Here’s another upcoming Hollywood project to file under the “WTF” category: producer Don Murphy (Transformers, Real Steel) is apparently setting up a live action adaptation of the early ’90s animated series Captain Planet and the Planeteers. The show ran for six seasons and also spawned a toy line, comic book, and a handful of video games. It was born out of the sudden wave of concern for the environment at the beginning of the ’90s, and aimed to educate kids about pollution and alternative energy sources (and teamwork!). Magic rings are given to five kids across the globe (The Planeteers), allowing them to control various elements of nature and also to combine their powers to summon Captain Planet himself. Yeah, it’s about as lame as it sounds, although maybe I was just a little too old to truly appreciate it at the time.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Murphy and his producing partner Susan Montford are teaming up with the Cartoon Network to get the movie off the ground. This, along with the announcement of a Joel Silver-produced Ben 10 movie, marks the networks first foray into live action feature films. Apparently cartoons alone just aren’t paying the bills anymore. Murphy had this to say:

“We are extremely excited about bringing the good Captain back to life. His adventures are known worldwide and he is recognized across generations. We expect to make a spectacular series of films with the amazing team at Cartoon Network.”

Personally I’m not sure that this show holds the same element of nostalgia that certain other retro cartoons might hold, but he’s right that the brand is at least familiar to people all around the world. Either way, it will still be a challenge to overcome the squeaky clean do-gooder image of the show and make it seem hip. On the bright side, the villains from the original show had an impressive voice cast that included James Coburn, Martin Sheen, Ed Asner, Sting, Meg Ryan and Jeff Goldblum. Let’s get some of them back on board (okay, maybe not Coburn)! What do you think, does a live action Captain Planet movie actually have potential?