannered janitor by day/crime-fighter-by-night canine in the TV show.
Alcon's collared Alex Zamm of the direct-to-video films Dr. Dolittle: Million Dollar Mutts, Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2 and Tooth Fairy 2 to direct. Alcon's Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove are producing.
Commenting on Murphy's involvement, Johnson and Kosove said: "We could not be happier that Eddie Murphy will star as Phooey. There is no overstating his contributions to cinema, and to such enduring stars of family entertainments such as Shrek and Dr. Doolittle. We look forward to watching him re-imagine yet another classic character."
The official synopsis: "A mild-mannered dog named Penry (Murphy) stumbles into a mystic ceremony and is accidentally granted mystic powers, including the ability to walk, talk, and do kung fu. Under the tutelage of his kung fu master, Penry dons a costume and becomes Hong Kong Phooey, and with the help of his trusting sidekick Spot the cat cleans up a rogues gallery of wacky criminals."
There's no word yet on who will voice the cat or when Alcon Entertainment expects to release Hong Kong Phooey in theaters.
Up next for Murphy is a role in the ensemble comedy Tower Heist directed by Brett Ratner and starring Ben Stiller, Alan Alda and Matthew Broderick.
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(Photo of Eddie Murphy by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)
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