The new kids and family animated feature distribution company also picks up the rights to Aniventure’s HitPig! from GFM Animation.
Kazoo Films, the new kids and family animated feature distribution company launched by award-winning independent production company Cantilever Media, has appointed a new Head of Marketing, Michael Guerrero. The new hire has been made with the support of the UK Global Screen Fund’s Business Development Fund.
As the company starts to expand its slate, it has also picked up Aniventure’s latest animated film HitPig!, starring Ted Lasso’s Jason Sudeikis, from GFM Animation which handles international sales on the film. Kazoo will release the film in the UK and Ireland.
Michael Guerrero arrives at Kazoo Films with a wealth of experience; most recently, he was SVP Global Creative Marketing, working on international creative campaigns for titles across the slate including this year’s breakout box-office hit We Live in Time.
Prior to that Michael was Head of Marketing, leading on theatrical marketing campaigns for in-house productions including The Great Escaper, starring Michael Caine and Glenda Jackson, and Allelujah. Michael also worked on the successful theatrical releases of family franchises including Peppa Pig and Horrible Histories.
Michael will be working closely Kazoo CEO Andrew Baker on the theatrical release and marketing campaigns for the company’s slate of titles, starting with its first release Night at the Zoopocalyse, which premieres in the UK later this year. He will be liaising with Kazoo’s strategic partner Viva Pictures in the US as the two companies collaborate on marketing and promotional efforts for select joint titles to maximise reach in both territories.
Viva Pictures released HitPig! in the US on 1st November 2024 across 2,107 screens. Based on the New York Times bestseller Pete & Pickles from Berkeley Breathed, the film follows a clever bounty hunting pig (Sudeikis) who catches escaped animals and returns them to their owners. The next job for HitPig is his biggest yet: returning a dancing elephant named Pickles (Lilly Singh) to a maniacal Vegas showman (Rainn Wilson), for a million bucks.
The film is produced by Adam Nagle and Dave Rosenbaum of Aniventure, alongside CG animation by Cinesite.
Not only does Michael have a huge amount of industry experience, he also has the passion and enthusiasm for the business model we have put in place at Kazoo for the release of animated family features in the UK and Ireland. We are so grateful to the BFI for their support which has enabled us to bring on board someone of Michael’s calibre. We’re excited to get started on the campaigns for our first release Night at the Zooplocalyse as well as our newly acquired HitPig!.
Andrew Baker, CEO of Kazoo Films
Kazoo Films plans to release up to four films annually to audiences across the UK and Ireland, including both Cantilever Media productions and collaborations with international producers and sales agents.
