Naked Mole Rat Wilbur takes center stage when he decides to do the unthinkable; the animated rock opera hits HBO Max’s Cartoonito on June 30.
Get ready because a rock opera like no other is coming, based on Willems’ New York Times best-selling picture book of the same name: Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Underground Rock Experience premieres Thursday, June 30 on HBO Max’s Cartoonito.
The animated musical event is a fun and funny tale about a sensitive, curious, and rockin’ Naked Mole Rat named Wilbur (voiced by Jordan Fisher) who “scandalously” decides to (gasp!) get dressed! The message of authenticity and acceptance completely resonates with Cartoonito’s Humancentric Learning Framework. See what happens when Wilbur’s newfound love of rocking outfits rocks Naked Mole Rat society to its core.
Joining the voice cast is Yvette Nicole Brown as Grande, a member of Mole Rat society’s popular crowd and front mole of the Tunnel’s Rock Band “The Mole-ing Stones”; Kate Micucci as Tall, a rule-follower with a heart of gold; Kevin Michael Richardson as Venti, a big lug that needs just two things in life: rocking out with his bandmates and being stark raving naked!; Carol Kane as Grand-Mah, the larger-than-life-but-smaller-than-expected matriarch of the Mole Rat society; Ron Funches as Les Pants, the Weather Mole; Thomas Lennon as Stark Naked, the Newscaster; and Jenna Ushkowitz as a jammin’ Secret Service Mole.
Willems and Tom Warburton co-wrote the script with original tunes by Willems (lyrics) and Deborah Wicks La Puma (music). Willems and Warburton executive produce alongside Stampede Ventures’ Greg Silverman and Jay Judah, with OddBot Animation Studios serving as animation house. Megan Alrutz is producer on behalf of the Mo Willems Workshop. Songs are produced by Dan Petty, Doug Petty, and Michelle Lewis.
Check out the trailer:
Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Underground Rock Experience is part of WarnerMedia’s multi-year deal with Willems and producing partner Stampede Ventures to create live-action Storytime Specials and multiple animated and live-action series based on the author’s popular children’s books. Willems’ first HBO Max live-action special, Mo Willems and The Storytime All-Stars Present: Don’t Let the Pigeon Do Storytime! received wide acclaim, garnering multiple award nominations, including a 2021 Writers Guild Award and two 2021 Daytime Emmy Awards – it is now available for streaming on HBO Max.
Source: HBO Max
Debbie Diamond Sarto is news editor at Animation World Network.
