"I Am The Walrus": Paul McCartney Gets Role In 'High In The Clouds'
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Paul has really been sitting in an English garden waiting for the sun on this one. After 15 years in the making, Sir Paul McCartney's children's book, High in the Clouds, is getting an animated feature-length film adaptation. The story follows Wirral the Squirrel, a young squirrel who lives with his mother. His mother lost her voice due to the devilish dictator Gretch, who has banned all music from their town. Now, Wirral must team up with members of a rebellion called The Underground and his mother's former band called The Sweets to overthrow Gretch and regain the voices of many. It is a reimagining of the original tale, which has Wirral being left without a home after human land developers attack his home.
The cast includes Himesh Patel (who also starred in the Beatles-themed movie musical, Yesterday) as Wirral, Celine Dion as his mother, Sugartail, Hannah Waddingham as the diva dictator Gretch, Idris Elba (also known for playing Knuckles in the Sonic Cinematic Universe) as Wirral's father, Barrel, Pom Klementieff as Mina, Lionel Richie as Gladstone, Alain Chabat as Bigbsy, Jimmy Fallon as Froggo, and Clémence Poésy as Doris. In addition, the film features a Beatles reunion. Ringo Starr plays a drumming ostrich named Roy, and just like it says in “Glass Onion,” the walrus is Paul McCartney, as the singer will play a left-handed walrus bass player named McKenzie. The character is a nod to the song “I Am the Walrus,” a nonsensical song the late John Lennon wrote as a response to people overanalyzing his music. Lennon also inspired the character of Wirral, with McCartney saying, “If you asked him something, he could always have a quick, snappy answer.” McCartney also said that the character of Sugartail was inspired by his later wife, Linda. “Sugartail is like Linda - she's strong and resourceful.”
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Stills and artwork from the film were presented at the Annecy International Film Festival. High in the Clouds will be produced and distributed by Gaumont. Gaumont gave a 105-minute presentation at the festival, which included a video message from McCartney. Out of respect for his late wife Linda, McCartney also declined any fast-food tie-ins.
Paul McCartney composed 13 songs for the film, but only six were used. In addition, the songs will be different than the versions heard during the presentation, depending on when in the film they will be and according to the singer. Two song titles were teased in the behind-the-scenes promo, and they were “Happy Morning” and “I Will Always Be There.” However, the film isn't a musical but rather about “the power music has,” as emphasized by Gaumont executive Terry Kalagian.
The panel was hosted by Kalagian, president of global animation at Gaumont, the film's director, Toby Genkel, and project supervisor Christian DeVita. The film will be produced by Paul McCartney through his company, MPL Communications. “Working with Paul really moved this movie from being a beautiful independent film into something that we believe will be a global brand, that will attract audiences from little kids to grandmothers and grandfathers,” Kalagian stated.
High in the Clouds is slated for a 2027 theatrical release.
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Sources: Screen Daily, Variety
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