He’s still got it! A quarter century after making his television premiere on CBeebies, Keith Chapman’s popular construction worker Bob the Builder is at the center of bidding frenzy between several major studios. The new Latino-focused Bob the Builder animated movie from Mattel Films, ShadowMachine, Jennifer Lopez’s Nuyorican Productions and Anthony Ramos has reportedly received offers from Netflix, Amazon MGM Studios, DreamWorks Animation (Universal Pictures) and others.
Based on Ramos’s idea to set a new Bob the Builder story in Puerto Rico with a story that reflects the resilience and color of Latino/Caribbean cultures. The movie will follow Roberto, a.k.a. Bob (voiced by In the Heights star Ramos), who travels to P.R. for a big construction job, takes on issues affecting the island and digs deeper into what it means to build — powered by his catchphrase, “Si se puede” (“Yes we can.”)
The script is being adapted by Felipe Vargas. It is unknown of Lopez, who has lent her voice to Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012) and Home (2015), will be acting in the project alongside Ramos. Both are producing, alongside Alex Bulkley and Corey Campodonico of ShadowMachine (Best Animated Feature Oscar winner Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio), as well as Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas and Benny Medina for Nuyorican. The film is overseen by Kevin McKeon, Ivan Sanchez and Arturo Thur De Koós for Mattel and Natalie Haack Flores for Nuyorican.
Created by Keith Chapman (PAW Patrol, Fifi and the Flowertots), Bob the Builder debuted in the U.K. in 1999, swiftly becoming a preschool superhit. It aired up to 2011 when Mattel acquired British rightsholder HIT Entertainment for $680 million. The toy and entertainment giant launched a revamped Bob the Builder series featuring a new CG look in 2014 on Milkshake. The series aired in the U.S. on Nick Jr. for the first six season, then moved to PBS Kids.
The show centers on Bob, his friends and colleagues and a collection of anthropomorphized construction vehicles who tackle various construction challenges. With the catchphrase, “Can we fix it? Yes, we can!” Bob and his crew demonstrate for their preschool audience the problem-solving powers of positive thinking, imagination and teamwork.
[Source: Deadline]
