Snark, Critic and Pop!

I have long understood that Hollywood executives are not perfect.  I understand that.  Noone is.  Anyone could have green-lit the Carrot Top movie.  He was going to be big, all he needed was the steroids.  But honestly, it must be a tough job.  True artists are often not understood in there own time.  There may come a day when Uwe Boll is finally appreciated for the genius that he is, and I can only hope that I am dead and deep in the cold, cold Earth on that day.  Where is all this going?  Well, apparently Guillermo Del Toro was at one point working with Disney on creating a film adaptation of The Wind in the Willows. (A film adaptation is due out in 2012, although I am not sure if it is being made by Disney.  The trailer can be viewed here) Now, I am particularly fond of the book so a movie adaptation leaves me wondering.  Will they take a beautifully written and beloved tale and do it justice?

Let’s see what Del Toro had to say in an interview with Rotten Tomatoes:

“It was a beautiful book, and then I went to meet with the executives and they said, ‘Could you give Toad a skateboard and make him say, ‘radical dude’ things,’ and that’s when I said, ‘It’s been a pleasure…’”

After reading this I certainly have more respect for him.  I was a fan to begin with, but he was working on this in 2003 when directorial credits were: Blade II, The Devil’s Backbone, Mimic & Cronos (plus a few foreign films).  Now, I am not looking to bad mouth any of these films.  All I am saying is he was hardly a household name, and Disney is a big company to walk away from like that.  I for one am glad he did.