Eddie Murphy to Voice Title Character in Film Version of 'Hong Kong Phooey'

Eddie Murphy, who's lent his distinctive voice to the character of Donkey in the four Shrek movies, is taking on another animated character, Hong Kong Phooey, in a film of the same name based on the Hanna-Barbera animated TV series from the ‘70s about a dog who becomes a kung fu crime fighter.

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Alex Zamm (Tooth Fairy 2) is directing Alcon Entertainment’s big screen version of Hong Kong Phooey, which will combine live action with animation. Alcon co-founders and co-CEOs Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove will produce with Jay Stern and Brett Ratner. Steven P. Wegner will exec produce.

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The property revolves around a dog, Penry, to be played by Murphy, who is granted mystic powers, including the ability to walk, talk and do kung fu. Donning a costume to become Hong Kong Phooey, he sets out to combat criminals. Scatman Crothers provided the character’s voice in the TV series.

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Murphy, repped by WME and Ziffren Brittenham’s Skip Brittenham and Matt Johnson, also voiced the character of Mushu, the Dragon, in Dreamworks Animation’s Mulan. He’ll next be seen in Universal’s Tower Heist, starring opposite Ben Stiller for director Ratner, and Dreamworks’ A Thousand Words. Zamm is repped by Gersh and Ensemble Entertainment.

Alcon’s in-house counsel David Fierson negotiated the deal on behalf of his company.