Warner Brothers is Adapting 'Bone' with 'Kung Fu Panda' Director, and It Might Actually be Great

Somehow, I'm surprised a studio finally has the balls to tackle Bone, and also shocked it hasn't happened already.  Jeff Smith's sprawling comic book fantasy story marries Tolkien and Disney, and just feels so darn big that if I were the filmmakers taking a stab at it, I'd feel incredibly intimidated.  Warner Brothers likely felt the same way, which is why they went and hired Mark Osborne, the director of Kung Fu Panda.

I know what you're thinking.  Wait, Kung Fu Panda?  That's what qualifies this guy to take on a beloved fantasy comic?  Well, actually, yes.  Admittedly, Dreamworks Animation, the outfit that makes Kung Fu Panda, has built a reputation as a commercial nightmare of a company that churns out sequel after sequel until they snuff out whatever good will they earned with their initial hit (I'm looking at you, Shrek series).  Many of their movies feel like they are made by a committee with thin story-lines that barely string together jokey set pieces and pop-culture references.  Rarely do they dig deeper.  However, rarely doesn't mean never.  One exception is the excellent How to Train Your Dragon movies, and another is Kung Fu Panda.   

Osborne brings with him surprisingly nuanced world building.  Dreamworks could've slapped together any film where anthropomorphic animals kick each other silly and it would've likely sold a few tickets.  Instead, they let Osborne make a film that almost feels like a gateway drug into kung fu cinema.  He layers in Chinese philosophies and mythology in a way that breathes life into the world of the film, but thankfully never feels condescending to its source.  And he does all this without losing sight of character and emotion.  This is why I think he is going to be great for Bone.  The fantasy epic needs someone who can paint the small details without muddying up the bigger picture; especially if this is meant to be the start of an ongoing series, and what movie isn't these days.

For now, its way too early to tell for sure, but I think hiring Osborne shows that Warner Brothers is thinking longer term.  They aren't just throwing some hack in there and hoping they'll make a few bucks.  This adaptation has been a long time coming, and Jeff Smith's world could look amazing up on the big screen.  I hope Osborne's up for the challenge.