Cartoons Ready to be Adapted into Feature Films

Fade in:

INT. CARTOONIST’S APARTMENT - MORNING

Jason Katzenstein, 31, glasses, nervous-looking, puts down his pencil and stares directly into the camera.

JASON

If you’re like me, you love to watch movies as their auteurs intended: in twelve short bursts on your laptop while also screencapping potential memes. This is how I will be watching The Addams Family and Addams Family Values this spooky month. Did you know that these movies are based on Charles Addams’ New Yorker cartoons? What’s that? You subscribe to a weekly cartoon newsletter and you’re a self-selected audience for people who are already aware of this? Well, that’s cool. 

But why stop with Charles Addams cartoons? Why not make Cow Tools: The Movie? Nothing says “two hour feature” quite like one single panel. And so, toonsters, this week we’re giving you IP (that’s Hollywood talk for intellectual property) that’s just one call to Soderbergh away from coming to a theater near you! 

CUT TO:

Navied Mahdavian

Ring, ring. Ring, ring. The call is coming from inside the house! Or rather, from inside of you, because you’re a Russian nesting doll named Marissa, just trying to have it all, but your goddamn six kids won’t stop watching TikTok videos inside the empty crevasse that is both your belly and your love life.  

Projected opening weekend box office: one million dollars.

Amy Kurzweil

Bryan’s an average sized, decent looking, white, male mouse with very few skills to speak of, but he’s always dreamed of making it big. His gorgeous girlfriend, Rachel, is a real nag, always providing things like food and shelter. But… TWIST: Rachel’s actually a CIA operative tasked with keeping Bryan away from cheese. It’s very important that Bryan is never near cheese, because only Rachel and her elite team of operatives know that Russian spymouses in the 80’s broke into the hospital-hole where Bryan was born and randomly selected seven mouse embryos to inject with an explosive that, 33 years later, would detonate when ignited by lactic acid. Rachel has successfully detonated the first six targets, but Bryan’s delusions of grandeur are proving hard to defuse... Watch Number Seven, now streaming on Mouseflix.

Kendra Allenby

Four Gospels, four men, four different accounts. Jesus was the son of god, but when He’s gone a howling silence remains in His wake and it’s up to mere humans to grapple with His life and put voice to a rising tradition that will shape the world. Jesus brought them together but their writing will tear them apart. Whose version of events will ring from the mountaintops and cast the course of human history? And while they are striving to capture His life, who is quietly nearby, capturing theirs? Stream now on Hulu-elujah.

Ellis Rosen

We begin by following Melvin Graham, a struggling script writer in Hollywood. He gets the chance of a lifetime when he’s asked to pitch a movie to hot-shot producer Guy Bigsdale, but oh no! Melvin is completely out of ideas! Ingeniously, Melvin comes up with a script idea during the meeting itself, but is surprised when Bigsdale likes it. Now, with time running out, Melvin has to actually write the script. Here's the twist: We zoom out, and it turns out Melvin's story is just a cartoon in a newsletter! And who’s reading the newsletter? A ghost! 

Jason Adam Katzenstein

This has already been optioned for Marvel’s Stage Six phase, which is ten movies and five TV shows about earth’s mightiest heroes making different kinds of furniture. Thor tries to hammer some nails with Mjolnir and it’s comedy gold. Hulk smashes so many kitchen islands. It has somehow already broken box office records.

Johnny DiNapoli

“Captivating.” - A.O. Scott, The New York Times

“Makes Ocean’s 11 look like Ocean’s 12.” - Richard Roeper, The Chicago Sun-Times

“There he is! Wait, no. That’s a red and white beach towel.” - Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Hilary Campbell

This is a horror film where you have 3 extra hours to live and you have to decide what you’ll do with them. It’s basically Final Destination meets Aladdin.

For Your Pleasure: Cartoon Extras

• Have you checked out cartoonstock.com? Thanks to New Yorker cartoon editor emeritus, Bob Mankoff, this is the place to license and buy prints and merch of the best cartoons in the world, from The New Yorker, Wired, Airmail and... coming very soon... ToonStack! 

• Pre-order Send Help! a desert island cartoon collection by Ellis Rosen and Jon Adams

• Pre-order Murder Book, Hilary Campbell’s upcoming graphic memoir out November 9th!

• And hey, SPEAKING OF: Hilary will be doing a SHOW to celebrate the book’s release! Tuesday November 9th at LittleField and you can get tickets RIGHT HERE.

• Ali Solomon illustrated a book called I am “Why Do I Need Venmo?” Years Old by Janine Annett!

• Amy Kurzweil teaches cartoon classes on Patreon!

• Kendra Allenby walked the Continental Divide Trail for 5 months!

• Jason Chatfield has a Substack called New York Cartoons!

• Be sure to check out Shelby Lorman’s newsletter, Please Clap!

• The same goes for Sofia Warren’s advice newsletter, You’re Doing Great!

• See more cartoons from Ellis Rosen’s weekly Junk Drawer!

• And hey, we always would love it if ya…