Netflix has unveiled a packed line-up of animated feature films and series that it will be taking to France’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June.
Riding high on the Best Animated Feature Film Oscar win for Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio and the Primetime Emmy for Arcane, the platform is gearing up for one of its biggest outings to the lakeside festival to date.
Topping its Annecy slate is an exclusive screening of Nimona, starring Chloë Grace Moretz, Riz Ahmed and Eugene Lee Yang in the voice cast.
The fantasy tale, set in a techno-medieval world, follows the adventures of a shapeshifting teen, tackling ideas of labels and acceptance at the same time.
It is the first production to come out of Annapurna’s new animation division which was launched at the end of 2022 and helped save the film with Netflix after Disney dropped the project.
Directors Nick Bruno and Troy Quane, creator ND Stevenson, producers Karen Ryan and Julie Zackary and production designer Aidan Sugano will attend the world premiere in Annecy’s main Bonlieu theatre on June 14.
The team will also participate in a special “Making of” session the next day.
Further highlights of Netflix’s Annecy line-up will include a sneak peek of the coming-of-age animated musical comedy Leo, starring Adam Sandler as a 74-year-old class pet lizard.
The platform will also unveil an exclusive clip from Exploding Kittens, the new adult animated comedy series starring Tom Ellis and Lucy Liu.
The official synopsis describes it as capturing the eternal conflict between Heaven and Hell, when God and the Devil are sent to earth, in the bodies of chunky house cats.
The creative team behind the upcoming stop-motion sequel Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget – led by director Sam Fell, executive producer Peter Lord and producer Leyla Hobart – will participate in a conversation about the project.
More details on Blue Eye Samurai will also be revealed in a conversation with creator and executive producers Michael Green and Amber Noizumi as well as supervising director Jane Wu.
The tale of a mixed-race master of the sword who lives a life in disguise while seeking revenge in Edo-period Japan, features Maya Erskine, George Takei, Masi Oka, Randall Park, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Brenda Song; Darren Barnet and Kenneth Branagh in the voice cast.
The platform has also further project announcements including details on new film The Monkey King.
Beyond feature films, the platform also has a presence in the festival’s TV competition, with episodes of Agent Elvis, Mech Cadets, ONI: Thunder God’s Tale and The Sandman.
The Annecy International Film Festival runs from June 11 to 17.
