21 Jun – Considering the unexpected success of the newly revived "The Muppets" by James Bobin last year, which earned a total of US$158 million in box offices worldwide and gave the franchise its first Oscar, it is not surprising that studios are seeking to bring another iconic children's show to the big screen in hopes of acquiring the same success.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, 20th Century Fox has recently acquired the rights to make a new feature film adapted from the hit children's television show "Sesame Street", and that the film's production has already begun.
The studio has already asked Joey Mazzarino, a long-time writer of the show, to write the screenplay for big screen versions of, which are Big Bird, Bert and Ernie, Grover, Oscar the Grouch, Cookie Monster and Elmo. "Real Steel" director Shawn Levy and his production company 21 Laps together with Guymon Casady of Management 360 would be producing this new instalment.
The last "Sesame Street" movie was "The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland" that was released in 1999, which was preceded by its first big-screen adaptation, "Follow That Bird", in 1985.
"Sesame Street" was an educational children's show that featured a batch of colorful characters created by Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett and communicated through the late "Muppet" creator Jim Henson's designs. The series began airing on 10 November 1969.