Game of Thrones actress Emilia Clarke and Golden Globe-winning actor Hugh Laurie (House) are set to lend their voices for the animated feature The Amazing Maurice.
The voice cast also includes David Thewlis (Wonder Woman), Himesh Patel (Yesterday), Gemma Arterton (Vita & Virginia) and Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey).
It is co-directed by Toby Genkel (Two by Two: Overboard!) and Florian Westermann (Little Dodo).
The film is an adaptation of the late Terry Pratchett’s 2001 book The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, which is part of his iconic Discworld series. It is a take on the popular folk tale about the Pied Piper of Hamelin. It won the Carnegie medal that recognises the best children”s book in the UK.
The story follows a streetwise ginger cat who has the perfect money-making scam. He finds a kid who plays a pipe, and also befriends his very own horde of talking rats. When they reach the stricken town of Bad Blintz, their con game goes awry.
The film is produced by Sky, alongside Germany’s Ulysses Filmproduktion and Hamburg-based animation outfit Studio Rakete, and the UK”s Cantilever Media, and Sheffield-based animation company Red Star Animation. It is being made with the support of the Pratchett estate and is produced in association with Pratchett’s production company Narrativia.
Sky U.K. and Ireland director of Sky cinema and acquisitions Sarah Wright said in a statement, “ The Amazing Maurice is a fantastic story from a legendary author, and I couldn’t think of a better tale to bring to life as an animated film for all the family.” The film will be released by Sky Cinema in the U.K. in 2022.
Pratchett, who died in 2015, wrote 41 novels as part of the Discworld series.