In honor of the Play-Doh movie, we present the 8 most bizarre inspirations for live-action movies
It’s official. Twentieth Century Fox and Hasbro are developing a live-action Play-Doh movie. After Warner Brothers’ insanely successful Lego movie, it looks like Fox wants to use everyone’s favorite putty-like plaything to get a piece of the action. Is this toy-to-movie trend the next big thing, or just a surefire sign of the movie apocalypse? Let’s take a look back at the craziest things Hollywood has turned into live-action blockbusters. Some of these strange concepts turned into worldwide sensations, and others simply left us scratching our heads.
8.Battleship (2012)
One of Hasbro’s previous attempts at box office success, Battleship was an action war movie based on the classic board game of the same name. The board game is simple enough — try to sink your opponents battleship by guessing its location. However the live-action film was a bit more (okay, a lot more) complex, and involved significantly more aliens? Even with the addition of gorgeous Brooklyn Decker and pop superstar Rihanna, this Battleship sank. The film torpedoed at the box office and left many people wishing they had just stayed at home playing board games.
7. G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009)
Growing up, we thought G.I. Joe’s main purpose was to fight Ken for Barbie’s affection, but apparently, he is a big time movie star as well! The popular soldier toy franchise inspired this 2009 action flick. It is slightly disappointing that there isn’t actually a G.I. Joe character. In the movie, the “G.I. Joe team” is simply a team of top soldiers fighting against the evil Cobra. But with a cast made up of Channing Tatum, Joseph Gordon Levitt and Sienna Miller, we’re ready to enlist.
6. Clue (1985)
Another board game that was brought to life on the big screen, Clue was a 1985 adaptation of everyone’s favorite board game involving a lead pipe. This silly whodunnit is more of a satire than a suspenseful murder mystery. The movie includes everyone from Mr. Green to Miss Scarlet, but with a more complex plot involving political blackmail. The movie also boasts three alternate endings, and the studio showed different versions in different theaters. Although this slapstick caper didn’t wow the critics or earn massive numbers at the box office, it has remained a timeless cult classic.
5. The Haunted Mansion (2003)
Game closets and toy boxes aren’t the only places Hollywood looks for inspiration, The Happiest Place on Earth has inspired many feature films. This 2003 Eddie Murphy flick is based on the classic Disneyland attraction of the same name.Murphy stars as a real estate agent looking to sell Gracey Manor which (spoiler alert!) turns out to be haunted. The film incorporated beloved aspects from the ride, like floating Madame Leota, but failed to capture the magic of the original attraction. The movie is more goofy than spooky, and didn’t have much life (pun totally intended). RIP, indeed.
4. Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001)
So we’ve touched on board games, toys, and roller coasters, but what about video games? Many video games have spawned big screen adaptations (Max Payne, Resident Evil, etc.), but Lara Croft is a pioneer of this genre. Angelina Jolie’s Lara Craft was smart, sexy, and not to be messed with. We’d follow her into a tomb any day.
3. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
Ah, the theme park movie that all other theme park movies aspire to be. Based on the Disney attraction of the same name, Pirates spawned a major franchise, made superstars out of Keira Knightly and Orlando Bloom, and gave us all the beautiful gift of Captain Jack Sparrow. These movies became so wildly popular, Disney even updated its classic ride to include the film’s characters. Apparently, it’s a pirate’s life for everyone.
2. The Lego Movie (2014)
When can all admit that when this movie was announced, we were skeptical. The public cried out, “Legos?! But there aren’t even any defined main characters! Product placement at its worst!” But now audiences are shouting “Everything is awesome!” and boiling with rage that these little building blocks didn’t earn an Oscar nod. So, what made this movie a hit? A killer script, a willingness to poke fun at itself, and an amazing twist (we won’t spoil it!) all come together to make box office magic. The film also has superstars like Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, and Morgan Freeman voicing the loveable yellow characters. The Lego Movie was the biggest animated movie of the year and had everyone pulling out there old Legos in hopes of becoming a “Master Builder” themselves.
1. Tomorrowland (2015)
Although this movie hasn’t technically been released yet, we’ve seen trailers and we’re intrigued. Based on one of the eight themed “lands” that make up Disneyland, Tommorowland is billed as a “science fiction mystery adventure film” starring George Clooney and Britt Robertson. Okay, Disney attractions turned into movies we get – they tell a story, they have characters, etc. But just an overarching section of the park known for talking trash cans and Space Mountain? We’re not yet sold. I guess we’ll just have to trust Clooney on this one.
So what have we learned here? Just because the inspiration for a movie seems strange doesn’t mean it won’t be a massive hit (and just because you CAN make a Battleship movie, doesn’t mean you should).
(Images via here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here).