As Disney/Pixar develops its big-screen, animated adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter of Mars sci-fi adventure stories, a video has emerged on YouTube providing a glimpse of an unrealized take on the property from none other than lengendary animator Bob Clampett. Thanks to Aintitcool.com for the heads-up.
The 11-volume John Carter saga follows the adventures of a Civil War officer who is transported to Mars, where he is captured by green men before emerging as a great warrior and marrying a princess. The first title, A Princess of Mars, was published in serial form in the periodical All-Story in 1912.
Burroughs, who is best known for creating Tarzan, was approached by Clampett in 1936 with the idea to make a series of animated theatrical shorts based on the John Carter stories. Clampett and Burroughs’ son, John Coleman, then spent a year creating the animation tests seen in the video below.
Jeffrey Katzenberg, who is now CEO of DreamWorks Animation, planed to make an animated John Carter feature when he was with Disney back in the 1990s. In 2002, the Mouse House relinquished the film rights to Paramount Pictures, which has had several directors attached to the project. Robert Rodriguez had to bow out when he resigned from the Director’s Guild of America because they wouldn’t let him credit comic-book creator Frank Miller as a co-director on Sin City. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow helmer Kerry Conrad then threw his name in the hat before Paramount tapped Elf and Zathura director Jon Favreau to do the job. Favreau then left the project to direct Iron Man, Paramount’s live-action feature based on Marvel’s comics. Paramount eventually let its option on Burroughs’ stories run out and Pixar jumped on it.
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