John Boorman Animation ‘The Honey Wars’ Attracts Sweet Voice Cast Of Jamie Lee Curtis, Vanessa Kirby, Patrick Stewart, Brendan Gleeson, Richard E. Grant & Jon Voight

EXCLUSIVE: A story that lauded director John Boorman created for his children is being worked up as an animated feature. The Honey Wars was a tale that veteran helmer Boorman told his kids and now Dublin-based animation house Kavaleer Productions is developing it as a 90-minute-long film. Boorman has opened the Rolodex and helped reach out to some starry voice talent. The producers are in talks with Jamie Lee Curtis, Vanessa Kirby, Patrick Stewart, Brendan Gleeson, Richard E. Grant and Jon Voight.

Billed as a dark comedic fantasy, the story follows Hope, a young girl with a secret ability to see the invisible threads that connect the magical world to our own. Recently uprooted by the loss of her mother, she stumbles upon a bitter conflict rooted in two warring tribes: the Fairies and the Elves. She encounters Alfred, a mischievous and exiled Elf, and Fiona, an outcast fairy. The unlikely comrades uncover long-buried truths and begin laying the groundwork for an unthinkable reconciliation in the war-ravaged universe.

Five-time Oscar-nominated Boorman’s credits include Point Blank, Deliverance, Excalibur and Hope and Glory. “I’m so delighted that this story of myth and magic is being brought to life and I hope that it captures the hearts and minds of many children as it did my own,” he said.

His kids chimed in to say they all back the project. His son, Charley Boorman, said: “I’m so glad ‘The Honey Wars’ are finally going to be made into a movie. Growing up with my father being such a great storyteller, he used to tell us all sorts of stories but ‘The Honey Wars’ between the fairies and the elves was the one that used to make us laugh and get our imagination going.”

The Honey Wars will be the first feature for Kavaleer, which has developed it with support from local screen agency Screen Ireland. Andrew Kavanagh, Founder and CEO of Kavaleer told Deadline about plans to bring it to screen having initially met Boorman a couple of years ago. It will be a CG-animated movie and he expects to bring on co-production partners as the project takes shape.

“The Honey Wars combines the scope of Lord of the Rings with the quirkiness of Coraline and is filled with sharply observed characters, wry humor and unexpected twists- everything you’d expect from a John Boorman story,” he said.