[Warning: this post contains dangerous levels of sarcasm!]

The excruciating wait is over - last week, Nickelodeon gave in to the demands of the arthouse film community and green-lit a live-action TV movie adaptation of its hit cartoon, The Fairly Oddparents.

This masterpiece in the making has been dubbed A Fairly Odd Movie: Grow Up Timmy Turner and will star Drake Bell (from the Nickelodeon TV show Drake and Josh), alongside comedians Jason Alexander (Seinfeld) and Cheryl Hines (Curb Your Enthusiasm).

Here is the plot synopsis for this epic adaptation:

The movie centers on Timmy Turner (Bell), but unlike the series, Timmy is no longer a 10-year-old boy - he is 23, still lives at home, and still attends the 5th grade.  Timmy's arrested development stems from his desire to keep his beloved fairy godparents, Cosmo (Alexander) and and Wanda (Hines), because "Da Rules" dictates that godchildren lose their fairies when they grow up.

But when Tootie (Daniella Monet), a formerly nerdy girl who's always had a crush on Timmy, returns to town as a gorgeous grown-up, Timmy finds himself having very adult feelings for her.  He must decide whether to grow up and be with the woman he now loves, or continue acting like a child to keep the fairy godparents he adores.

Expect television sets around the world to ignite when Bell and Monet (see below) appear onscreen together in the film.  The affair between their movie counterparts - a nitwit trapped in the psychological realms of adolescence and the exuberant beauty that can save him - will surely be one for the ages.

But what of Timmy's spiritual guardians?  Can funny-man Alexander truly capture the essence of Cosmo, a green haired goof with wings and a golden crown?  Will Hines be able to communicate the subtle nature of Wanda's personality in a manner that is respectful to the source material?

Those questions will have to remain unanswered for now.  This early photograph of Alexander and Hines in makeup as the Fairly Oddparents - which you can see below - can only hint at the intricate design of the characters in live-action mode.

It is pleasant to see that the entertainment industry has at long last recognized the genius of re-packaging popular animated TV shows in the form of feature-length CGI/live-action hybrids.  The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle - which also starred Alexander - was clearly just ahead of its time when it was released back in 2000, as moviegoers were not yet mentally capable of grasping its genius.

Then the release of the Alvin & the Chipmunk movies ushered in a new era of cinematic artistry.  With movie adaptations of Yogi Bear, The Smurfs, and now The Fairly Oddparents all arriving over the next year, we can only marvel at what the future holds.

A Fairly Odd Movie: Grow Up Timmy Turner will sadly not receive a theatrical release, but will air on Nickelodeon sometime in 2011.

Source: Frederator (via /Film)