GKIDS announced today it will bringing the critically acclaimed French 2D feature Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia to select theaters across the U.S. at the end of summer. The film will open September 1 in New York at the Village East, in Los Angeles at the Laemmle Santa Monica and Laemmle Glendale, as well as additional markets nationwide.
Co-directed by Jean-Christophe Roger and Julien Chheng, the follow up to the Oscar-nominated Ernest & Celestine once again features the famous unlikely duo — this time returning to Ernest’s hometown in Gibberitia.
Nominated for Best Animated Feature at France’s 48th César Awards, Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia opened in French theaters in December, and had its U.S. Premiere as the opening night film of the New York International Children’s Film Festival this past March. The film has gone on to play at the San Francisco Film Festival, Seattle International Film Festival, and Chicago Critics Film Festival.
Synopsis: Ernest and Celestine return in this delightful and joyous follow-up to their first Academy Award-nominated adventure, which introduced a bear and mouse as the unlikeliest of friends. Ernest remains an ursine troubadour dedicated to a life of music and art, and his constant grouchiness is softened by the creative whims of his mouse friend Celestine. When she accidentally breaks his beloved violin, they must take a long voyage to Ernest’s country of Gibbertia, home to the only artist who can repair it. But when they arrive, they are shocked to discover that all forms of music have been banned in Gibbertia for many years, and a land once known across the world for its incredible musicians has fallen silent. It is up to Ernest and Celestine and their new friends, including a mysterious masked outlaw, to bring music and happiness back to the land of bears.
Roger, director of the Ernest & Celestine: The Collection animated series, returned to the bear and mouse adventures as co-director, joined by Emmy-nominated co-director Chheng, who previously worked on the original Ernest & Celestine feature as a character animator, and directed “The Spy Dancer” in the latest Star Wars: Visions Volume 2.
GKIDS previously handled U.S. distribution for Ernest & Celestine, which won the César Award for Best Animated Feature, before going on to earn GKIDS its third Academy Award nomination. Nearly 10 years later, GKIDS will release Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia theatrically in both its original French language and a new English dubbed version.
Today, GKIDS revealed the voice cast for the new English language dub:
- Ernest — Andrew Kishino
- Celestine — Ashely Boettcher
- Naboukov — David Lodge
- Kamelia — Anne Yatco
- Mila/Mifasol — Lena Josephine Marano
- Octavius — Bill Lobley
- Police Chief — Daniel Hagan
See a full list of release markets for Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia at ErnestAndCelestine.com.
