Image: Annapurna Interactive
The movie will be helmed by Annapurna Interactive’s own animation studio, which recently worked on Nimona for Netflix.
Critically acclaimed sci-fi cat game Stray is getting an animated movie adaptation, according to Entertainment Weekly. The game’s publisher, Annapurna Interactive will use its own in-house animation studio Annapurna Animation to helm the movie, after recently producing Nimona for Netflix. The Stray movie will be the first of multiple movie adaptations in the works for games in Annapurna’s portfolio.
Annapurna Animation lead Robert Baird explained why the studio put a Stray movie in active development:
This is a game that's all about what makes us human, and there are no humans in it. It's a buddy comedy about a cat and a robot, and there's such a hilarious dynamic. So, there's comedy inherent in this, but there's not one human being in this movie. I think it's one of the reasons why the game was incredibly popular, that you are seeing the world through the point of view of an adorable cat. How did they pull that off, and how are we going to pull that off in the movie? We will, even though sometimes it feels impossible, but we know that's the essence of the game and the key to telling the story.
It sounds like the movie will lean on the titular stray cat’s partnership with the robot B-12, as they work together to escape the bowels of a dystopian city filled with robots into the real world. Baird says that the movie has, “something so emotional,” which he attributes to what Stray’s game developer BlueTwelve describes as having a “sort of ‘hopepunk’ vibe.” Baird hopes that the Stray movie will “be the first and greatest hopepunk movie that's ever been made."
It’s true that while Stray’s world is filled with memories of a better world and remnants of horrific events, its robotic populace are getting along just fine in their new world, and animals like the cat are more than satisfied living outside with their own kin. The core mysteries of the game drive the story forward, but despite its many hints of a fallen civilisation wiped from memory, it rarely descends into all-out hopelessness.
Annapurna has plenty more videogames to make movies out of, and it fully plans to - though the studio stopped just short of confirming its other projects to Entertainment Weekly. Stray will be the first of these movies to head into development because, according to Baird, “it is just wildly popular.” The movie appears to be in early development for now, with no firm release date set just yet.
In our review of Stray, we said: “Playing as a cat is a very strong gimmick, but what really makes this game special is its commitment to the bit, going above and beyond its unique premise with gorgeous visuals, a lush soundtrack and a memorable cast of friendly robots.”
