Sounds like a story that could turn out to be a great family movie. If they put full effort into the project, than I'm certainly going to see this! But uh.. Which of his book is the other book for which Disney owns the rights?

I had no idea that Mortimer was Mickey's brother...Is that really true?

Would "Mars Needs Moms" be animated or live-action?  Would Disney change Milo's name, since Milo Thatch has the same name?  (I mean, I know that there are multiple Janes...)

It sounds like a neat book!  If I still lived in MA, I could go to the book signing...

Ah yes, the Berkeley Breathed projects that never seem to happen.

I sat in on a few meetings when the "Opus" feature was ramping up. Of course, it never happened. That's Hollywood.

The story reminds me a bit of the Jimmy Neutron movie plot, with parents being abducted and the kids having to save the day.

^^ That's what I was thinking!  And since it always seems to be Disney (and Pixar) that's labeled the copycat (A Bug's Life, The Wild)  I really don't know if the public will realize that this book's origins aren't just Disney trying to imitate Nickelodeon.  

This article just reminds me how much I love "A Wish for Wings that Work", that fun Opus Christmas Special.  No one seems to remember it, but it's a perennial favorite at our house.

Well, I sure remembered it!

Even included it in a story I did here a while back.

http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/roger_colton/archive/2005/11/24/984.aspx

And even heard from the author himself afterwards;

RE:  your review of Wish For Wings that Work.   Wow... best review that thing has ever got.   Better late that never.   Now... if only Universal would release the damn thing.  

Thanks!

Berkeley Breathed

by looking at the pictures in the book and taking into account the subject matter (space, aliens) if this movie sees the light of day, it looks like it would probably be a CG film. amazing things could be done with CG in the spacial realm, and it would be great if Disney did this movie.

it also of course could work as a 2D film.

I enjoyed most of Breathed's work, and own several volumes of the reprints. Right up until he grew dissatisfied with his own stuff and recast it as "Outland". This was New Coke cartooning. "B.Breathed: Now edgier! More poynient! More gratuitous Disney bashing!"

I think Breathed, like a lot of artists, coughed up a furball at his own commercial work and the compromises required and decided to go "arty". Not all together successfully either. I'm not particularly impressed by his Disney barbs since he was merely rehashing underground artists like Dan O'Neill and the Air Pirates who did it earlier and better IMO.

GofF> I'd chalk that up to similar influences between Mars and Neutron, much like that of Sky Captain and Talespin. But I never took to Neutron, myself, barely getting through an episode.

Roger Colton:

"Well, I sure remembered it!

Even included it in a story I did here a while back.

http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/roger_colton/archive/2005/11/24/984.aspx"

Yeah, we finally broke down and bought the VHS off of eBay this year, as our recorded copy was getting really pathetic.  

Recently, a friend and I were talking about our cats, and she told me she had an orange tabby named Bill.  I laughed, and made some comment about Opus and Bill.  She had no idea what I was talking about.  Oh well.