Charlie Brown and the whole Peanuts gang are getting their big screen debut. We’re hoping these beloved comic strips will follow suit…
SHERMAN’S LAGOON
A lazy, overweight Great White Shark with an acquired taste for poodles— how can this not be made into a movie? The strip inked and drawn by Jim Toomey first saw print in 1991, since then it’s been syndicated in over 150 countries worldwide. The strip largely revolves around Sherman, his controlling wife Megan, and his friends— a lonely sea turtle named Fillmore and Hawthorne, a scheming hermit crab. The adventures of the characters surrounding Sherman’s Lagoon take place in the waters surrounding a fictional island called Kapupu. It’s like Madagascar, played out underwater.
THE FAR SIDE
In a span of 15 years, The Far Side became one of the most popular comic strips in the world. An amazing feat considering it was only a single panel comic. At its peak, The Far Side was carried in nearly 2000 dailies and translated in over 15 languages, with audiences drawn to creator Gary Larson’s unique and surrealistic humour and jokes. In 1994, Larson produced an animated short called Tales from the Far Side, which proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that despite its single panel theme, a full-length animated film could be possible.
B.C.
For nearly 50 years, cartoonist Johnny Hart drew out the adventures of prehistoric caveman B.C. and his cohorts. In fact, Hart actually died at his drawing board in 2007 working on a strip. But audiences gravitated towards the simplistic strip featuring the laughable antics of the prehistoric characters f both the human and animal variety ever since its debut way back in 1958. The strip is still in existence today being worked on by the grandchildren of Hart himself. That’s more than half a decade of adventures just waiting to be transformed unto the silver screen.
DILBERT
In a word, Dilbert is just so relevant. Created, drawn and written by Scott Adams, Dilbert addresses theme and situations all white-collar workers know all too well – office politics. In print form, the strip is currently run in 65 countries across the globe and it’s also spawned its own book, calendar series, video game and an animated series as well. With that much going for it, you know making a movie won’t be a tall order.
CALVIN & HOBBES
The temperamental nature of cartoonist Bill Watterson notwithstanding, there has always been a uniqueness and brilliance behind Calvin & Hobbes. The adventures of a boy and his stuffed tiger, which becomes alive when no one else is around, have captivated millions around the world and spawned a following in over 50 countries. Although no longer in production (Watterson retired the strip in 1995), there’s ample content and adventures that could be spun from over 3000 strips that have been inked and printed. But seeking Watterson’s consent and approval would be next to impossible.
