Stray is about to become an animated movie. Developed by BlueTwelve and published by Annapurna Interactive, the cat-centric third-person title lets players assume the role of a stray cat navigating a murky cybercity with a friendly robot called B-12. Together, the cat and robot traverse the underbelly of the city populated with mutant bacteria and machines.
Robert Baird, who runs Annapurna Animation alongside Andrew Millstein, a former Disney Animation executive, spoke with Entertainment Weekly about the studio’s plans to adapt Stray into an animated film.
“This is a game that’s all about what makes us human, and there are no humans in it,” Baird said. Baird described the film as a “buddy comedy about a cat and a robot” who share a “hilarious” on-screen chemistry. “So, there’s comedy inherent in this, but there’s not one human being in this movie,” he added.
“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.”
The term “hopepunk” is floated about in BlueTwelve’s pitch for Stray. “I love that term, hopepunk,” Baird said. “I think, if we are going to do this adaptation justice, this is going to be the first and greatest hopepunk movie that’s ever been made.”
Nick Bruno, the director behind Spies in Disguise and Nimona, will be helming the film. Stray is available on the PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Series consoles and PC. The cat adventure was released in 2022 and received rave reviews, described by in GameLuster’s review as “unprecedented for an indie title.”
