'Trouble': Danny McBride Is Making An Animated Movie With Newly Launched Spire Animation

Danny McBride can add animated movie filmmaker to his credentials — which already include actor, comedian, writer, director, and producer. The Righteous Gemstones star and creator is developing an animated movie titled Trouble with Spire Animation Studios, a newly launched studio from Ratatouille producer Brad Lewis.

Deadline reports that Danny McBride's Rough House Pictures is partnering with Spire Animation Studios to develop an animated feature film called Trouble.

Trouble follows "Jax, a 13-year-old who gets in trouble with his family, and is swept into a parallel reality known as the World of Trouble. Embarking on a whimsical adventure within this bizarre and fantastic world of chaotic adolescence, he makes new friends, reflects on his character and learns the value of self-forgiveness, all while trying to figure out how to get out of trouble, and get back home."

McBride and Brad Lewis — a veteran of the animation industry who has produced hits like Ratatouille, How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, and The Lego Batman Movie and who recently co-founded Spire Animation Studios — created the original story for Trouble, which will be written by Kevin Barnett and Chris Pappas (The Wrong Missy, The Do-Over). The film will be executive produced by Spire's P.J. Gunsagar, along with Rough House Pictures' Brandon James.

No cast has yet been set, but it seems like the kind of Pixar-lite high concept adventure film that we've begun to see lately from competing animation studios. And Lewis' roots in Pixar, having also performed in The Incredibles and co-directed Cars 2, shows in the story. What is the World of Trouble, exactly? A world where trouble and mischief gain sentient form? Who knows, but I guess we'll find out.

"The idea of being in trouble is a universal fear we've all experienced growing up," said McBride in a statement. "Being able to build out what that world could look like and exploring how we can make this an animated adventure with Brad and the team at Spire has been awesome."

"Danny has such a unique sensibility and grasp of wonderfully irreverent characters, creating a story together is a dream come true," added Lewis. "I'm definitely looking forward to getting into Trouble together, and bringing to life the three words kids all over the world fear...you're in trouble."

McBride has lent his voiced to animated films before like Despicable Me, Kung Fu Panda 2, the Angry Bird movies, and Netflix's upcoming The Mitchells vs. The Machines, but it'll be interesting to see how he fares in crafting an animated feature. Meanwhile, Spire, which was co-founded last year by Lewis and Gunsagar, is also relatively untested, with only one other upcoming animated film on its slate: a musical called Century Goddess.

No cast or release date has yet been set for Trouble.