Oscar-nominated and three-time Golden Globe-winning actor Liam Neeson is joining the list of stars lending their voices to The Nut Job, a new animated comedy feature from ToonBox Entertainment (Canada) and Redrover Co., Ltd. (Korea). The voice cast already includes Katherine Heigl, Will Arnett, Brendan Fraser, Stephen Lang, Sarah Gadon and comedian Jeff Dunham. The film is currently in production with plans for a 2013 release.
Directed by former Disney animator Peter Lepeniotis from a script by fellow Disney alum Lorne Cameron, the film is based on Lepionitis 2005 short Surly Squirrel and is an action-packed comedy set in the fictional 1950s town of Oakton which follows the travails of Surly, a mischievous squirrel, and his rat friend Buddy. The two plan a nut store heist of outrageous proportions and unwittingly find themselves embroiled in a much more complicated adventure that brings them face-to-face with unsavory characters like the villainous Raccoon to be played by Neeson.
This is the first feature ToonBox is producing with Redrover, in association with Gulfstream Pictures (U.S. sales). Thom Chapman and Graham Moloy produce. Daniel Woo, Hong Kim, Mike Karz and Tom Yoon exec produce, in association with Gulfstream, headed by Karz and Bill Bindley. Neeson recently starred in Taken 2 and will also be providing a voice for the upcoming animated film LEGO: The Piece of Resistance.
