The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame’s much-loved 1908 children’s book, is being developed into a live-action and animatronics version by RG Entertainment. The film will be shot in New Zealand this Autumn with Peter Jackson’s visual effects company Weta Workshop onboard.
The Wind in the Willows has been filmed before, by Disney in 1949; a stop-motion animated TV series by Cosgrove-Hall in the 1980s (pictured); and a live-action version directed by Terry Jones in 1996, starring Steve Coogan and Eric Idle.
Ray Griggs will direct and produce the $30 million feature, with Richard Taylor handling the special effects with Kim Sinclair as production designer.
"At its heart, The Wind in the Willows is a story of friendship and the joys of home," Griggs told Daily Variety.
Griggs, owner and president of RG Entertainment, said he’s raised the funds through private investors and is expecting to announce cast members soon. He plans to record the dialogue first and shoot the film with the actors in animal costumes with state-of-the-art animatronics being used to duplicate facial expressions.
