HITPIG! Aniventure's next animated film
Aniventure has revealed the voice cast for its new animated film, HITPIG!, along with a first look at the Berkeley Breathed project concept art and pig plot details.
Peter Dinklage, the Golden Globe and four-time Primetime Emmy winner Game of Thrones, and Lilly Singh, host of NBC's late night series A little late with Lilly Singh, will lead the cast in the roles of Hitpig and Pickles. Rainn Wilson, best known for his role as Dwight Schrute on the NBC sitcom The office, for which he garnered three consecutive Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, will voice the villain.
Other cast members include RuPaul, the producer and host of series of reality contests RuPaul's Drag Race, for which he received eight Primetime Emmy Awards; Hannah gadsby, the Australian comedian and writer who won an Emmy for her stand up sensation Nanette and was nominated for her most recent special Douglas; is Dany Boon, the French comedian, actor and director who won a 2018 César Award for his action comedy Raid: special unit.
Directed in his first feature film by the animator and storyboard artist Cinzia Angelini (Minions, Despicable Me 3, Open season) and Maurizio Parimbelli (animation director, Peter Rabbit TV series; co-director, The smelly and dirty show) and produced by Adam Nagle (Riverdance: The Animated Adventure) and Dave Rosenbaum (The secret life of pets), the film is currently in production at Cinesite, due out in early 2022.
Set in a futuristic cyberpunk world, HITPIG! it's a wild ride that sometimes proves that what we want is not what we need. Hitpig (Dinklage) is a grizzled pig bounty hunter who accepts his next hit: Pickles (Singh), a gullible and feisty elephant who has escaped the clutches of an evil billionaire. Although Hitpig initially sets out to capture the lively pachyderm, the unlikely pair find themselves on an unexpected globe-spanning adventure that brings out the best in both.
“Peter will bring an equal share of a huge heart and fantastic humor to his character,” said Angelini.
Parimbelli added: "There is no one more fun than Lilly, but she will also bring a warm and loving side to Pickles."
Some of Berkeley Breathed's concept art for HITPIG! Breathed, who co-wrote the script and also serves as the character designer for the film, is an American cartoonist, children's book creator, director and screenwriter, best known for creating the classic. Bloom County, a comic from the 80s with Opus the Penguin. At the peak of its popularity, the comic was followed by over 40 million readers in 1.200 newspapers. The Hitpig & Pickles characters are rooted in Berkeley's New York Times bestselling picture book Pete & Pickles.
“When Peter and Lilly agreed to voice our main characters, it was one of those rare moments of voilå for a writer and artist when the final perfect ingredients are added to the prepared imaginative souffle,” said Breathed. “They will bring heartfelt and hilarious performances to our main characters and deliver the message and theme that I intended when I conceived the story, the hope that an unexpected connection can offer in our disconnected lives. I am in humble awe of our entire crew and the endless reserves of ingenuity they are bringing to this film. "
HITPIG extension! is one of three previously announced feature films on Aniventure's slate. The London-based animation production studio has unveiled it Riverdance: The Animated Adventure (produced by Aniventure and River Productions) based on the phenomenon of the play of the same name and Flaming Samurai (Aniventure and Blazing Productions), based on the Mel Brooks classic Fiery saddles and directed by Mark Koetsier (story artist, Il Grinch) and supervised and produced by Rob Minkoff (director, The Lion King). Riverdance: The Animated Adventure, Blazing Samurai e HITPIG! will be delivered in 2020, 2021 and 2022 respectively.
