Over the past few years, nostalgia has proven a powerful trend in the entertainment industry. This has brought an endless supply of reboots and long-awaited sequels, often resulting in box office success in the process. Now that trend is extending to literature, specifically one long-running '90s series of young adult novels. Because decades after the last book arrived in bookstores, K.A. Applegate's Animorphs is finally getting the movie treatment. Save up your allowance for the book fair, because it's time for a trip back in time.
Animorphs was a young adult fantasy book series that were released from 1996-2001. Author K.A. Applegate wrote a whopping 54 books in that time, which told the epic story of a group of teens who could transform into animals in order to fight an alien invasion. Animorphs was so massively popular that multiple book were put out each year, and a television show briefly ran during this time as well. And now the '90s books are finally getting the movie treatment.
This exiting tidbit of information comes to us from THR, and is sure to hit a soft spot for the many '90s kids who are now in the midst of their adult life. Those nostalgic feelings are no doubt what helped the project move forward in this way, as the original audience has the money to spare for a movie, and also the potential to pass the franchise down to their kids.
According to the report, Scholastic Entertainment is partnering with producer Erik Feig and his company Picturestart in order to bring the Animorphs to movie theaters for the very first time. Scholastic Entertainment's Iole Lucchese and Caitlin Friedman will produce the movie adaptation, so clearly the source material is going to be honored in the upcoming film.
In the books, Animorphs revolves around a group of teens whose lives are changed when an alien from the race of Andalitesarrives on Earth and gives them the power to transform into any animal they come in contact with. The books are told from a first-person perspective, pivoting between the six main characters of the series. The books were a sensation with young readers in the '90s, and are known for their iconic (and bizarre?) book covers.
Eventually Animorphs got a short lived live-action TV series, which ran on Nickelodeon in the states. In fact, X-Men star Shawn Ashmore played the team's leader Jake. The visual effects for the transformations were understandably clunky for the time, so it'll be interesting to see how those abilities are translated into film. Scholastic will also be releasing graphic novel versions of the original novels.
CinemaBlend will keep you updated on all things Animorphs as the movie's development process continues. In the meantime, check out our 2020 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
