14 DAY TRIAL // “Alice in Wonderland” continues to make millions at the box office, while its stars, Helena Bonham Carter, Johnny Depp and director Tim Burton himself are still on the road promoting it, but Burton has already started work on his next project. The famed director’s next release will also be a classic inspired by Charles Addams’ original cartoon, “The Addams Family,” Deadline has learned.
There is a twist to this, though, since, just like with “Alice,” Burton will not do things by the book in the same manner as previous releases. His “Addams” film, to which he’ll also contribute visually, will be different from the television series and long feature films released so far. Another important thing one must note is that the film will also be 3D, which in itself should weigh pretty heavily with all Addams Family fans.
“Alice in Wonderland director Tim Burton has found a new 3D project. He will direct a stop-motion animated film based on Charles Addams’ original ghoulish cartoon drawings of The Addams Family. Illumination Entertainment, the Universal-based family film unit headed by Chris Meledandri, has acquired the underlying rights of the Addams drawings, once a staple of The New Yorker magazine. Other than being inspired by the same source material, the animated feature is unrelated to previous incarnations of Addams’ work, the ‘60s TV series, the two ‘90s feature film comedies that Barry Sonnenfeld directed with Raul Julia and Anjelica Huston, or the Broadway musical opening this spring with Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth in the starring roles,” Deadline reports.
“Meladandri will produce the film. Kevin Miserocchi of the Tee and Charles Addams Foundation will be executive producer. A writer will be hired shortly. Burton, whose visual creations are currently on display at a MOMA exhibit that opened last November, is expected to provide much of the visual look of the film himself. […] His intention is to go back to the litany of Addams illustrations that displayed a sharper wit than could be place into a ‘60s family TV series,” the same publication further informs.
As of now, no other details are available on the film. Still, knowing that Burton loves working with wife Helena Bonham Carter and Johnny Depp, speculation is already ripe that they will be cast as leads Morticia and Gomez. For more on this, make sure you keep an eye on this space.