Ricky Gervais touched down on the Annecy Worldwide Animation Pageant on Thursday for a sneak peek presentation of his Netflix grownup animation Alley Cats, following the trials and tribulations of a gaggle of British cats from all walks of society.
He bought a hero’s welcome as he entered the pageant’s packed out 1,400-capacity primary Bonlieu theatre and was then serenaded with a raucous rendition of “Comfortable Birthday” marking his turning 65 as we speak.
In addition to writing and directing the present, Gervais reprises his trademark deadpan self as ginger tomcat Gus, alongside Tom Basden, Andrew Brooke, David Earl, Kerry Godliman, Jo Hartley, Diane Morgan, Natalie Cassidy and Tony Means within the voice forged.
The presentation kicked off with a preview of the primary two episodes of the present introducing Gus and his motley crew of stray cats, who’re joined every day by a fancy domesticated cat referred to as Ponce.
Tapping into the zeitgeist of a down-at-heel damaged Britain, the cats spend their days watching nature packages and musing on a spread of out-of-the-hat subjects from the issues of cat suicide, when you’ve got 9 lives and all the time land in your toes, to the etiquette of crapping on a freshly dug grave plot.
Gervais instructed the viewers in an Q&A following the screening that the present was a continuation of his course of and work throughout The Workplace, Extras and After Life, transposing his observations of life into drama, and in addition tapped into his love of animals.
“I’ve cherished animals all my life.. cats they’re simply kind of excellent creatures. They’re so unbiased, they’re so tiny, and assume they’re lions,” he stated.
