"Madea" getting animated for new project

By Steven Zeitchik

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Tyler Perry is turning Madea into a cartoon.

The prolific creator of the feisty old lady known for her hard-bitten wisdom about family and life has teamed up with animation company Exodus Film Group for the untitled series.

He will create, write and executive produce an undetermined number of 22-minute standalone episodes, and also provide the voice of Mabel "Madea" Simmons.

Exodus will finance the project, which could go to a television network, to DVD, or to both.

Perry has turned his Madea plays into such movie box office hits as "Madea's Family Reunion" and "Diary of a Mad Black Woman." The next Madea feature, "Meet the Browns," will be out next month from Lionsgate. He also has written for television with the current TBS series "Tyler Perry's House of Payne."

Perry, who has never written an animated project before, said his goal was to take the more adult-themed Madea and gear it toward younger viewers. "A lot of the plays were not kid-friendly . . . I wanted to do something more appropriate and this seems to be it," he said.

Exodus is teaming with studios on a number of film projects, including the John Cusack- and John Cleese-voiced "Igor" with the Weinstein Co. and "The Hero of Color City," which Magnolia is distributing.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter