‘Kiri and Lou Go Raaa!’ to premiere at Annecy 2026
Skwigly
Kiri and Lou Go Raaa! (©Stretchy)
Leading kids’ entertainment specialist CAKE and New Zealand’s award-winning animation studio Stretchy announce the much-anticipated animated feature Kiri and Lou Go Raaa! will have its world premiere at the 2026 Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June.
The film will screen on Wednesday 24 June at 2.30pm at Bonlieu Petite Salle, followed by a Q&A with voice actors Jemaine Clement and Olivia Tennet, alongside animation director Antony Elworthy. Additional screenings will take place on Tuesday 23 June at Pathé 5, and Thursday 25 June at Pathé 9 & 10 at 9.30am.
Based on the BAFTA-nominated, internationally acclaimed animated series, the 60-minute prequel movie follows Lou, a gentle purple creature with an embarrassingly stretchy trunk, as he rescues Kiri, an ungrateful little dinosaur, from a flood — sweeping the pair into the greatest adventure in prehistory. Along the way, they discover that you can find friendship in the wildest places.
New Zealand’s first stop-motion animated feature film, Kiri and Lou Go Raaa! is handmade by Stretchy in association with the New Zealand Film Commission, NZ On Air, and Hinterland, and will be theatrically distributed in New Zealand and Australia by Vendetta Films, with CAKE handling the rest of world.
Grounded in warmth, humour, and emotional honesty, Kiri and Lou Go Raaa! combines sculpted clay characters with richly textured paper-built environments made entirely at the Stretchy Studio in Ōtautahi Christchurch.
Kiri and Lou Go Raaa! (©Stretchy)
Featuring the voices of Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords, Moana, Rio, What We Do In the Shadows) as Lou and Olivia Tennet (Lord of the Rings, Power Rangers RPM) as Kiri, Kiri and Lou Go Raaa! is written and directed by Harry Sinclair with visual development by Ant Elworthy (Pinocchio, Isle of Dogs, Ma vie de Courgette, Coraline) and music and songs by Don McGlashan in collaboration with Harry Sinclair (The Front Lawn).
Ed Galton CEO, CAKE said:
Kiri and Lou has quietly built a global audience, and the feature is the natural next step for the brand. Annecy is exactly where it belongs, in front of buyers who understand what this property can do theatrically and on platform. We’re looking forward to taking it out from there.
Producer Fiona Copland said:
Kiri and Lou Go Raaa! has been crafted with enormous care by a dedicated team of artists sculpting its evocative stop-motion world frame by frame. This recognition from Annecy 2026 is a proud moment for everyone who has helped bring this world to life.
Chris Payne, NZFC Deputy CEO & Head of Co-Production and Incentives adds:
With Annecy’s Présente section focusing on family-oriented animation, this is the perfect World Premiere for Kiri and Lou Go Raaa!. Both this film and the acclaimed series preceding it have a distinctive voice, a deep sense of care for young audiences, and world-class talent behind them. We’re delighted by the film’s selection for the world’s leading animation festival and can’t wait for longtime fans and new viewers to fall in love with Kiri and Lou Go Raaa!