Adorable Cat Game ‘Stray’ To Become Adorable Cat Movie

We love when animals are the protagonists in just about anything. In video games, we are more often than not following humans or human-like creatures. That’s all well and good, but sometimes playing as a very cute cat in a dystopian world is the vibe. Stray is the highly acclaimed sci-fi adventure game from Annapurna Interactive about a cat navigating a dystopian city filled with robots. It’s an incredibly heartfelt and compelling exploration of environmental issues. So the fact that Annapurna Animation is developing an animated film adaptation is fantastic news.

Sometimes live action isn’t the best choice for an adaptation, especially for a story that began as animation. In fact, it can be downright dreadful if it’s not executed properly. The story of Stray is perfect for animation, not only because it started as a video game, but because it holds so many possibilities in regard to animation style. Imagine how the city, which was inspired by Hong Kong’s Kowloon Walled City, will look in an animated film!

Annapurna recently launched Annapurna Animation with the long-awaited animated adaptation of Nimona, which debuted on Netflix. The studio is looking to expand with numerous animated features, including the adaptation of Stray and a new unnamed film from Nimona co-director Nick Bruno. Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Annapurna Animation’s Nick Baird recalled the word Stray developers used to describe the game:

Baird went on to say that there’s “something so emotional” that the creators are trying to capture when adapting the game to film. BlueTwelve, he explains, described the game as having a “sort of ‘hopepunk’ vibe,” a narrative concept that optimism is a form of resistance. “I love that term, hopepunk,” he says. “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.”

Video game adaptations aren’t always faithful—or even good—and we’ve seen that plenty of times in the past. Straying (sorry) too far from the story and tone of the game you’re adapting is usually the first mistake. Thankfully, Annapurna Animation seems dedicated to bringing the stunning Stray to life. I personally trust the team to handle their own game accordingly.

(via Entertainment Weekly, featured image: Annapurna Interactive)