Well, what about the movie 30 Days of Night? It starts in Alaska and it never seems like they will be a sequel.. but still they put a sequel out even though it majorly diverts from the first movie. The only thing the same is the vampires.
So why wouldn't the Chronicles work? Even if it only ever covered the Hork-Bajir Chronicles and Andalite Chronicles? However, unlike other movies there is not a simple, cupcaked happy ending. At the end of the Andalite Chronicles, we have met all the major players fighting against the Yeerks, and the Yeerks are loose to roam as they please, seemingly unstoppable. Personally I feel as if viewers would be captivated.
It may be hard to make all the Animorphs series into movies, but they could be set in groups of 4 or five, or grouped appropriately where there is a flow, only interrupted by Megamorphs, which would each be their own movie (4 total). If marketed right this could be VERY lucrative.
The great thing about this universe is that it's very diverse, but lots of the efforts made (creature designs, backdrops, etc) can be used again and again, and just tweaked over time. If they have a base Andalite or base Hork-Bajir, they could easily change characteristics to turn Elfangor into Ax, so it wouldn't be that hard or expensive.
The town where the Animorphs live is easy as well... once built it can be used for the rest of the series, indefinitely. A lot of buildings wouldn't even be real, just backdrop. There is such a large fan base already that after filming is done it could be opened as an amusement park. I mean, how cool would it be to walk around that town and visit Cassie's barn with all the animals, or go down to the Sulp Niar?...
But even if it didn't make it that far, as I'm sure such a project would appear daunting to producers, it can't be that hard to commit to two movies at least, Hork-Bajir and Andalite. Then maybe even one last movie which could determine if it's worth it to continue, where the invasion is brought to Earth, and the last message is that you're not safe, there are controllers everywhere, could be your family or friends, even you. It could leave with the message that YOU have the only power to save your world. And zone off with a bunch of normal kids, representing each and every one of us.
That would be enough for me, but I am positive that if it got that far, the box office ratings would be through the roof... more fans would exist, more people thinking about Yeerks and what animal they'd morph to fight them, and the new fans in the mainstream will demand more movies. They'll want to know what happens. Because what kind of movie ends without a sure answer, with the threat still out there?
I think if there is a movie made with the Animorph series, it should squish the first few books up til Ax joins them, so there's an Andalite in the beginning and in the end of it. And that way it doesn't look so dismal for these human kids to be fighting alone. Ax will insist the Andalite fleet will come. It will keep the audience clued in and hopeful.
If it makes it farther down the line, when Visser One is put on trial, they can make a separate movie encapsulating Visser, and anyone who had been following would love getting that perspective - the perspective of the enemy. Who maybe isn't such a bad guy after all.
The Ellimist would be another great add-on, but that can't be attempted too early in the series.
Besides computer graphics, the biggest thing producers would have to figure out is how to film animals, or use them as models. And again, in the series, the Animorphs often morph their own particular power animals. Jake-tiger, Cassie-Wolf, Rachel-Grizzly Bear and Elephant, and Marco-Gorilla. And Tobias is basically a red-tailed hawk about 99% of the time.
Of course, anyone who wished to take this project on would HAVE TO read the books so they understand the important parts. Like how you have to deal with the animal instincts, and it's all eloquently written out by K.A. Applegate already. No doubt she did tons of research.
I mean if this thing was ever made, I'd support it 100%
Post Merged: November 21, 2010, 10:10:09 PM
Hork-Bajir is also good as a stand-alone.
