EAST LONGMEADOW – Happy Gilmore is headed for Gum Drop Mountain.



Actor Adam Sandler has signed a deal with Sony and Hasbro, which manufactures the Candy Land board game at its East Longmeadow plant, to make a movie based on the colorful children's board game that sends kids on a colorful quest to find the lost King Kandy, the Imperial Head Bonbon and Grand Jujube of Candy Land and his lost Castle.

"I think it will be a movie for the whole family," said Wayne S. Charness, senior vice president of communications for Rhode Island-based Hasbro. "It's such a beloved brand. You just think about all the imagery in the game, and you can imagine what a wonderful world it will make on the screen."



Candy Land is just one of movie projects involving Hasbro's games and toys. "Battleship," an action movie without the little plastic pegs, opens in May.



It is too early to tell when Adam Sandler's "Candy Land" is expected to hit theaters, Charness said.



Earlier this week, Hasbro announced a deal to make a movie based on the Stretch Armstrong toy from the 1970s. "We've really moved from being a toy and game company to a branded play company," Charness said. "We are really about the immersive brand experience."



He said the "immersive brand experience" includes movies, television and electronic games and toys.



"You can play Monopoly the game across the table from your family," he said "You can play Monopoly on your iPhone."



Hasbro doesn't announce its full financial results for the year 2011 until Monday.



But last month Hasbro announced preliminary results saying it expects to report approximately 7 percent revenue growth for the full year 2011 from the $4 billion in revenue reported in 2010. For the fourth quarter 2011, the company anticipates revenues to be approximately $1.33 billion compared to $1.28 billion in 2010.



Analysts found those results disappointing based on the performance of rival Mattel, according to published reports. Holiday sales were sluggish for the company. Mattel reported that it had four of the five best-selling toys of the holiday season.



Hasbro makes Monopoly games, which retail for $9.99 on the company's website, at its sprawling factory in East Longmeadow. The company has about 700 employees, although the game-design and development staff were moved to Rhode Island last year.



The former Milton Bradley Co. started making Candy Land in 1949, said Guy A. McLain, director of the Lyman & Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History.



Milton Bradley wanted a simple game for preschoolers, and Candy Land fit the bill because it didn't require children to read, only to match colors.



Milton Bradley's timing couldn't have been better. The Baby Boom was on its way in 1949, and many of those young families bought Candy Land.



The first games had wooden pieces and cost $1, according to the Hasbro website. Milton Bradley came out with a 45 rpm record about Candy Land that same year.



"In the idyllic America of the 1950s, Candy Land would have been a big part of your childhood," McLain said. "My understanding is it is still one of their most popular games."



Hasbro bought Milton Bradley in 1985.

