Fox plans to turn the Seuss classic into a CGI-animated film with Blue Sky ("Robots" and "Ice Age") producing. Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio will pen the screenplay. The Hollywood Reporter says Audrey Geisel made the deal with 20th Century Fox after being shown a scale model of an important scene from the book.
"Horton Hears a Who" is one of Dr. Seuss' most beloved books. The story follows the loveable elephant, Horton, who hears voices coming from a speck of dust. Horton does everything in his power to save the tiny community.
The president of 20th Century Fox Animation, Christopher Meledandri, fell in love with the idea of doing a digitally animated Dr. Seuss movie and "Horton Hears a Who" was the book Meledandri thought would make the transition to a CGI-animated film the best.
Meledandri told The Hollywood Reporter, "It's one of the few Dr. Seuss books that has a story with three acts. One of the challenges of translating some other Dr. Seuss properties to the big screen is the simplicity of the story. 'Horton' has a great beginning, middle and end. And it has a fantastic theme: A person is a person no matter how small."
Fox Animation and Blue Sky Studios are currently working on "Ice Age 2" with "Horton Hears a Who" penciled in for 2007 or 2008.
SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter
