According to Animation Magazine, Illumination Entertainment’s Untitled Pets Movie has added a few names to its voice cast. The film, planned for a 2016 release, now boasts the voice talents of Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet, and Kevin Hart.
Louis C.K. is set to voice a terrier who lives as a pet in Manhattan. Sadly, his place in the life of his owner is threatened (a la Toy Story) when his owner brings home an uncivilized mongrel named Duke, voiced by Eric Stonestreet. One thing leads to another until the terrier and Duke end up on the streets of Manhattan in an effort to stop a bunny named Snowball (voiced by Kevin Hart) from exacting revenge on all humans (as well as on all loyal pets) with his army of abandoned pets.
The film seems to me to falter on an “ok” premise that’s slightly leaning towards the “has a possibility of being good” premise. I can’t say that I’m fond of the voice cast so far; I don’t particularly feel that many comedians can be good voice actors and am afraid that the film will just be the comedians delivering their comedic routines via voice-overs. Thankfully, we have Illumination Entertainment’s The Minions to look forward to before this film is released.
The film is being directed by Chris Renaud (Despicable Me) and co-directed by Yarrow Cheney. The film is being produced by Chris Meledandri and Janet Healy.
