Neon Announces Stellar Voice Cast for Annecy Winner ‘Arco,’ Which Will be Released Nov. 14 within the U.S.

Indie powerhouse Neon introduced at present that it’s going to launch the English-language model of Annecy prime prize winner Arco on Nov. 14 within the U.S. The new voice solid options Will Ferrell, America Ferrera, Flea, Natalie Portman, Mark Ruffalo and Andy Samberg. The movie is directed by breakthrough French filmmaker Ugo Bienvenu, making his function debut, and produced by Remembers’ Bienvenu and Felix de Givry and mountainA’s Natalie Portman and Sophie Mas. The movie premiered as a Special Screening on the Cannes Film Festival in May and went on to win the Cristal Award for Best Feature Film and Soundtrack at Annecy in June. The English-language model can have its world premiere within the Centerpiece part of the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7.

Described as a magical and fantastically animated journey by way of time, Arco chronicles the adventures of a10-year-old boy from a peaceable, distant future who by accident travels again to the yr 2075 and discovers a world in peril. As Arco develops a captivating and touching friendship with a younger woman named Iris, they band collectively and alongside along with her trusted robotic caretaker Mikki, set out on a quest to get Arco dwelling, whereas the 2 youngsters may additionally be the one ones who can save our planet.

Natalie Portman produced and voices one of many fundamental characters in “Arco,” which is able to premieres on the Toronto Festival in September.

In the previous few years, Neon has emerged as a powerful champion of acclaimed animated options from all over the world. The indie launched Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s Flee in 2021, which went on to be nominated for 3 Oscars ( Animated Feature, Documentary and International Feature) and gained the Annie for Best Indie Animated Feature. Neon was additionally the distributor of Pablo Berger’s acclaimed 2023 animated function Robot Dreams, which was nominated for the Best Animated Feature Oscar and gained the Annie for Best Indie Animated Feature in 2024. It has additionally distributed Oscar-winning live-action titles such Parasite, Anatomy of a Fall and Anora, which gained the Oscar for Best Feature earlier this yr.

Although that is Bienvenu’s first feature-length movie, he’s no stranger to the world of animation. After attending prime faculties comparable to Estienne, Gobelins, CalArts and the Paris School of Decorative Arts, he has created a number of comic-books, directed movies and shorts (together with 2013’s Maman) and directed the 2013 animated Marvel TV mini-series Ant-Man.

As at all times, the final two months of the yr are shaping as much as be fairly a busy interval for animated award season contenders. Netflix will introduce Alex Woo’s early favourite In Your Dreams on Nov. 24, and Disney releases Zootopia 2 on Nov. 26. Then, there’s Mamoru Hosoda’s Scarlet which is slated for Dec. 12 by way of Sony Pictures and Paramount’s The SpongeBob Movie: The Search for SquarePants on Dec 19. The checklist of huge award hopefuls consists of GKIDS’ Little Amelie or the Character of Rain, slated for the fourth quarter. Of course, the simple cash is on Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation’s crowd-pleasing favourite KPop Demon Hunters, which has proved to be one of many greatest films of the yr, each by way of streaming recognition and optimistic evaluations. DreamWorks’ Bad Guys 2, which has amassed over $120 million worldwide since its launch on Aug. 1, can also be a powerful contender and has a wholesome 86% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.