Kevin Lima (Tarzan, Enchanted) will direct DreamWorks Animation’s Monkeys of Mumbai, reports Heat Vision. Also aboard the project as producers are Lisa Stewart (Monsters vs. Aliens) and Chris Chase (Enchanted).
Based on a Hindu poem called “The Ramayana,” the film will detail the musical adventures of a pair of monkeys up against a supernatural demon. The original poem involves Rama (the reincarnation of Vishnu) and his quest to rescue his wife, Sita, from Ravana, the multi-armed demon king of Lanka. Monkeys play a role in the poem when Rama visits the city of Kishkindha Kanda and teams with Hanuman, a heroic monkey warrior.
Gurinder Chada and Paul Berges (Bend It Like Beckham, Bride and Prejudice) are writing the script. Stephen Schwartz (Broadway’s “Wicked”) is working on lyrics while A.R. Rahman (Slumdog Millionaire) is the film’s composer.
