Walt Disney Studios have secured the film rights to the Israeli documentary Dolphin Boy, which they plan to adapt into a feature film. Justin Zacham (The Bucket List) will pen the feature presentation, which Mandeville Films will present.
The original documentary was penned by duo Dani Menkin and Yonatan Nir, and tells the true story of an Arab teenager who becomes traumatized after a violent attack. Slowly but surely, the teenager learns to cope and recover with the help of dolphins.
Dolphin Boy was shown at festival circuits throughout 2011, and garnered many positive reviews during its circuit. Now, Disney wants to adapt the documentary for a feature film because they believe the movie will have potential as one of their lower-budget family films. David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman of Mandeville Films are slated to produce the pic.
While we don’t know much about the studio’s adaptation plans, we’ll keep you updated when more news becomes available.
