After a decade and a half of comic strips and cartoons, Tony Millionaire's Eisner Award-winning sock monkey Uncle Gabby is finally heading towards the big screen outing he deserves. Animator Matt Danner has partnered with Millionaire for an adaptation of the book **Sock Monkey: Into The Deep Woods. You can check out their proof-of-concept teaser trailer below.
The Sock Monkey comics deal with the adventures of the titular Uncle Gabby, a toy belonging to a girl called Ann-Louise. He shares her affections with the suicidal alcoholic Mr Crow (an alternate version of another Millionaire creation, Drinky Crow) and a fat doll with an attitude problem called Inches.
The film's plot involves the toys becoming convinced that Ann-Louise has been kidnapped by a monster, so that they mount a daring rescue mission across land, sea and air to save her. Danner says it'll be more **Coraline **than Toy Story, reflecting the not always entirely child-friendly nature of the comics. "It's for families, but it has real danger and gravity," Danner says.
It's actually not the first time Uncle Gabby has been animated: he was a supporting character in Adult Swim's The Drinky Crow Show between 2007 and 2009, for which he was voiced by David Herman. The new film, as evidenced above, will be a different proposition: a blend of live action and CGI. Danner wants "someone like John C. Reilly" on voice duties this time.
Danner and Millionaire are currently looking for the financing. The book Sock Monkey: Into The Deep Woods was published last month by Fantagraphics.