Way back in 2009, we brought you the news when David Goodman had been tapped to pen Hong Kong Phooey, the live action/animated big screen adaptation of the of the 1970s Hanna-Barbera animated TV series being produced by Alcon Entertainment.
Now, Alcon has issued a press release to announce that Eddie Murphy, the voice of Donkey in Universal Pictures animated franchise Shrek, and Mushu the Dragon in Walt Disney Pictures’ animated hit, Mulan has been cast as the voice of the animated lead character of the film.
Check out the press release below for all the details.
Official Press Release:
LOS ANGELES, CA, AUGUST 10, 2011—Eddie Murphy will give voice to the animated lead character in Alcon Entertainment’s live action/animated big screen adaptation of the of the 1970s Hanna-Barbera animated TV series HONG KONG PHOOEY, it was announced by Alcon co-founders and co-CEO’s Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove.
In addition to voicing the character of Donkey in the box-office hit “Shrek” franchise, Murphy was also the voice of Mushu, the Dragon, in the successful animated epic “Mulan.” Murphy will next be seen in the comedies “Tower Heist,” co-starring Ben Stiller from Universal Studios and “A Thousand Words,” from DreamWorks.
Alex Zamm (“Dr. Dolittle: Million Dollar Mutts,” “Tooth Fairy 2”) will direct. Kosove and Johnson will produce with Jay Stern and Brett Ratner. Steven P. Wegner will executive produce.
State Johnson and Kosove: “We could not be happier that Eddie Murphy will star as Phooey. There is no overstating his contributions to cinema, and to such enduring stars of family entertainments such as ‘Shrek’ and ‘Dr. Doolittle.’ We look forward to watching him re-imagine yet another classic character.”
Based on the 70’s cult classic Hanna Barbera animated TV series, a mild-mannered dog named PENRY (Murphy) stumbles into a mystic ceremony and is accidentally granted mystic powers, including the ability to walk, talk, and do kung fu. Under the tutelage of his kung fu master, Penry dons a costume and becomes Hong Kong Phooey, and with the help of his trusting sidekick Spot the cat cleans up a rogues gallery of wacky criminals.
Murphy is represented by Adam Venit at WME, and Skip Brittenham and Matt Johnson at Ziffren Brittenham. Alcon’s in house counsel David Fierson negotiated on behalf of the Company.
The cartoon which aired in the mid-1970′s featured Scatman Crothers in the lead role, a dog working as a police-station janitor who would jump into a filing cabinet and transform into a kung-fu superhero.
