“Bad Fairies,” the Warner Bros. Picture Animation and Locksmith Animation musical comedy led by Cynthia Erivo, has added Kylie Minogue, Jonathan Groff and Catherine Tate to its voice cast.
Minogue will voice Clowder, the Cat Witch, Groff will voice Robin Goodfellow and Tate will voice the Fairy Gothmother, joining Erivo as Jayne Staplegun in the animated feature. Erivo shared the news at her Thursday evening Hollywood Bowl concert “Let Me Sing to You.”
The second half of the Bowl show opened with an orchestral piece built on “Hard to Believe,” Jayne’s song from the film, which is about a group of “delightfully defiant, rule-breaking fairies.” Erivo introduced Groff and Tate, then revealed that Minogue, who was seated in the audience, would be joining the cast.
“Bad Fairies” is set to open on May 27, 2027, and production is currently underway in London, with DNEG Animation as digital partner.
The cast also includes Serrana Su-Ling Bliss as Fei Chang, James Acaster as Stickers and Dee Bradley Baker as Groundbeef, along with Ncuti Gatwa as Butterwort.
Set in contemporary London, “Bad Fairies” is directed by Megan Nicole Dong and co-directed by Olivier Staphylas, from an original screenplay by Deborah Frances-White. Tony Award winners Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss (“Six: The Musical”) are writing the original songs, with a score by Isabella “Machine” Summers of Florence and the Machine.
“’Bad Fairies’ is about characters who break the rules to do some good, and Cynthia brings that spirit to everything she does, so there was no better way to share this news than from the Hollywood Bowl stage in her voice,” said Bill Damaschke, President, Warner Bros. Pictures Animation, in a statement. “With Kylie, Jonathan and Catherine joining her, we have a cast as bold and joyful as the film itself.”
“From the moment we began developing ‘Bad Fairies,’ we knew it was exactly the kind of story Locksmith exists to tell: funny, surprising and full of heart,” said Natalie Fischer, CEO of Locksmith Animation. “Cynthia Erivo’s extraordinary voice has been the soul of this film since she came on board, and we’re thrilled to have Kylie, Jonathan and Catherine bring their enormous talents to these characters. We can’t wait for audiences to meet them next May.”
“I’m so excited to be part of ‘Bad Fairies,’ alongside the incredible Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Groff and such a brilliant cast of voices,” said Minogue. “And getting to play both a cat and a witch? It’s a little bit magical, a little bit mischievous and a whole lot of fun.”
“Clowder needed to be impossibly glamorous and hilariously chaotic in the same breath, and Kylie was always the dream,” said director Megan Nicole Dong. “She has made the character completely her own, and she brings this amazing energy to the booth that ends up in every frame.”
“Jonathan finds the comedy and the heart in a character at exactly the same time, which is everything Robin Goodfellow needs, and there is no one funnier than Catherine to play our Fairy Gothmother,” said co-director Olivier Staphylas. “Our animators are building on our fabulous actors’ instincts and comic timing to create characters that feel both larger than life and genuinely real.”
“KPop Demon Hunters” music producer Ian Eisendrath serves as executive music producer, while the film’s creative team also includes producer Carolyn Soper, editor Sim Evan-Jones, cinematographer James C.J. Williams, character designer Uwe Heidschötter, heads of story Rikke Asbjoern and Chris Garbutt, and production designers Justin Hutchinson-Chatburn and Mike Redman.
Minogue is represented by Jason Weinberg at Untitled and Polly Bhowmik at Context Management. Groff is represented by Brian Boone and Joe Michota at CAA. Tate is represented by Jeremy Barber at UTA and Robert Taylor at The Artists Partnership.