Will Ferrell and frequent collaborator Adam McKay will bring the short-lived '80s TV series Manimal to the big screen.

The pair’s Gary Sanchez label will produce with Jimmy Miller’s Mosaic for Sony. Jay Martel and Ian Roberts (Key & Peele) will write the script. No director has been announced yet.

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The original Manimal told the story of Dr. Jonathan Chase (played by the late Simon MacCorkindale), a square-jawed millionaire who grew up in Africa, where he obtained the ability to shapeshift into any animal. Chase used his unique gift to fight crime alongside a beautiful police detective played by Melody Anderson, best known as Dale from 1980’s Flash Gordon.

While the original played the concept straight (to delightfully campy effect), according to Deadline, “Sony Pictures Animation’s live-action/animation hybrid will reinvent that concept as an action-comedy with heavy visual effects and animated elements.”

Only eight episodes of Manimal ever aired. In most of them Chase would transform into a hawk or a panther as the situation warranted, though he sometimes became a snake, horse, or other animal. While most transformations took place off screen, the show boasted practical effects designed by SFX legend Stan Winston.

I was fascinated with Manimal when it came out when I was a kid. I mean, a guy who can turn into a black panther or an eagle?!! Too cool! I was soooo disappointed that it was canceled so quickly.

I see good things for this movie. I can only imagine they decided they wanted to rival the great success, both financially and critically, of Rob Schneider's masterwork The Animal. I only hope it's as good as Ferrell's last TV to silver screen epic, Land of the Lost!

Holy shit that intro looks like the stupidest show in the history of TV. I was a little kid when it aired so I might have liked it if I had seen it. What did adults back in the 80's think of TV shows when these were new? Did they like it just fine or think "WTF! I hate my life for living now". Even ignoring this show, a lot of shows from then were just cheesy and had horrible acting. I just can't imagine being an adult then knowing shows like that were the only options. Maybe they didn't have anything better so it was ok for them.

Of course for all I know, the 'good' dramas or shows of today will look stupid as hell in 30 years. Imagine, a kid 30 years form now watching Breaking Bad and thinking. "WTF? Who the hell watched this shit?? This was considered good?"

Sony once again flushing money down the toilet. I would have preferred a Man from Atlantis movie that was as comedically self aware as 21 Jump Street.

Well, Manimal was considered cheesy and dumb even back then... part of why it only lasted 8 episodes. Overall I think there was just sort of a generally accepted view that tv was sort of this lesser, lower budgeted medium in many ways... even the big tv events like V were more comparable to low budget sci fi flicks of the time in terms of production values.

Plus I think people weren't quite as invested in shows as they are today, especially before VCRs were widespread. If you missed an episode you had no other option but to wait for the rerun months later, but I think few people shuffled their lives around to be home in time to watch even the good shows... unless it was a special episode or event. If you missed it, you missed it.