'Animal Crackers': Meet the Voices Behind the Animated Characters

8:30 AM 8/31/2017

by Sydney Odman

Real-life couple John Krasinski and Emily Blunt co-star in the upcoming film as Owen and Zoe Huntington.

On Sept. 1, Blue Dream Studios brings the animated film Animal Crackers to the big screen.

Directed by Scott Christian Sava and Tony Bancroft, Animal Crackers — which Sava and Dean Lorey adapted from Sava's graphic novel — follows the Huntington family: Owen, Zoe and their daughter MacKenzie. 

After discovering his inheritance of an old traveling circus left to him by a distant uncle, Owen is determined to bring the circus back to life. With the help of magical animal crackers that turn whoever consumes them into the animal they've eaten, Owen has the ability to turn the circus back into a popular attraction. However, his long-lost uncle also had a brother, the villanous Horatio P. Huntington, who has unsavory intentions toward the family business.

Read on to find out more about the actors who bring these characters to life.

  • John Krasinski

    Owen Huntington, voiced by John Krasinski, is unsatisfied with the mundane routine of his life, working at his father-in-law's dog-biscuit factory. That is, until he discovers the lost circus and magical animal crackers left to him by his late uncle, Buffalo Bob. Krasinski stars alongside his wife, Emily Blunt, who also plays his onscreen spouse, Zoe. He is best known for playing Jim Halpert on the hit TV series The Office and starred in the Oscar-nominated film 13 Hours last year. 

  • Emily Blunt

    Emily Blunt voices Zoe, the purple-haired wife of Owen, with whom she shares a daughter, MacKenzie. Although Big Bang Theory star Kaley Cuoco was originally cast to play Zoe, Blunt replaced her due to scheduling issues. Blunt previously voiced the character of Juliet in Gnomeo and Juliet and is set to appear in another upcoming animation later this year, My Little Pony: The Movie. 

  • Ian McKellen

    Ian McKellen voices Owen's evil uncle, Horatio P. Huntington. Horatio, who long ago had a falling out with his late brother, Buffalo Bob, is out to reclaim the family circus and steal the enchanted animal crackers from Owen. McKellen, having started his professional career as a stage actor in the U.K., is now best known for his iconic roles as Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings saga and Magneto in the X-Men franchise.

     

  • Danny DeVito

    Chesterfield, the blue-haired clown voiced by Danny DeVito, introduces the Huntingtons to how the magical animal crackers work. DeVito has previously voiced characters in Spacejam, Hercules and The Lorax and currently stars as Frank Reynolds on hit TV series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. 

  • Sylvester Stallone

    Sylvester Stallone voices Bulletman, a circus hero fully equipped with a cape and metal helmet to wear as he blasts off. Stallone rose to fame with his Oscar-nominated portrayal as Rocky Balboa in 1976's Rocky and since has become an iconic figure in Hollywood. He recently appeared in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and is set to star in Escape Plan 2: Hades in 2018. 

  • James Arnold Taylor

    After a falling-out with his evil brother, Horatio, Buffalo Bob (voiced by James Arnold Taylor) leaves his once-successful circus to Owen. However, that isn't the only thing he leaves behind for his nephew, as Owen also receives Buffalo Bob's magical animal crackers, the key to bringing the circus back to life. Taylor voiced Obi-Wan Kenobi in the animated Star Wars series The Clone Wars and also has voiced countless characters on various video games and animated shows. 

  • Wallace Shawn

    Wallace Shawn voices Mr. Woodley, Owen's father-in-law and owner of the dog-biscuit factory. Shawn is known for voicing Rex the Green Dinosaur in all three Toy Story installments and his role in The Princess Bride and is set to appear in the film Cop and a Half: New Recruit later this year alongside Lou Diamond Phillips. 

  • Raven SymonĂ©

    Raven Symoné voices the character of Binkley, a quirky and intelligent rocket scientist. Symoné, who got her break as a child actor on The Cosby Show, is known for her portrayal of Raven Baxter in the hit Disney Channel show That's So Raven. The actress returned to the role July 21, with the premiere of Disney Channel's spin-off, Raven's Home. 

  • Patrick Warburton

    Veteran voice actor Patrick Warburton gives life to Brock, one of Owen's co-workers at the dog-biscuit factory. Warburton's deep and booming voice has brought a number of animated characters to life such as Kronk from Emperor's New Groove and paraplegic Joe Swanson in Family Guy. Also known for his role as David Puddy on Seinfeld, Warburton currently plays Lemony Snicket on Netflix show A Series of Unfortunate Events. 

  • Gilbert Gottfried

    Mario Zucchini (voiced by Gilbert Gottfried) is Horatio's henchman, dedicated to helping his boss take over the circus. Gottfried has voiced numerous characters throughout his career, most notably the parrot Iago from Disney's film Aladdin. 

  • Tara Strong

    Tara Strong voices Talia, Buffalo Bob's love interest in the film. Strong, like many of her Animal Crackers co-stars, is a seasoned voice actor, having played characters such as Bubbles in The Powderpuff Girls, Dil in Rugrats and Timmy Turner in The Fairly Oddparents. Strong will appear in My Little Pony: The Movie as Twilight Sparkle later this year. 

  • Harvey Fierstein

    Esmeralda, a circus fortune teller, is voiced by Harvey Fierstein. Fierstein played the voice of Yao in Mulan and is also well-known for his work as a stage actor. He reprised his Tony-winning role as Edna Turnblad for NBC's Hairspray Live! last year. 

  • Kevin Grevioux

    Kevin Grevioux, actor and creator of the Underworld film series, voices Samson the Strong Man. He is set to appear in action film The Prey, to be released in the fall.