All together now: Chiiiiiiiiiimps Iiiiiiiiiin Spaaaaaaaaaaaace… Okay, so perhaps it doesn’t have quite the ring of Miss Piggy’s classic Muppet skits, but there’s clearly comedy mileage to be had from space simians.
At least Fox thinks so – they’re distributing Vanguard Animation’s follow-up to feathered flutter Valiant, Space Chimps. This time around, it’s chimps taking to the skies, in a family comedy that follows the misadventures of the descendents of the first banana-lovers sent into orbit. The CG ‘toon will cost around $40 million, and boasts a script by Racing Stripes’ Kirk De Micco. Directors Norton Virgien and Donovan Cook will be cracking the whip over a pack of animation times for a 2008 release date.
But if there’s no mention of late, lamented cult ‘toon Captain Simian And The Space Monkeys, someone will pay.