Leading Japanese studio Toei has unveiled Hypergalactic, an animated family feature from the creator of Sonic the Hedgehog, which sales agent Charades will launch at the upcoming EFM.
Directed by David N. Weiss (Shrek 2, The Smurfs), the voice cast of the English-language film includes Adam Devine, J.K. Simmons, Sam Richardson and Eighth Grade star Elsie Fisher.
Paris-based Charades has taken world sales on the title, which is in post-production, and will introduce the project to buyers in Berlin next week alongside Iwashina Corporation founder Kevin Iwashina, who is also an advisor to Toei Animation.
The story follows an adventurous teenage girl, voiced by Fisher, and her baby brother in the not-so-distant future, after they liberate the forgotten protector of Earth, Ohkan (Devine), in the hopes that he can help reunite them with their missing parents.
The story and characters have been co-created by notable Japanese artist Naoto Oshima, who designed the hit global franchise Sonic the Hedgehog for Sega, and Joseph Chou, whose credits include animated series based around Blade Runner, Ghost In The Shell and Lord Of The Rings.
The film marks the biggest CGI film to date for Toei Animation, which produced The First Slam Dunk – the number one title at the Japanese box office in 2023, which grossed $279m worldwide – and One Piece Film: Red, which took more than $246.5m.
Lead producer is Yoshi Ikezawa from Toei Animation and executive producers are Kozo Morishita, Katsuhiro Takagi and Tim Kwok.
Producer Ikezawa described the film as “a multicultural adventure tale of epic scale – combining memorable global characters with a Japanese anime aesthetic and a Western approach to storytelling”.
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