I gotta tell ya, for whatever reason, they didn’t show the animated series HONG KONG PHOOEY on TV where I grew up in Asia. I watched The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Yogi the Bear, every single Hanna-Barbera creation but this. Frankly, I’m feeling left out of the loop. I might have to catch some of its old episodes just to familiarize myself with the character and the story before the movie hits theaters. So if you can enlighten me on all that you know about HONG KONG PHOOEY, whatever help helps.
According to Hollywood Reporter and Variety, Scribe David Goodman has been hired to write the screenplay for HONG KONG PHOOEY Movie based on the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon that was aired in the mid-1970s, it was about a a police station janitor who becomes kung fu fighting dog with mystical powers and his sidekick cat. Alcon plans to make the adaptation a live-action/CGI hybrid like Alvin and the Chipmunks and the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie
The big problem is… Brett Ratner (Rush Hour movies, X-Men 3)is one of the producers. So prepare yourself for some mediocrity. God forbid Jackie Chan gets to play the kung fu fighting dog.
No word yet on what the plot is for the movie, but Goodman is an executive producer and writer on The Family Guy and has worked on Who Is Killing The Great Chef?, a remake of the 1978 comedy mystery movie Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?. He is also adapting the web-comic Last Blood.
That’s not all, Alcon that’s financing and co-producing the Hughes brothers upcoming apocalyptic movie THE BOOK OF ELI starring Denzel Washington has also hired Alex Zamm to direct HONG KONG PHOOEY. Looking at his.. straight to video resume, you can’t get a more fitting guy than Zamm for this job (Inspector Gadget 2, Dr. Doolittle: Million Dollar Mutt)
* Here’s the old intro to Hong Kong Phooey
