Brad Bird, ‘Gatto’ Ricky Gervais ‘Daffy Season’

The Annecy International Animation Film Festival has unveiled an extensive Special Events program led by Brad Bird’s ‘Ray Gunn’, Pixar’s ‘Gatto’, Ricky Gervais’ ‘Alley Cats’ and a ‘Rick & Morty’ spin-off.

In a highly anticipated return to Annecy from two-time Academy Award winner Brad Bird, he will guide an audience through the upcoming feature film “Ray Gunn” at a Next on Netflix showcase, one of the biggest events at the French festival, the largest animation gathering in the world.

A passion project more than thirty years in the making, Ray Gunn is a Skydance animated film written, directed and produced by Bird, with Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell and Tom Waits already announced as voice actors. In a moderated conversation on stage, the visionary director of ‘Iron Giant’ and ‘Incredibles’ will provide personal insight into this project.

Announcing the lineup Tuesday at France’s CNC National Film Board in Paris, festival artistic director Marcel Jean also confirmed that Netflix will also unveil an exclusive preview of next year’s animated “Ghostbusters” series, with showrunners Ben Hibon and Elliott Kalan introducing their upcoming addition to the spooky franchise.

In addition to this presentation, Netflix also brings “Alley Cats” by Ricky Gervais to Annecy. The upcoming potentially outrageous and emotional adult animated comedy about a pack of feral cats will be the focus of an exclusive masterclass by the multi-award winning comedian and creator. As part of the discussion, Netflix will also provide a worldwide exclusive sneak peek of the first two episodes ahead of the series debut this summer.

As part of his invitation to Annecy to receive an Honorary Cristal, legendary “King of the Hill” director Mike Judge will also give a masterclass ahead of a pre-release preview of season 15 of the hit series. To present the new season, Judge is joined by executive producer and co-creator Greg Daniels and season 15 showrunner Saladin K. Patterson.

Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios travel from California to Annecy with two back-to-back presentations, an absolute highlight of Annecy’s Friday in recent years.

Ahead of its November 25 release, “Hexed” directors Fawn Veerasunthorn, Jason Hand and Josie Trinidad will take the stage to unveil never-before-seen footage from the studio’s upcoming original feature film, an all-new magical coming-of-age saga starring Hailee Steinfeld and Rashida Jones.

Pixar follows up with a behind-the-scenes look at their upcoming feature film “Gatto,” which was first announced on the same stage last year. Academy Award-nominated director Enrico Casarosa transports audiences to a world of Venetian canals, feline mafia bosses and terrifying superstition. In this exclusive presentation, Annecy audiences will learn more about the film’s creative ethos and unique, hand-painted animation style, and how Casarosa and his team at Pixar brought this original story to life.

In addition to this sneak peek, audiences will also be treated to a special look at Pixar’s upcoming all-new short film. directed by Enrico Casarosa and Lou Hamou-Lhadj and produced by Mary Alice Drumm.

After previously announcing several sneak peeks and exclusive previews, Warner Bros. Animation and Adult Swim delight the hearts of comics, toons and adult animation fans throughout Annecy. The world premiere of “Daffy Season,” the latest addition to “Looney Tunes” as the fan-favorite Duck turns 90 next year, will be accompanied by a first look at “The Cat in the Hat,” which was presented in Annecy last year as a Work-in-Progress. The presentation will conclude with a preview of Warner Pictures Animation’s upcoming lineup, with Warner Bros. in attendance. Animation Pictures president Bill Damashke and the directors.

In addition, Adult Swim will once again shake up Annecy with major sneak previews, from the world premiere and making-of of their new series “President Curtis,” co-created by Rick & Morty producers Dan Harmon and James Siciliano and starring Keith David as Curtis, to a first glimpse of “My Two Cars,” a new Adult Swim comedy created by Dan Licata and Joe Pera.

Independent animation studio Laika and Aardman will both unveil the first images from their upcoming projects, with LAIKA CEO Travis Knight presenting behind-the-scenes and preview images from “Wildwood,” which will also be exhibited as part of the Annecy International Animation Institute’s inaugural exhibitions.

Other highlights in the extensive program of special events include previews of DreamWorks’ upcoming ‘Forgotten Island’ and of the cult comic book adaptation ‘Rogue Trooper’, along with French animation giant Folivari’s upcoming project ‘Children of Liberty’ and Rémi Chayé’s new film ‘Fleur’.