Fez — Celine Dion will voice Sugartail in “High in the Clouds,” Paul McCartney’s upcoming 3D animated film based on the 2005 children’s book he co-wrote with Geoff Dunbar and Philip Ardagh, scheduled for release on October 13, 2027.
Dion is part of a star-studded voice cast that includes McCartney, Ringo Starr, Lionel Richie, Idris Elba and Hannah Waddingham. Dion will play Sugartail, the mother of teenage squirrel Wirral, voiced by Himesh Patel.
The film follows Wirral after he accidentally sparks a rebellion against Gretsch, a domineering owl who has banned music from her town.
His journey becomes an attempt to bring sound, expression, and music back to a world forced into silence.
A cast that looks more like a music festival
Dion is far from the only major music name attached to the project.
Paul McCartney will voice McKenzie, while fellow Beatles member Ringo Starr plays Roy. Lionel Richie joins as Gladstone.
The wider English-language cast includes Idris Elba, Hannah Waddingham, Jimmy Fallon, Clémence Poésy, Pom Klementieff, and Alain Chabat ast confirmed by Gaumont.
Dion is also lending her voice to the French-language version of “High in the Clouds,” alongside French actor Omar Sy.
The film was highlighted by Sky in its 2026 slate, with Dion and Sy among the cast announced for the French adaptation.
The French cast also includes Benjamin Lavernhe and Antoine de Caunes, with several performers appearing in both versions.
Music is naturally central to the project.
McCartney has written original songs for the film, while Oscar-winning composer Michael Giacchino, whose credits include “Up,” “Ratatouille,” and “Coco,” is handling the score.
Gaumont said the soundtrack will be released through Universal Music Group.
Dion’s latest trip to the big screen
“High in the Clouds” will add another unusual film credit to Dion’s career.
She appeared as herself in the 2023 romantic comedy “Love Again,” which also featured several of her songs.
The artist also made a cameo in Disney’s 2014 “Muppets Most Wanted,” where she appeared as Miss Piggy’s fairy godmother. Her connection to cinema is even more famous through music. “My Heart Will Go On,” recorded for James Cameron’s “Titanic,” became one of the defining movie songs of the 1990s.
This time, however, Dion is not simply lending a song to a soundtrack or appearing as herself.
Playing Sugartail gives her an actual character inside the story, placing one of popular music’s most recognizable voices inside an animated world built around the idea that music itself is worth fighting for.
