Hugging Lion Gets a Movie Deal

Well here's one movie we're definitely not going to make it through without crying. We can't even read the news article from MSNBC without tearing up.

Sony Pictures is in negotiations to secure the rights to the story of Christian the hugging lion and the two men, John Rendall and Anthony "Ace" Bourke, who adopted him. The movie will be based off their 1972 book, A Lion Called Christian. There was also a 1971 documentary about the boys reuniting with Christian, but this will apparently be a dramatized version. We'd rather go for the doc, but the new deal is a testament to the power of YouTube and viral cuteness.

Everyone saw that YouTube clip of Christian the Lion. He was just a baby cub when they rescued him from his cage in a high-end London department store in 1969. They tried to raise him in their flat but he got too big, so they released him back into the African wild. When they wanted to reunite with him, they were told he was the leader of his own pride and wouldn't recognize them and might even be dangerous. But when Christian saw them, it was like a slow-mo, sappy moment in a romantic comedy with "I Will Always Love You" in the background. It warmed our cynical hearts, anyway.

Check out the slide show from MSNBC on the life of Christian, too. Baby lion pictures!