‘Charlie the Wonderdog,’ Voiced by Owen Wilson, Acquired by Viva Kids for U.S. Release (EXCLUSIVE)
Courtesy of ICON Creative Studio
Move over, Krypto. There's a new superdog coming to theaters, and he's voiced by a comedic icon in Owen Wilson. Collider can exclusively share the official trailer for ICON Creative Studio's new animated feature, Charlie the Wonderdog, a superhero story for the whole family about a boy and his furry friend. The film centers on Charlie (Wilson), once a normal, beloved family pet, who gets abducted by aliens and gifted powers to rival Superman. He uses his newfound abilities and intelligence to become the world's greatest protector, though his duties and newfound fame create a rift between him and kid owner Danny (Dawson Littman). To save the day from a cat supervillain plotting the downfall of humanity, the once best friends must rekindle their bond and join forces in the face of evil.
The trailer opens on a very Superman-like scene of a bus falling into a massive sinkhole. Instead of the Man of Steel, however, onlookers are stunned to see a flying dog race to the scene and lift the vehicle back onto the road with no effort whatsoever. Soon, everybody is cheering for Wonderdog, but the biggest shock comes within Charlie's family. The idea of having a superhero dog is both awesome and a bit terrifying for young Danny, until he realizes he's now sharing his pet with the entire world at a time when he could really use his best friend. Yet, Charlie can't help himself from doing good whenever possible, as he rescues crashing planes and pushes satellites back into orbit, all while still making time to chow down on his favorite snack, tacos. With the arrival of his telekinetic cat adversary, who has the power to transfer superintelligence into the mind of any feline, though, both dog and owner will need each other to truly take flight in Earth's defense. All they need to keep their bond strong is a bit of trust that they'll be there and bring out the hero within each other, even if that means plucking cactus thorns out of each other's behinds.
Wilson is no stranger to heartwarming family fare, having been a Pixar mainstay as Lightning McQueen in the Cars franchise, voiced another dog in the live-action Marmaduke, and starred in the smash hit tear-jerker Marley & Me. Charlie the Wonderdog pairs him with a cast that includes the relative newcomer Littman alongside Tabitha St. Germain, Sebastian Billingsley-Rodriguez, Lindsay Gibbon, Anthony Bolognese, Mela Pietropaolo, and more. At the helm was Shea Wageman, who co-directed last year's Rocket Club: Across the Cosmos and also co-wrote the superdog adventure with Steve Ball and Raul Inglis.
What Else Has ICON Creative Studio Done?
Charlie the Wonderdog had an animation powerhouse behind it in ICON, the largest independently owned CG animation studio in all of Canada. They previously backed the aforementioned Rocket Club movie and have been behind the animation of several bigger projects across streaming, like Apple TV+ and Skydance's sci-fi fantasy series WondLa. Disney has also worked with the studio on multiple occasions for their Monsters Inc. series Monsters at Work, and, more recently, for Young Jedi Adventures, the High Republic-set Star Wars series for younger audiences. The rest of their resume thus far features Disney Jr.'s Ariel, the short-lived Supernatural Academy, Season 2 of Kong: King of the Apes, and the first season of Paramount+'s Transformers: Earthspark.
Charlie the Wonderdog represents the studio's latest original offering, and it will arrive in theaters on January 16. Check out the trailer in the player above.