The film hits Freevee on December 2nd!
ANIMATION MAGAZINE – Montreal-Madrid based Pink Parrot Media has announced the voice cast for its 3D animated feature Butterfly Tale at this year’s American Film Market (AFM), casting the voice talents of Tatania Maslany (She-Hulk, Trollhunters, Rise of the Titans, Bite Size Halloween) as Jennifer and Mena Massoud (Aladdin, Aladdin 2, The Royal Treatment) as Patrick/ The film is set for theatrical release in the fall of 2023.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled to have Tatiana and Mena on board to voice these characters,” said director Sophie Roy. “I’ve been following Tatiana’s career for years. She’s an exciting actress with unbelievable range second to none. She is the perfect person to play Jennifer. Finding an actor to play Patrick whose character is resilient, naive, fearless and optimistic was no easy task. Mena has all these qualities and more. I can’t wait to go into the recording studio with these two talented actors!”
Synopsis: Butterfly Tale is a heartwarming animated feature film about Patrick, a gutsy and resourceful teen butterfly who cannot fly — but won’t let that keep him down! It is a tale of adventure, self-realization and heroism, told with humor, which message is that our differences are less important than the bonds we share, and it is in adversity that our true character shines through.
“We have been eagerly looking for just the right voices to portray these two wonderful characters,” said Tania Pinto Da Cunha, VP/Partner at Pink Parrot Media. “Tatiana and Mena have an enormous amount of talent, as seen in their acting credits. We are so lucky to have these two actors as part of our feature. Together, the two of them are going to bring Patrick and Jennifer to life, ready to share the adventures we have set forth in Butterfly Tale.”
The film is produced by Marie-Claude Beauchamp of Montreal-based CarpeDiem Film & TV (Snowtime, Racetime) and Emely Christians of Germany’s Ulysses Films (The Amazing Maurice, Ooops! Noah Is Gone). The producers said in a joint comment:
“We are very happy to be producing this fantastic film full of excitement, heart and fun and that we are now able to roll-out with announcements about this amazing cast! Tatiana and Mena will inspire the success of our butterflies and carry them into the world.”
Butterfly Tale animated feature film has already been pre-sold to Canada (Vortex, Maison 4:3), CIS (Top Films), France (Wildbunch), Former Yugoslavia (Blitz), Germany (Wildbunch), Middle East (Front Row), Spain (Flins & Piniculas) and Poland & Romania (Monolith).
Directed by Roy, whose previous credits include producer on Racetime and The Legend of Sarila, the family adventure’s writing team includes Heidi Floss and Lienne Sawatsky.
As well as being an author, screenwriter, story editor and working in series development for shows on HBO, FOX, PBS, YTV, Nickelodeon and BBC, Floss is a well-known Canadian stand-up comedian. Floss recently served as story editor on the first season of Air Bud Ent.’s Pup Academy (Disney).
Sawatsky was nominated for the 2019 Canadian Screen Awards and WGC Awards for Best Writing on the animated TV series Wishfart. She is best known for her work on notable series for Disney Channel (Sidekicks), Nickelodeon (Middlemost Post), Cartoon Network (Hot Wheels: Battle Force 5) and more recently the original Netflix show Kid Cosmic.
Butterfly Tale was recognized with the Animation Screenplay Award from the 2021 Stuttgart International Animation Film Festival (IFTS).
On behalf of myself, The Mena Massoud Network visitors, and the rest of Mena’s fans, I would like to wish him a very happy 31st birthday! We all are wishing you a great year full of happiness, joy, love, luck, success, health and peace. And most importantly, thanks for being such an amazing person and inspiration to all of us.
If you’d like to wish Mena a special happy birthday wish let him know on his Instagram or Twitter!
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER – The Christmastime-set romance drama stars Madelaine Petsch and Mena Massoud and will debut in December.
Amazon Freevee has picked up its first original holiday movie, Hotel for the Holidays, to star Madelaine Petsch and Aladdin star Mena Massoud as the romantic leads.Set in the Hotel Fontaine in New York City during Christmas, the holiday pic sees Georgia, played by Petsch, as a hotel manager who attracts eclectic guests looking for an escape from their everyday lives. But Georgia’s work and personal life becomes entangled when she is caught between the charming hotel chef Luke (Massoud) and a sophisticated ex-prince staying at the hotel.
Hotel for the Holidays, produced by Brad Krevoy’s Motion Picture Corporation of America, will debut this holiday season exclusively on the Amazon Freevee streaming service in the U.S. and UK.
The ensemble cast includes Max Lloyd-Jones, Kayleigh Shikanai, Jami Belushi, Neil Crone and Jayne Eastwood (My Big Fat Greek Wedding) as Florence. Hotel for the Holidays is executive produced by Krevoy, Lorenzo Nardini, Amy Krell, David Anselmo, Susie Belzberg Krevoy and Ernie Barbarash.
The film is directed and executive produced by Ron Oliver, and written by Maggie Lane and Margarita Matthews.
MPCA’s other Christmas fare includes Netflix’s Princess Switch movies, starring Vanessa Hudgens, and Holiday in the Wild, starring Rob Lowe and Kristin Davis. Also coming from MPCA this holiday season is Netflix’s Falling for Christmas, with Lindsay Lohan.
Petsch is represented by CAA, Mosaic, The Lede Company and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson, and Christopher.
I’ve just added digital scans from the 2019 issue of Vulkan magazine into the photo gallery. Head over and enjoy!