The timeless tale of The Wizard of Oz will be retold from Dorothy's famous dog's perspective in a new movie confirmed today. It will be far from the first time the 1939 classic, based on the 1900 book by L. Frank Baum, was rebooted for modern audiences. There was the dark 1985 sequel Return to Oz, animated and Muppetized versions, Sam Raimi's 2013 blockbuster Oz, The Great and Powerful, plus an abandoned Todd McFarlane version, among others. But the new version will be first to put Toto - acidly labeled "your little dog" by the Wicked Witch - front and center.
Deadline reports Mozart in the Jungle co-creator Alex Timbers will direct, based on the book Toto: The Dog-Gone Amazing Story of the Wizard of Oz by Michael Morpurgo. The Warner Bros. Animation project, first put into development in 2018, will be a musical, with a script by John August, the prolific writer of Big Fish, Corpse Bride, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and the 2019's Aladdin.
The Toto flick will be the first feature film for Timbers, whose directing credits include John Mulaney's standup comedy special Kid Gorgeous - but Timbers is actually a hugely accomplished director for Broadway, with such productions as Moulin Rouge! The Musical, American Utopia, and The Pee-Wee Herman Show under his belt. Jared Stern (writer of The LEGO Batman Movie and Netflix's Green Eggs and Ham) will executive produce, while the former head of Tim Burton Productions, Derek Frey, will serve as producer. So far, there's no release date for Toto's turn in the Wizard of Oz spotlight.
Source: Deadline