Viva Pictures Acquires U.S. Rights To ‘Pets On A Train,’ Releases First Teaser For ‘Grand Prix Of Europe’

Animation distributor Viva Pictures, which focuses on importing mostly foreign cg-animated children’s and family films into the U.S. marketplace, announced today that it has acquired the upcoming feature Pets on a Train for U.S. distribution.

The French comedy-adventure is directed by Benoît Daffis (Pil, Terra Willy) and Jean-Christian Tassy (The Jungle Bunch: World Tour, Pil) and produced by Toulouse-based Tat Productions, which is also producing Netflix’s upcoming series Astérix & Obélix: The Big Fight.

Viva will release the film domestically on October 17. Per the released synopsis:

When a crew of animal bandits embark on a fairly routine swindle, they find themselves caught up in a high-tech, professional train heist. It’s up to Falcon, a petty thief raccoon and Rex, a righteous police-dog, to save the animals stuck onboard this high-speed runway train.

Victor Elizalde, CEO of Viva Pictures, said in a statement:

Pets on a Train is a thrilling train-heist story that will be sure to keep the whole family on the edge of their seats. We are delighted to build on our past successes with Tat Productions to bring this adventure to the silver screen. Our recent triumphs with HitPig! and Night of the Zoopocalypse further solidifies the industry’s insatiable appetite for quality kids animated content. We look forward to continuing to bring top-tier films into the market.

Viva also released the first teaser trailer for the previously-announced Grand Prix of Europe, a tie-in film for the German theme park Europa-Park, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.

Grand Prix, produced by Mack Magic and animated by Mack Animation (Animals United, Monster Family franchises), will release on August 22. Watch the trailer below: