Horses are big right now. Secretariat had a decent run, Steven Spielberg is preparing to poke our tear ducts and pluck our heartstrings with stirring drama **War Horse, and if the thing ever gets made, The Lone Ranger promises blockbuster horseplay. So it seems only natural for Fox 2000 to have snapped up the film rights to chatty nag Mr Ed.
For those unacquainted with the eloquent equine, Mr Ed was the star of the titular US sitcom that ran between 1961 and 1966, featuring Alan Young as Wilbur Post, his owner, and Allan Lane as the voice of the horse (of course). You can pretty much guess what happened in most episodes: Ed’s talkative ways get him and Wilbur into trouble and everyone else reacts. Cue audience laugh-spasms and solid ratings.
Little Miss Sunshine producer David Friendly has spotted the apparent need for a new take on this highest-of-high concepts and is now looking to wrangle a real horse with a CG-tweaked mouth to lay his particular brand of sass on the world.
"It's always the perfect time for a four-quadrant family movie," Friendly told Variety. "Those are the movies that have the strongest pull. As a producer, I try to envision the poster and this one looks pretty good coming from the studio behind Marley & Me and Alvin and the Chipmunks."
Yes, it’s always a good sign when A) the producer has the idea for the poster first and B) Alvin and the Chipmunks is the model. That’s what bought us Marmaduke! Still, Alvin and its sequel have seen the money come rolling in, so this was always going to happen anyway. Now that the tricky rights – which involved two estates – have been lassoed, Friendly and the studio can find a writer who will put words in Ed’s mouth.