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Manchester-based animation company Cosgrove Hall have announced plans to bring back one of their most beloved characters, one-eyed superhero "Danger Mouse". The world's greatest secret agent is set to return in an all-new feature-length film, to be shown in cinemas worldwide this Christmas.

The White Wonder's comeback was originally conceived as a 3D project, in the vein of box-office hits "Toy Story" and "Shrek". However, after American backers voiced concern about the poor performance of recent 3D productions "Ice Age" and "Jimmy Neutron - Boy Genius", the studio decided to adopt a more revolutionary approach.

"We realised that Danger Mouse didn't need to be animated", said a Cosgrove Hall spokesman. "Our research indicates that today's children are simply too sophisticated for this format. Statistics show that kids as young as three months can identify animated characters as 'boring' by yawning and looking away when exposed to them".

Jason: Body stocking

So where does that leave a company whose reputation is based on strong character animation? "We don't see it as a problem" said one of the studio's senior designers, "because part of that strong characterization comes from our voice talent, in particular David Jason as Danger Mouse. In fact, as one of Britain's best-loved celebrities, David is our chief asset on this project." The studio went on to announce that the Danger Mouse movie will now be a live action production starring Jason himself in a white body stocking. "Some people may argue that it's misleading to call it an animated film. But we're going to add cartoon mouse ears to David's head in every frame during post-production." said the movie's senior producer. He continued, "Although David's involvement virtually guarantees success in this country, he's not an international star. So, for overseas releases, we're also producing a specially edited version in which David's face is digitally replaced by Bruce Willis."

Fans of the 80s show will notice further changes in the new movie, most notably in location. Danger Mouse originally had his headquarters in a pillar box in London, but this was declared to be unacceptable for foreign markets. "We're faced with the challenging situation where Danger Mouse is a British hero, but must appeal to an international audience", continued the producer. "A survey showed that 96% of Americans were frightened and confused by the idea of a film depicting events in Europe". The studio resisted initial efforts to move the setting to an American city, the approach recently adopted in the movie adaptation of Nick Hornby's popular novel "High Fidelity". "We looked to what's popular with modern kids for a solution," the studio claimed, "and we found that Japanese cartoons, such as Pokemon, are particularly good at crossing cultural boundaries." It was then revealed that the Danger Mouse movie will be set in a 22nd century post-apocalyptic city named Neo Tokyo. "The image of the red pillar box is clearly no longer appropriate, although we did find that David's small enough to comfortably fit in one", laughed the film's art director. "So DM will now live in an artifical volcano which transforms into a giant crimefighting robot. We don't think anyone will notice the change." A full-size replica of the futuristic city is under construction in the studio's model stage, where children's favourites "The Wind in the Willows" and "Noddy" were also created.

Of course, the question on the minds of most Dangermouse fans is - what about Penfold? The voice of Danger Mouse's erstwhile assistant was originally provided by BBC star Terry Scott, who died in 1994. The studio considered many solutions as to how to fill the late actor's shoes. "Obviously no-one could 'be' Penfold in
quite the same way as Terry", said the film's chief director, "So it became necessary to rethink the character. We've been accused of sexism in the past, so this seemed like a good opportunity to redress the balance. Penfold will now be more of an Emma Peel character, sophisticated and glamorous but also tough. And with a catsuit, definitely a catsuit. Admittedly, that means making him a woman rather than a hamster. But fans needn't worry, as she'll still wear spectacles and say 'Cor!'". When asked who might take on the role, he replied "We're sworn to secrecy on that one, but let's just say Liz Hurley's a big fan of the series".		Hurley: Hamster face
If the Danger Mouse movie enjoys the international success of recent Brit animation "Chicken Run", Cosgrove Hall's film-making future looks bright. A live-action movie of the studio's cult children's classic "Jamie and the Magic Torch" is already in the planning stages, and future projects are rumoured to include a film of fellow 70s favourite "Chorlton and the Wheelies" starring John Goodman as the bumbling, rotund dragon. "That's gradely", as Chorlton would say.

Danger Mouse: The Movie opens in cinemas in December 2002.

• Jamie and the Magic Torch movie: BBC News online
• Animation World Network: www.awn.com
• Dangermouse at Cosgrove Hall Ate My Brain

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