Voice cast for Paul McCartney’s “High in the Clouds” revealed

From Animation Magazine, May 5, 2025:

Gaumont, the world’s ‘first film company,’ has revealed the star-studded voice cast for Paul McCartney’s High in the Clouds, a 3D CG-animated film inspired by the children’s adventure book by McCartney, Geoff Dunbar and Philip Ardagh. The roster of top-tier acting and musical talent includes:

• Himesh Patel (Yesterday) as the main character, Wirral
• Céline Dion (Academy Award winner for Best Song) as Sugartail
• Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso) as Gretsch
• Paul McCartney as McKenzie
• Idris Elba (Luther) as Barrel
• Lionel Richie as Gladstone
• Ringo Starr as Roy
• Jimmy Fallon (The Tonight Show) as Froggo
• Clémence Poésy (Harry Potter) as Doris
• Pom Klementieff (Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning) as Mina
• Alain Chabat (Night at the Museum) as Bigsby

Directed by celebrated independent animation filmmaker Toby Genkel (The Amazing Maurice), written by Academy Award winner Jon Crocker (Paddington 2) and featuring production design by Patrick Hanenberger (Rise of the Guardians, The LEGO Movie 2), High in the Clouds is a story about the power of family and freedom of expression through music.

The film will feature original songs written and composed by Academy Award winner Paul McCartney; Academy Award winner Michael Giacchino (Ratatouille, Up, Inside Out, Coco) will score the feature. The original soundtrack is set to be released by Universal Music Group.

Synopsis: After he accidentally sparked a revolution against Gretsch, the bossy diva-owl who has banned all music from his town, a teenage squirrel named Wirral embarks on an extraordinary journey to set music free.

The film is produced by McCartney (MPL Communications), Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne (Unique Features) and by Sidonie Dumas, Nicolas Atlan, and Terry Kalagian for Gaumont, in association with MPL Communications, Michele Anthony and David Blackman for Polygram Entertainment, Lemoko Investments, Sky and James L Nederlander Productions.

Award-winning Gaumont Animation is producing the feature and partnering with 88 Pictures (The Bad Guys: A Very Bad Holiday, Spirit Untamed), which is in charge of key animation elements of the film. Gaumont co-produced and distributed Ballerina (a.k.a. Leap!), which was a major hit in France and overseas in 2017.

High in the Clouds has already been sold in major territories , including the U.K. (Sky UK Ltd.), German-speaking territories (Constantin Film), Eastern Europe (Vertical/Monolith/AQS), Latin America (Imagem), CIS (Mint Films), Middle East (Four Star), South-East Asia/Taiwan/HK (A Really Good Film), Greece (Tanweer), Portugal (Cinemundo), Israel (Lev) and Baltics (Acme).