June 29, 2011

Source: THR by Alex Billington Matterhorn

Another movie based on a ride from Disneyland is in the works at, of course, Disney. THR reports that a project with the working title of The Hill is being developed by producer Justin Springer (Tron Legacy, Prom) that is inspired by the Matterhorn ride in Disneyland's Fantasyland. Yes, the giant snowy mountain is going to become an adventure movie at the hands of writer Jason Dean Hall (of Spread, Blacklight). The idea behind The Hill is to do a thrilling, fast-paced movie centering on five young adventure seekers who, for "mysterious reasons", are called to the top of the mountain and encounter a Yetis on the journey down.

The Matterhorn, or Matterhorn Bobsleds, first opened June 1959 and is a tobaggan-themed rollercoaster inspired by Walt Disney's trip to Switzerland, as it's based on an actual mountain found in the Pennine Alps. One of the favorite features of the coaster are three animatronic Yetis that growl at riders at various points on the ride. It should be interesting to see how they'll expand this mountain climbing story into something exciting to see, but I'm actually intrigued. We'll also have to see who they get attached to direct. Jon Favreau is already developing his own Disneyland-rides-come-to-life movie called Magic Kingdom, so let's hope they can find someone of that caliber to take this on. In the meantime, I really need to go visit Disneyland again!