Fox Animation grabbed the rights to Christopher Healy’s children’s book The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom, with the intention of turning it into an animated adventure for the whole family, THR reports. Chernin Entertainment, which put its weight behind Rise of the Planet of the Apes for Fox, is on board to produce.
Unfamiliar with Hero’s Guide? Yeah, so was I, but that’s basically because the book didn’t hit shelves until May 1, but it has so many elements that kids (and probably boys) are attracted to in their animated storytelling that it’s almost guaranteed to be a hit when it finally reaches theaters. Here’s the hook: Healy reverses the Disney trend of celebrating fairy tale princesses by shining his spotlight on the prince characters from the stories of Cinderella, Snow White, Rapunzel and Sleeping Beauty. As Healy’s plot progresses, the men who are integral to those narratives stumble on a plot to destroy multiple kingdoms, and they must band together to prevent a tragedy.
It sounds like The Avengers with fairy-tale heroes … which really could work!
This is Healy’s first book, so we’re not really sure what to expect. Humor? Terror? THR says Healy worked as a haunted house zombie actor before penning the 432-page novel, so anything’s possible. But Fox Animation thought highly about the prose, and I’m willing to bet there’s plenty of material in here for clever animators to have a blast. It could be years before Hero’s Guide reaches theaters, but we’ll track its progress and keep you posted.
