Juliette Lewis! Vincent Gallo! Udo Kier! Stellan Skarsgard! METROPIA Voice Cast Announced!

[We're bumping this post up to the top of the page as we've just added a pair of brand new stills from the film to the gallery linked below.]

We posted a pair of fantastic stills from upcoming Swedish animation Metropia earlier this month, much impressed by the unique look of the film. European animation is on the cusp of an explosion in the coming year and this one looks to be right at the front of the wave. Here's the synopsis:

METROPIA is taking place in a not-so-distant, terrifying Europe. The world is running out of oil and the net of undergrounds has been connected, creating a gigantic web underneath Europe. Roger from Farsta (a suburb of Stockholm) tries to stay away from the underground. He thinks it’s unpleasant and he sometimes hear strange voices in is head.

One day Roger finds out that his life is controlled in every detail. He tries to break free. To succeed he needs super-model Nina to help him. Or is it maybe Nina that needs Roger?

Sounds good, yes? It gets even better with a quick look over the freshly announced cast of voice actors. It's a fascinating list of names ... you'll find the complete announcement below the break.

Juliette Lewis and Vincent Gallo head the cast of the feature animation “Metropia” by Tarik Saleh.

Oscar nominee Juliette Lewis, famous for her parts in “Cape Fear”, “Natural Born Killers” and Strange Days, recently visited Stockholm to record the voice of female lead Nina.
Lending his voice to male lead Roger is Vincent Gallo, famous for “Arizona Dream”, “Buffalo 66” and “The Brown Bunny”.

”It has been very inspiring to work with some of the best actors of our time. Working with this film could be described as putting together a puzzle the size of a small Swedish town. So it’s amazing to work with talented people in all areas." says director Tarik Saleh.

“Metropia” takes place in a not-so-distant, terrifying Europe. The world is running out of oil and the nets of underground railways have been connected, creating a gigantic web underneath Europe. Roger from Farsta (a suburb of Stockholm) tries to stay away from the underground. He finds it unpleasant and sometimes he hears a strange voice in is head when he goes down there. One day Roger discovers that his life is controlled in every detail. He tries to break free. To succeed he needs super-model Nina to help him. Or maybe Nina needs Roger?

Other actors in “Metropia” include Udo Kier from Germany, who has worked with directors like Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Lars von Trier. Swedish actors include Stellan Skarsgård, Alexander Skarsgård, Sofia Helin, Fares Fares, Goran Marjanovic, Shanti Roney, Fredrik Eddari, Doreen Månsson, Annelie Persson, Lotta Bromé and Indie Neidell.

“Metropia” was developed over four years at Atmo in Stockholm/Sweden. The film is for young adults and is a hybrid between animation and live action.

Producer Atmo/Kristina Åberg, co-producers Zentropa in Denmark/Mikael Olsen, Tordenfilm in Norway/Eric Vogel, SVT/Gunnar Carlsson, Film in West/Tomas Eskilsson and Sandrew Metronome. With support from Swedish Film Institute/ Peter Gustavsson, Danish Film Institute, Norwegien Film Fond, Canal+, Eurimages, Media Plus. Sales Agent Trust in Denmark.

“Metropia” will premiére in the spring of 2009.

Music by Krister Linder www.kristerlinder.com
Editor Johan Söderberg www.soderberg.tv
Script by Fredrik Edin, Stig Larsson and Tarik Saleh