Classic children’s book characters The Berenstain Bears are coming to the big screen in a live-action/CG hybrid movie.
Walden Media has acquired the rights to the characters, with Night at the Museum director Shawn Levy’s shingle 21 Laps and Canadian animation house Nelvana on board to produce the comedy.
Created by Stan and Jan Berenstain in 1962, the series has spawned more than 250 titles and sold more than 260 million books as well as inspired a handful of animated TV efforts.
‘The Berenstain Bears is such a beloved book and television series, with a great blend of charm, wit and warmth,’ says Levy, who directed such features as Cheaper by the Dozen, The Pink Panther and both Night at the Museum features. ’21 Laps is thrilled to be collaborating with Walden and Nelvana in adapting and expanding it to the screen.’
‘My mother, Jan, and I are more than delighted that three outstanding names in the field of family entertainment, Shawn Levy, Walden Media and Nelvana, have come together to create a Berenstain Bears feature film,’ says Mike Berenstain. ‘We are thrilled that their plans for an innovative and ambitious production will bring our family’s work to a new medium and to new audiences. I know that my father, Stan, who passed away in 2005, would have been tickled pink that his very own bears were going to be ‘in the movies!”
