‘Kensuke’s Kingdom’: Cillian Murphy, Ken Watanabe Join Voice Cast of Upcoming Animated Feature!!

The voice cast for new animated feature Kensuke’s Kingdom has been revealed, with Tokyo Vice’s Ken Watanabe and Peaky Blinders’ Cillian Murphy starring in the short film. A clip for the film has also been shared by Deadline ahead of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival taking place this weekend.

Watanabe and Murphy will be leading the hand-drawn animated feature. Watanabe (Godzilla: King of Monsters, Pokémon: Detective Pikachu) has lent his voice to the titular character Kensuke in the upcoming film, portraying the hostile and elderly Japanese soldier. Murphy (Inception, The Dark Knight), on the other hand, will voice the young protagonist’s father, with The Shape of Water’s Sally Hawkins voicing the protagonist’s mother. Raffey Cassidy (White Noise, The Other Lamb) will also appear in the film as a so-far unknown character named Becky.

Whilst well-known stars have formed the main cast, Kensuke’s Kingdom will see a newcomer taking on the voice of the main protagonist, Michael. Aaron MacGregor, whose acting credits so far include playing Finn in the television series Princess Mirror-Belle and appearing in a minor role in the hit period drama Outlander in 2014, will voice a young boy who finds himself washed up with his dog on Kensuke’s remote island.

The shared clip gives a glimpse of what viewers can expect of the new feature animation. In the clip, viewers can see MacGregor’s animated character exploring his new deserted island home, from balancing precariously on slippery rocks to following his beloved dog to a mysterious cave. The clip also provides a first-look at Watanabe’s character as he sits by a waterfall with an offering of fruit for the island’s resident orangutans.

What is ‘Kensuke’s Kingdom’ About?

Kensuke’s Kingdom is based on Michael Morpurgo’s work of the same name. Directed by Neil Boyle (Tom and Jerry: The Movie, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald) and Kirk Hendry (Junk, Festival Road Trip), the film tells the tale of the encounter between a young boy (MacGregor) and an old Japanese soldier (Watanabe) who retreated to the island after World War II. Emmy Award-winning producers Camilla Deakin (The Ghastly Ghoul) and Ruth Fielding (A Christmas Number One) boarded the project for Lupus Films, working alongside Stephan Roelants, Sarah Radclyffe, Barnaby Spurrier, Adrian Politowski, Martin Metz, Jean Labadie and Anne-Laure Labadie. Nadia Khamlichi, Sierra Garcia, Bill Godfrey, Nick Miller, Tim Morris, Courtney Pledger, Sam Wright, Stephen Kelliher, Natascha Wharton, Kim Warner, and Bizzy Day served as executive producers on the film.