The last time we heard of the Argentinean animated film Metegol, it was being picked up by The Weinstein Company for an English-language release, now titled Underdogs. Now we bring new developments on the film, including the official cast and a new release date.
According to Collider, the English-language voice cast will consist of Ariana Grande, Nicholas Hoult, Matthew Morrison, Katie Holmes, John Leguizamo, Eugenio Derbez, Taran Killam, Bobby Moynihan, and Chazz Palminteri.
Morrison will voice Jake, a talented foosball player who has eyes for Laura, who’s voiced by Grande. Hoult will voice the film’s main villain Ace, a local bully turned star soccer player who comes home to level the town and turn it into a sports stadium.
Surprisingly, the cast isn’t as star studded as you might expect. Glee fans may recognize Morrison, while Hoult has been gaining star power thanks to his role in the recent X-Men films, and then of course there’s Ariana Grande. But overall its not as heavy on the star power (make of that what you will).
Deadline has also reported that the film has nabbed a new release date. Originally set for January 15 after having been moved from its original August 27 release date, the date has now shifted once again and Underdogs is now officially set to open on April 10, 2015, where the film will compete with Fox’s The Longest Ride and Paramount’s The Moon and the Sun. The film’s original January time slot will now be filled in by the Live-Action/CG adaptation of Paddington, shifted from its original Christmas 2014 release window.
While no official reason were given for Underdog‘s release shift, Deadline did state that the film is currently undergoing script changes in order to accommodate the voice cast. It’s also possible that because of these changes, said voice cast may have yet to start recording.
With a budget of only $21 million, it’s actually the most expensive Argentinian/Latin-American animated film ever produced (keep in mind that they don’t quite have the high-end resources that the US has). Reviews for the film have so far been mixed across the board; however, it did win the Grand Prize Award for a feature film at the New York International Children’s Film Festival, so its success in stateside theaters will definitely depend on the strength of the English-language script.
Here s the official synopsis for Underdogs:
From Academy Award® winning director Juan Campanella comes UNDERDOGS, an animated comedy with a little bit of magic and a whole lot of heart. Jake is a shy, but talented, foosball player. His passion for the game is rivaled only by his love for free-spirited Laura. With her encouragement, he beats the town bully, Ace, in a foosball game. But everything changes when Ace becomes the world’s best soccer player and returns years later to turn their village into a new sports stadium. He starts to destroy everything and kidnaps Laura in the process. Just when it looks like all hope is lost, the toy figures from Jake’s foosball table come to life! He and the players embark on a wild adventure to save Laura and reclaim their village. With the help of his team, his town, and a little bit of magic, Jake will try to save the day.
What do you think? Does this news make you more excited for the film?
