‘Book of Life’ Casting News: Channing Tatum, Zoe Saldana & Christina Applegate Sign on as Voice Actors for Animated Film
When producer Guillermo del Toro brings his animated film to screens next year, he will be doing it with an all-star cast.
Book of Life will feature Channing Tatum (21 Jump Street, Magic Mike, The Vow), Diego Luna (y Tu Mama Tambien, Milk), Christina Applegate (Anchorman, Married With Children) and Zoe Saldana (Star Trek, Avatar) as its main voice actors.
The film, which is del Toro's first Mexican-set feature in 20 years, has been described as a CG-animated and action-packed Romero & Juliet-style love story set against a Mexican Day of the Dead backdrop. The main character, Manolo, will embark on a journey through three fantastical worlds as he decides whether to follow his family's expectations for him or his heart.
The film also has a heavily featured musical component with a roster of A-list recording artists performing both original and completely re-imagined covers of classic songs, according to Coming Soon.net.
Book of Life is the first animated feature that Luna and Saldana will be lending their voices to. Applegate previously voiced characters in Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore and the Alvin & The Chipmunks sequels, while Tatum is set to voice Superman in the upcoming LEGO Movie.
Jorge Gutierrez (El Tigre: The Many Adventures of Manny Rivera) acts as director, Doug Langdale is screenwriter and the film is scored by Gustavo Santaolalla (Brokeback Mountain, Babel).
The film -- which also stars Ice Cube, Kate del Castillo, Ron Perlman, Chech Marin, Hector Elizondo and Placido Domingo -- is set to be released Oct. 17, 2014.
