Kensuke's Kingdom - Cillian Murphy, Ken Watanabe

[BluBonnet]

‘Kensuke’s Kingdom’: Ken Watanabe & Aaron MacGregor Top Voice Cast Of Animated Deserted Island Adventure

Ahead of the opening of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival this weekend, Deadline can reveal an exclusive clip for buzzy competition contender Kensuke’s Kingdom.

Directed by Neil Boyle and Kirk Hendry, the hand-drawn animated feature is based on the novel by Michael Morpurgo (War Horse) which has been adapted by BAFTA Award nominee Frank Cottrell-Boyce (The Railway Man).

The epic adventure revolves around a young boy who is shipwrecked with his dog on a remote island where he encounters a hostile, old Japanese soldier who retreated there after World War Two.

The voice cast features rising newcomer Aaron MacGregor as the young protagonist and Ken Watanabe as the titular Kensuke as well as Sally Hawkins and Cillian Murphy as the boy’s parents.

The clip shows a scene in which the boy first catches a glimpse of Kensuke as he explores his new island home.

The producers are Emmy Award-winning Lupus Films animation studio founders Camilla Deakin and Ruth Fielding; Academy Award nominee Stephan Roelants at Luxembourg’s Melusine Productions; Working Title co-founder Sarah Radclyffe; Emmy and BAFTA Award-winning producer Barnaby Spurrier; Align Pictures co-founder and CEO Adrian Politowski and SVP Martin Metz as well as France’s Jean Labadie and Anne-Laure Labadie of Le Pacte.

Executive Producers are Nadia Khamlichi, Nessa McGill, Sierra Garcia, Bill Godfrey, Nick Miller, Tim Morris, Courtney Pledger, Sam Wright, Stephen Kelliher, Natascha Wharton, Kim Warner and Bizzy Day.

Bankside Films holds the global sales rights, and will be introducing the completed film to buyers at the Annecy for the first time.

Backed by the BFI, Film Fund Luxembourg and Align, the film is a Lupus Films production in association with Kensuke’s Kingdom, Jigsaw Films, Melusine Productions, Le Pacte and Bumpybox, with the support of Ffilm Cymru Wales and the Welsh government via Creative Wales.