EXCLUSIVE: Hobie Films and HarperCollins Productions are teaming on an animated feature adaptation of The Trumpet of the Swan, the beloved children’s novel by E. B. White.
David Guion and Michael Handelman, a pair of veteran screenwriters known for work on titles like Dinner for Schmucks and Harold and the Purple Crayon, are attached to write the script. Emmy winner and Oscar nominee David Hoberman (Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers, Wonder) will produce for Hobie Films, alongside Caroline Fraser of HarperCollins Productions (Carmen Sandiego, The Oregon Trail), with Hobie Films’ Julie Meschko exec producing.
The writing and producing teams reunite here amidst their current work on The Mouse and the Motorcycle, a live action/CGI hybrid set up at Amazon MGM Studios, based on the series of books by Beverly Cleary. We were also first to report on that adaptation.
Selling over 10 million copies worldwide since its original publication in 1970, The Trumpet of the Swan is set on a beautiful pond deep in the forest, where a trumpeter swan named Louis is born without a voice. He can’t communicate with his family or tell the radiant young swan, Serena, that he’s fallen madly in love with her. But when his father steals a trumpet to help him, it changes Louis’ life forever. Aided by a boy named Sam, Louis sets off on a musical odyssey across America to clear his father’s name, win his true love’s heart, become a world-famous musician, and find his voice at last.
The book’s author, White, is perhaps better known for classic works Stuart Little and Charlotte’s Web, as well as grammatical style guide The Elements of Style, penned with William Strunk, Jr. Over the course of his decades as a writer, he was recognized with prizes including the Newbery Honor, the National Medal for Literature, a special Pulitzer Prize citation, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
In a statement on the new film, producer Fraser said, “The Trumpet of the Swan is one of the most powerful stories ever written about a character with a disability who learns that what makes them different makes them extraordinary. The story will take audiences on a breathtaking visual and musical journey as this beloved character finds his voice.”
Commented Hoberman, “I’m delighted to partner with HarperCollins Productions and Guion and Handelman in bringing E. B. White’s beautiful, elegant, and touching story to the screen.”
In addition to the Paul Rudd–Steve Carell comedy Dinner for Schmucks and Harold and the Purple Crayon, Guion and Handelman are known for standout family movies, including Netflix’s fantasy adventure Slumberland starring Jason Momoa, as well as Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb. They are represented by UTA.
Launched in 2022 by Hoberman, who formerly founded Mandeville Films, Hobie Films is also involved with the live-action Voltron film in the works at Amazon MGM, and is repped by WME.
HarperCollins Productions, the in-house production company of top publisher HarperCollins, is responsible for titles like Carmen Sandiego and Pretzel and the Puppies. David Wienir reps the company, with CAA repping the E.B. White estate.
