(Source: www.variety.com)
Somewhat surprisingly, the success of Tim Burton's Corpse Bride and Trey Parker & Matt Stone's Team America: World Police didn't unleash a barrage of marionettes and stop-motion figures doing adult things on the silver screen (no Robot Chicken doesn't count). But leave it to the Brits to run with the idea, using a script written by a recent university grad no less.
Jackboots on Whitehall is an animated comedy from Swipe Films that imagines what would have happened if the Germans had conquered England, but received their comeuppance from the Scots.
"It's Team America in style and tone but without the strings," claims Swipe Films producer Frank Mannion. "We are using specially made 'Action Man' type action figures, and purpose built models of Hadrian's Wall, Downing Street, etc. It's live action as opposed to animation or stop motion."
Not sure how the 'live action' comes into play here, but I'll run with it. Edward McHenry makes his directorial debut for Swipe Films on the project, using a script he co-wrote with his brother Roy. McHenry, who graduated from Oxford University earlier this year, got the chance to direct the flick after his script won the first edition of the Swipe Films Screenplay Scholarship. The program is a competition for young screenwriters.
Swipe has put together a solid list of British voice talent for the film, including Timothy Spall (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) as Churchill, Jim Cummings (X2) as Hitler, Tom Wilkinson (Batman Begins) as Goebbels, and Richard O'Brien (Rocky Horror Picture Show) as Himmler. Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant and Sanjeev Baskar fill out the cast.
"It is a tribute to the script's originality and to Edward's directorial vision that we have assembled such a starry British cast lending us their extraordinary vocal and comedic talents," says Mannion.
Voice recording started in December, and principle photography is scheduled to begin in March.
