Yes, Universal Pictures is moving forward with their big screen adaptation of the Milton Bradley board game Candy Land. You remember the game right? I think everyone must have owned or played it as a kid, or at least the people of the 70’s-80’s generation. And it would be easy to poo-poo the idea of a big screen movie entirely. I could write a blog post about how Hollywood has run out of ideas in my sleep. Problem is, Universal actually hired some talented people to develop this project. It’s kinda like how Ridley Scott is attached to direct a Monopoly movie. You want to slam the idea entirely, but the people involved make you take a step back.

According to Variety, Enchanted director Kevin Lima is attached to direct Candy Land, based on a screenplay by Etan Cohen. Talk about a weird bunch of guys to hire to adapt a movie based on a board game.

And before you give me an earful, let me first give you a disclaimer: I’m not saying this movie is going to be good, I’m just saying I’m strangely interested due to the talent involved. I mean, the guy who was a writer on Beavis and Butt-head and King of the Hill is involved. He wrote both Tropic Thunder and Idiocracy. And Enchanted was the type of movie I should of hated but ended up falling in love with. It’s just… weird.

Discuss: Could a Candy Lanbd Movie have any chance of being fun/good?

  • BATTLESHIP!

    CLUE!

    SORRY!

    great films to come...
  • starscream9289
    TROUBLE!
  • gastrotect
    Clue was already turned into a movie. A pretty funny with a good cast I might add.
  • Clue rocks, in a hilariously bad sort of way.
  • Eric
    Agreed, Clue a great movie.
  • this is going to sound sooooo nerdy, but your avatar rocks dude!
  • TIM CURRY!!!
  • starscream9289
    What's next? Connect Four: The Movie?!
  • you would so pay to see that...
  • no make sense
    why is this guys name exactly the same as ethan coen except the h moves from the middle of the first word to the middle of the second word? etan cohen??? what the hell
  • marz
    at first i didnt think making a whole movie from a disney ride was possible..but they did it..and now a board game?how the hell do you come up with a script for such a thing.guess next,somebody gona write a script for a pepsi movie..or a cheetos movie staring chester cheeta.o by the way,daft,they already made a clue movie with tim curry a while back.
  • Really, though, all it is is a name. Pirates of the Caribbean (the movie) could have been called simply Pirates and no one would have connected the ride to it. That is, the story had nothing to do with the ride other than a pirate theme. I suppose they'll do the same thing with all these game movies. They'll write a movie about a couple of kids in a candy forest that really has nothing to do with the game play and then they slap the name CandyLand on it and instantly it has more cache because it's linked to a nostalgic game we used to play. And then a bunch of kids will go out a buy new Candyland games, and everyone wins. It's all just product placement. Link a popular product name to a story and they will both sell better than they would have on their own.
  • Craig M.
    It makes a better sounding movie than one based on Monopoly based strictly on the fact that it has a basic plot to the game.
  • of course it could be good!
    it even could be great!
  • I think this is a real WTF story. I don't get how they could flesh a story out of this. But hey, I loved the board-game as a kid! :)
  • I agree, I don't get it at all. It was fun to play, sure, but at no point in my life did I ever see this coming. Maybe if some really dynamic actors are hired and it's not just bubble-gum, then maybe it could be good....somehow.
  • Peyton
    I seriously see the movie being about two kids, and they total twist the whole concept of the board game. I picture it a kinda 'OHH happy, and then it turns horribly evil'. Like everyone in the board game is out to get them... in a way. :)
  • This could be the most non-lame "board game movie" planned to come out - only b/c there are some pretty cool characters on the board itself. Any movie for kids that travels and encounters Queen Frostine, Lord Licorice, and Gloppy could be fun...
  • ...if you're high. =D I just wanted to add that. cheers.
  • *fingers crossed* I'm hoping for the best, because really, what else can we do?
  • brian
    a while back ago there was a false movie trailer posted, i watched with out reading first. i thought it was real and i got realllly excited for it. it was TETRIS the movie. i think someone should buy that guys idea and that should be the next movie from a game=D

    i would be very happy to see that happen.
    if you dont remember the trailer for tetris visit this site to watch it

    http://black20.com/black20-trailer-park/tetris-mo...

    what do yo think... do you think this should be a movie?! i would like to see that
  • freemachine
    OMG! Uwe Boll's Shoots and Ladders. Please save us...
  • And if you don't like it, he will fight you.
  • freemachine
    Bring it on. I'll take on Boll and Bay in a tag team. I just need a partner! lol!
  • Ha! I'd partner with you, but I uhhh, think I have to wash my hair! Yeah...that's the ticket.
  • Jumangi was done already...we dont need another boardgame movie
  • I think this is one of those occasion's where no matter what talent or support the studio has hired, it's going to take something along the lines of a monumental revelation to stop this project from being, what's the word...Terrible.
  • I could actually see this happen. Based on the box art alone, two children could be sent away to Candyland for some reason to do something.
  • gastrotect
    Did anyone see Clue?! Am I the only one that saw it? It wasn't brilliant film making, but it was funny. And the cast was good.
    I like this idea tentatively because it could end up being gorgeous if nothing else. There wasn't much story to the game, so good writers using their imaginations could probably come up with something interesting. I'll keep an eye on this one.
  • How about Hungry, Hungry Hippo?

    The idea seems pretty absurd but I doubt a writer of Cohen's caliber would sign on to write a screenplay if he didn't think he could make it work.

    I don't think it will be great, but doubt it will be horrible.

    Also, for what it's worth, I thought the board game Jumanji was based on the movie, not the other way around.
  • I LOVED that movie! lol
  • There is a sort of story. Take out the board game and you have some kids wandering around fantastical locations looking for a lost king. They must battle various monsters and obstacles to save the day. Sounds like the plot to half the kids movies ever made. Add a candy motiff and voila Candyland The Movie.
  • This was my comment on another movie, just this past week......

    Next up Candyland: The Next Generation. A quaint little town made completely out of candy is terrorized by a giant with a sweet tooth.

    I do believe someone from one of these studios reads your blog, and steals my ideas.
  • whaaaaaaaaaat? Candyland movie? lol... well it will work because I can sort of see this as a LSD trip with wacky characters.
  • Yeah kinda like a Thompsonesk Fear and Loathing in Candyland!
  • I think if they made this sort of a mix between Alice in Wonderland and Jumanji, it could work. I think if Tim Burton or Spike Jonez was directing this, people would say "yeah, I get it...it's going to be awesome." You attache the guy who wrote Tropic Thunder and it becomes questionable.
  • I think if they made this sort of a mix between Alice in Wonderland and Jumanji, it could work. I think if Tim Burton or Spike Jonez was directing this, people would say "yeah, I get it...it's going to be awesome." You attach the guy who wrote Tropic Thunder and it becomes questionable.
  • mjv
    are you kidding me? idk about this one. i mean tropic thunder was alright, but i don't think i could even take this idea seriously.
  • Eric
    A group of explorers (all played by famous comedians) somehow find themselves in Candyland and in order to escape they must trek to Candy Castle. Paul Rudd as Mr. Mint, Kristen Wigg as Gramma Nut... the only question know is who will play molasses swamp?
  • hamstercups
    Adult Swim's Robot Chicken had a sketch (facetiously) predicting this happening.
    http://www.adultswim.com/video/?episodeID=8731098...
  • 790
    Is this an alternative to remakes and reboots. The Mllton Bradley saga ,,,?
    Were pretty close to cinematic rock bottom ppl...
  • HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN THE DOG WITH THE KEYS????

    HOW man!?!?!?!?!!!!! =)

    HOW!?!
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