Disney & Laurence Fishburne team for animated adaptation of ‘Cookies & Milk’

Pic credit: Little, Brown

Disney Television Animation is in development on Cookies & Milk, a new animated series based on the upcoming novel of the same name by Shawn Amos, with Laurence Fishburne attached to exec produce.

The semi-autobiographical novel is inspired by the childhood of Amos, a blues musician and the son of iconic Wallace “Wally” Amos Jr., founder of the Famous Amos chocolate chip cookie brand.

Fishburne and Helen Sugland will exec produce via Cinema Gypsy Productions, alongside Jesse Murphy and James Sears Bryant of Jesse James Films, alongside the author Amos. Brian Egeston will co-exec produce and serve as story editor.

Cookies & Milk will follow the summer adventures of harmonica-playing middle schooler Ellis Johnson as he begrudgingly helps his wildly optimistic and quite possibly magical father open the world’s first cookie shop in 1970s Hollywood, California.

Jesse James Films recently acquired the rights to the book, which received a six-figure advance in a two-book deal from the publisher Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, and is set to be published in Spring 2022.

This series marks the second animated project at Disney for Cinema Gypsy, which has a first-look deal with ABC Signature and is in production on Marvel’s Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur for Disney Channel.

“We’re thrilled to be collaborating with Shawn Amos, Ayo Davis and the talented team at Disney Branded Television. Shawn’s semi-autobiographical novel, Cookies & Milk, is partially based on his own experiences growing up as the son of Wally ‘Famous’ Amos.

“This humorous and heartwarming exploration of summer fun and friendship, seen through the eyes of a young Black boy being raised by his divorced father, is full of joy, self-discovery and a whole lot of unconditional love,” said Fishburne and Sugland.