Aniventure (Riverdance: The Animated Adventure, Blazing Samurai) has announced that Brazilian singer-songwriter and global sensation Anitta is the latest A-list celebrity to add her voice to the cast of the company’s upcoming Berkeley Breathed animated feature, Hitpig. The pop star joins a roster topped by Peter Dinklage, Lilly Singh and Rainn Wilson, with RuPaul, Hannah Gadsby and Dany Boon, as previously announced.
Set in a cyberpunk world, the movie follows Hitpig (Dinklage), a pig hired by humans to bring back their escaped animals. It’s not easy, but it’s a living. His latest hit is Pickles (Singh), a naive, ebullient elephant who has escaped the clutches of an evil Vegas showman. Though Hitpig initially sets out to capture the perky pachyderm for big cash, the unlikely pair find themselves on an unexpected adventure criss-crossing the globe that brings out the best in both of them.
Anitta’s body of work includes four Latin studio albums and a multitude of collaborations. She is the most streamed artist in Brazil and captivates audiences across the globe with over 56 million Instagram followers. She has earned six Latin Grammy nominations, nine MTV EMA wins, nearly 5 billion YouTube views and 6.5 billion Spotify streams. In 2017, Anitta was chosen by Billboard as the 15th most influential artist in the world in social networks, getting ahead of artists like Lady Gaga, Shakira and Rihanna. In September of 2021, she made history as the first Brazilian artist to perform at the MTV VMAs. Most recently, Anitta released “Boys Don’t Cry,” which became the biggest solo debut by a Brazilian artist in the history of the Spotify Global Chart and broke Anitta’s record by reaching #1 on iTunes in 19 countries.
Anitta will lend her voice to the character Letícia dos Anjos, an animal liberator from Brazil. “I’m so excited to join the incredible cast in Hitpig! I can’t wait to be able to lend my voice and share this story,” the artist commented in the announcement.
Further musical talent is also being added to the film, with Isabella Summers (a.k.a. ISA MACHINE) composing the score and Mary Ramos & Sarah Bridge jointly supervising the music for the feature. Summers is an English Emmy-nominated musician, songwriter, producer, remixer and composer. She is a founding member of the Award-winning baroque pop band FLORENCE + THE MACHINE. Ramos’ credits feature some of the most popular and acclaimed film projects in recent history, including Django Unchained and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Bridge recently earned her first Emmy nomination for her work on Netflix’s Golden Globe-winning and Emmy Award-nominated period drama series The Crown.
“The dynamic trio of Isabella, Mary and Sarah electrifies our film,” said producer Dave Rosenbaum. “They’re boosting the comedy, deepening the drama, and ramping up the thrills with impressive approaches to music. We couldn’t ask for more exciting creative partners to join our riotous animal adventure.”
Directed by Cinzia Angelini (Minions) and David Feiss (Cow and Chicken), produced by Adam Nagle (Blazing Samurai) and Dave Rosenbaum (The Secret Life of Pets), the film is rooted in Pulitzer Prize-winner Berkeley Breathed’s New York Times bestseller, Pete & Pickles. It is currently in production at Cinesite in Montreal, delivering later in 2022.
