Aniventure Debuts First Teaser For Action-Comedy ‘HITPIG’ – Exclusive
EXCLUSIVE: Cartoon Brew has the first teaser for Aniventure’s original action-comedy HITPIG. The film will be ready for market sometime later this year.
Based on characters from Pulitzer Prize-winner Berkeley Breathed’s Pete & Pickles, the film tells the story of Hitpig (Peter Dinklage), a grizzled bounty hunter, who catches escaped animals and returns them to humans for pay. Pickles (Lilly Singh), a naive, ebullient elephant who has escaped the clutches of an evil Vegas showman, becomes Hitpig’s next target. Though Hitpig initially sets out to capture the perky pachyderm for big cash, the unlikely pair find themselves on an unexpected adventure criss-crossing the globe that brings out the best in both of them, proving sometimes what we want isn’t what we need.
The film, set in a futuristic cyberpunk world, is directed by David Feiss (Cow and Chicken, Despicable Me 2) and Cinzia Angelini (Mila, Minions), produced by Adam Nagle (Riverdance: The Animated Adventure, Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank) and Dave Rosenbaum (Riverdance: The Animated Adventure, Secret Life of Pets), written by Tyler Werrin (The Lorax), with Berkeley Breathed also serving as writer, character designer, and executive producer. The cg animation is being completed at Cinesite (Iwájú, Addams Family 2) which has a multi-picture production partnership with Aniventure.
HITPIG features an all-star cast with Emmy Award-winner Peter Dinklage (Cyrano, Elf) as the title character Hitpig joined by YouTube sensation Lilly Singh (The Muppets, Mayhem, Riverdance: The Animated Adventure), Rainn Wilson (The Office) and Emmy Award-winners RuPaul (RuPaul’s Drag Race), Hannah Gadsby (Nanette), Charlie Adler (SpongeBob SquarePants, Transformers) and global pop superstar Anitta (Boys Don’t Cry, Show das ponderosas).
The musical talent: Isabella Summers (a.k.a. ISA MACHINE), who is a founding member of the baroque pop band Florence and the Machine, is composing the score, with Mary Ramos (Django Unchained, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) and Sarah Bridge (The Crown) jointly supervising the music for the film. The sound design and final mix will be led by Dennis Leonard (Sing 2, Despicable Me 3).
HITPIG is the third feature film from Aniventure, which was founded in 2014. It follows Riverdance: The Animated Feature, which was released on Netflix in January, and Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank, which will have a theatrical release in the U.S. through Paramount Animation July 22.
“Working with Berkeley and the Cinesite team to bring these incredible characters to the screen has been a personal and professional thrill,” said producer and chief creative officer Dave Rosenbaum. “It has crystalized what Aniventure is striving for – to understand characters and nuances in storytelling and to successfully translate it to outstanding animation that children and parents will love. We’re incredibly proud of the characters, story and artistry of Aniventure’s third film.”
Added Adam Nagle, producer and Aniventure’s chief commercial officer, “Aniventure’s objectives have always been focused on achieving a high quality bar and working with world-class talent, whilst holding true to an economic approach which enables our content to find a home in both well established and new distribution platforms. HITPIG is another fantastic example of this balance, and we are excited to see what the future holds for it.”
