Finally, some good news about Puerto Rico: The Jennifer Lopez-produced Bob the Builder animated movie is moving forward at Amazon MGM Studios, and after Donald Trump’s 2017 paper towel stunt in Puerto Rico post-Hurricane Maria, and Tony Hinchcliffe’s more recent trashy joke about the island, the film promises to shine a more positive light on the U.S. territory.
Deadline says the movie will star Anthony Ramos (Twisters, Hamilton) as Roberto, or Bob, and Ramos’s idea was to set the film, based on the popular children’s TV show, in Puerto Rico. Ramos is an American of Puerto Rican descent, as is Lopez, whose Nuyorican Productions and animation studio ShadowMachine won an intense bidding war involving Netflix and Dreamworks for the Mattel property.
Ramos, who will also co-produce, hopes Bob’s slogan “Yes, we can,” translated to “Si se puede” in Spanish, will send a positive message about Puerto Rico and Latino culture. Felipe Vargas (Rosario) will write the script. “For years, Bob the Builder’s characters have inspired young people around the world,” Ramos told Variety.
He added, “A movie about friends working together, a celebration of a beautiful home they share, and how love can help to conquer any obstacle in your way. Can we fix it? Yes, we can!”
Puerto Ricans and the 2024 election
Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in 2017, killing around 3,000 Puerto Ricans, according to CBS News, and leaving thousands more without power and vital supplies for weeks. Amid frustration over the Federal Government’s slow response, then-President Trump visited the island that year and was criticized for tossing paper towels to the crowd, hoping for more substantial support. About eight years later, Trump and Puerto Rico’s relationship remained rocky when comedian Tony Hinchcliffe called the island “a pile of garbage” at Trump’s Madison Square Garden campaign rally.
After Hinchcliffe’s joke, Ramos voiced a campaign ad supporting Harris-Walz, calling on Puerto Rican Americans and Latinos as a whole to “decide this election” for the Democrats and “say no to the politics of hate and division.” Ramos also endorsed Harris-Walz at a Pennsylvania campaign stop.
“It wasn’t just Puerto Ricans that were offended that day,” Lopez said
Lopez, too, along with many other famous Puerto Ricans and those of Puerto Rican descent like Bad Bunny, Aubrey Plaza, and Ricky Martin, took offense at Hinchcliffe’s words and the Trump campaign’s continued demonization of Latino culture and immigrants, saying at a Harris campaign rally, “At Madison Square Garden, he reminded us who he really is and how he really feels,” referring to Trump. J-Lo continued, “It wasn’t just Puerto Ricans that were offended that day. It was every Latino in this country. It was humanity and anyone of decent character.”
It’s unclear when to expect Lopez and Ramos’ Bob the Builder adaptation or if it will premiere in theaters or stream on Prime. It follows Mattell’s Barbie smash hit, and Bob has been a beloved character for preschoolers and their families for decades, so it promises to do well regardless of where it ends up.
Lopez and Ramos have not so far commented on their decision to set the movie in Puerto Rico in the context of the current U.S. political climate. But one social media comment, at least, noticed the timing: “Wonder what Tony [Hinchcliffe’s] Letterboxd review gonna be like,” which, if you ask us, is a much better joke than what the Texas roast comic said at MSG.
