Mo Willems' Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Underground Rock Experience!
WarnerMedia Kids & Family and Stampede Ventures
Set Voice Cast for Mo Willems’ Animated Musical Event,
Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Underground Rock Experience
All-Star Lineup Includes: Yvette Nicole Brown, Jordan Fisher,
Ron Funches, Carol Kane, Thomas Lennon, Kate Micucci, Kevin Michael Richardson and Jenna Ushkowitz
WarnerMedia Kids & Family and Stampede Ventures have unveiled the cast of esteemed children’s book author Mo Willems’ upcoming Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Underground Rock Experience. The one-hour CGI-animated rock opera will feature the voice talents of Jordan Fisher as Wilbur, the sensitive, curious and brave mole rat; Yvette Nicole Brown as Grande, a member of Mole Rat society’s popular crowd and front mole of the Tunnel’s Rock Band; Kate Micucci as Tall, a rule-follower with a heart of gold; Kevin Michael Richardson as Venti, a big lug that needs just two things in life: rocking out with his bandmates and being stark raving naked!; and Carol Kane as Grand-Mah, the larger-than-life matriarch of the Mole Rat society.
Additional voice cast includes Ron Funches as Les Pants the Weather Mole, Thomas Lennonas Stark Naked the News Mole, and Jenna Ushkowitz as the Secret Service Mole. The special will rock n’ roll its way onto Cartoonito on HBO Max next year.
Based on Willems’s New York Times best-selling book and the sold-out theatrical rock experience, Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Underground Rock Experience is a CGI animated rock music special that wears its heart on its sleeve. Wilbur Mole Rat and all his Fellow Mole Rats in the Tunnel have always been, well...naked. But when Wilbur discovers clothing and a love for style, the Tunnel turns upside down! An animated hour of “underground” music and comedy about being comfortable in your own skin, this adaptation of the popular theatre experience will knock your socks on!
Willems and Tom Warburton co-wrote the script with original tunes by Willems and composer Deborah Wicks La Puma. Willems and Warburton will executive produce alongside Stampede Ventures’ Greg Silverman and Jay Judah, with OddBot Animation Studios serving as animation house. Megan Alrutz will also serve as producer on behalf of the Mo Willems Workshop. Songs are produced by Dan Petty, Doug Petty, and Michelle Lewis.
About The Mo Willems Workshop
The Mo Willems Workshop is focused on creating meaningful media that excites, expands, and encourages creativity and art making in children and former children alike. Author, illustrator, playwright Mo Willems serves as the Executive Producer, although The Pigeon has some ideas.
About Stampede Ventures
Stampede Ventures is an independent entertainment media company founded by Greg Silverman, the former President of Warner Bros. Pictures. The company’s lead investor and co-chairman is Gideon Yu, former CFO of Facebook and YouTube, and co-owner of the San Francisco 49ers. Additional investors include leaders from Silicon Valley, Asia and the U.S. media space. Stampede Ventures is on the forefront of content creation across the divisions of film, television, international and alternative programming. Their debut film, Pink Skies Ahead, premiered to critical acclaim at AFI Fest 2020, sold to MTV Studios and premiered on MTV on May 8, 2021. Stampede Ventures also recently inked an international First Look deal with CBS Studios.