January 28, 2014January 10, 2019

Sly Cooper Animated Film Revealed

We’re thrilled to announce our next CG animated film: Sly Cooper.

Based on one of PlayStation’s most beloved franchises, Sly Cooper is a kinetic and comedic heist film that tells the story of Sly Cooper, an orphaned raccoon thief, and the adventures of his childhood friends and partners in crime, Bentley Turtle and Murray Hippo. In the film, Sly learns that he comes from a long line of talented, international thieves, and is catapulted into a global adventure. Sly races to reassemble pieces of an ancient book holding the Cooper clan’s family secrets before it can fall into the hands of Clockwerk — an evil metallic owl bent on ending the Cooper family line.

In the trailer, what really stands out to us — and most likely to the fans — is the change in the look of the characters and the world.

When we met with PlayStation to discuss the film last year, we proposed that the CG art style would transfer best in the leap to the big screen. Both PlayStation and Sucker Punch Productions (the original creators of the franchise) were kind enough to give us the chance to make this idea a reality. After a few months of development, the team at Rainmaker, along with Director Kevin Munroe, nailed it. Well, kind of…

The modeler gave Bentley the wrong helmet, which was more like a motorcycle helmet — funny, but definitely NOT his signature one. And while we all loved the temp music track — which happened to be the theme to Mission Impossible — that music would have cost us a fortune to license. With those quirks worked out, we’re excited to bring you this first look and hope you enjoy it.

The Sly Cooper release is slated for 2016. The film will also be released in 3D for those who want to feel like they’re in the actual Sly Cooper world.

Oh, and be sure to follow us online at our website and on Twitter — we’ll be releasing a 3D version of the teaser soon.

Comments are closed.

96 Comments

10 Author Replies

Solbaid
January 28, 2014 at 12:38 pm PST

only problem im having with this is murrays neck, he doesnt look right at all, fix that and were good to go
Kasaix
January 28, 2014 at 12:39 pm PST

Looks awesome! Now please tell me there’s a new Sly Cooper game on the way. Don’t leave Sly in ancient Egypt forever.
lehamsy3
January 28, 2014 at 12:46 pm PST

Jezzz, this is big news!!!!!!!!

First Heavenly Sword, later Ratchet and Clank and now Sly Cooper!!!!!

Yes.

Next franchises I want to see coming to theaters:

-Jak and Daxter
-Legend of Dragoon
-Soul Sacrifice
- Brad Foxhoven
  January 28, 2014 at 1:47 pm PST
  
  …taking notes….
plaztiksyke
January 28, 2014 at 1:53 pm PST

I like the Bambi-esque approach to the turtle and hippo natural animal designs, but Sly’s legs/pelvis are too weirdly human. Seems this would take away from the scampering.

We didn’t see any female character designs, but I hope they avoid the ridiculously busty model like in the last Sly game.

Love the lighting and overall look, though. I hope any new games move away from the game-y coin collection mechanic and more into stealth puzzle-solving with multiple solutions.
unbornsoldier
January 28, 2014 at 1:58 pm PST

Very nice unexpected surprise :D.the character designs are a bit off.but not bad at all.liking what I’m seeing.why 2016 though? Seems too far off……
CheshiresPuppet
January 28, 2014 at 2:24 pm PST

I might get a truckload of hate comments for this, but Murray may look weird because they were /trying/ to give the idea of a human like hippo creature, as they do in the games. Sly looks perfect, as does Bentley, but as gamers we have to remember that the items/character designs in game/movie trailers are not /always/ final. In the past several character designs for many, many playstation games were scrapped, reinvented, shown to the public, scrapped again, and then reinvented once more. It’s why the games we wait so long to play may look different than the trailers we see.
Sigil82
January 28, 2014 at 2:25 pm PST

Actually very excited for this. Also good to hear that there is more info coming on the Heavenly Sword film as well.

Now if we could just get that Heavenly Sword sequel…
subsamuel01
January 28, 2014 at 2:48 pm PST

Huge fan of the series, played all the games from the PS2 to thieves in time. Hopefully this means we might get another entry in the series in the future, cant wait to watch this.
zakdude100
January 28, 2014 at 3:03 pm PST

1) Where the heck is kevin miller? he IS sly cooper, its like replacing hugh jackman as wolverine or robert downy jr as iron man. Those are characters are perfect for the role and no one ever wants them to get changed. i heard somewhere your looking for A-list actors but trust me- DONT. kevin IS sly and if he gets changed (or bentley/murray) then there will be ALOT of fan uproar. you wanna change carmelita or clockwerk or any villains, be my guest but the main trio HAS to be the same.

2) make murrays outfit more video game accurate. especially the mask, that needs to be a stack better. the other characters look fine (maybe a tweak to slys face) its just murray needs some work.
An idea- in sly 1 murray was all timid and scared whereas in sly 2 he was the muscle and got into fights and donned the name “The Murray”. maybe in this film you could explore his character going from timid and fearful to confident and fearless (by the end of the film). would sure make cool character development.

Now go and make a Metal Arms: A Glitch in the system movie :)
tusunami
January 28, 2014 at 4:01 pm PST

Now this is a genius of a idea from Sony, I would like to see more of your iconic characters make it to the big screen.
RedeemedDragon
January 28, 2014 at 4:29 pm PST

If it’s at all possible, is there any chance of Kevin Miller returning as Sly, effectively replacing the current voice actor? Don’t get me wrong. As it stands I have no issue with this movie- and Sly’s actor in this trailer does a fine job, in my opinion. However, we both know how volatile fan opinion is. I therefore believe that it’s best that the original trio from the games be brought in to voice all 3 characters. Just 2 with a stranger feels… off. To most people at least.

I can’t wait for this to come out. Thank you for your answer or for reading.
banks_squad
January 28, 2014 at 5:28 pm PST

Sly is Back and fluffier than ever :D
OttoCerqueira
January 28, 2014 at 5:33 pm PST

I am very glad to see Brad here, replying Sly Cooper’s fans. This kind of action shows how much they care and are working together with everyone to keep the series quality on the big screen. I would like to apologize for the people who are being harsh, it’s only natural since everybody is so loyal to the franchise quality.

As my personal opinion, I think you all did a pretty amazing job on keeping the humour of the series, chars personality are also essentialy the same. I agree with you that cel-shadding would be not so cool at the big screen and is more close to movies that non-gamers are accustomed because of Pixar Animation and Dreamworks. Maybe changing the chars design just a little bit to make it even more close to the original, and bring Sly voices back (if possible) would be great.

Oh, and that’s some really amazing special effects there, the light, the character’s motion (so vivid!). Looking forward to it.
MisterWisp
January 28, 2014 at 6:31 pm PST

Get rid of Sly’s whiskers, make Sly’s outfit more accurate to the games, make Murray not have a sunburn, wife beater, frog-chin and smaller head, and I’m totally on board :)

But PLEASE make said changes. You’d think after inFAMOUS 2, Nate Fox and the rest of Sucker Punch would be more cautious about the designs being changed…
LuiSpartanMIMIMI
January 28, 2014 at 7:10 pm PST

Kevin Miller revealed he wasn’t asked to reprise role of Sly Cooper for the movie.. Blockade, WHAT THE **** ARE YOU DOING?

This is so disrespectful with Sly fans! Kevin IS Sly! I DO NOT accept the change of any voice actor of any character, unless in case of death of the actor. I could understand if you asked and he said no to the movie, but not asking him at all?

I’m really sad with all this. You don’t have any idea how BIG, BIG fan of Sly I am, but if this situation doesn’t change, I WILL BOYCOTT THE MOVIE, SUCKER PUNCH AND BLOCKADE WITHOUT MERCY! And I encouge all the other Sly fans to do the same!
LuiSpartanMIMIMI
January 28, 2014 at 7:12 pm PST

Kevin Miller revealed he wasn’t asked to reprise role of Sly Cooper for the movie.. Blockade, WHAT THE F**K ARE YOU DOING?

This is so disrespectful with Sly fans! Kevin IS Sly! I DO NOT accept the change of any voice actor of any character, unless in case of death of the actor. I could understand if you asked and he said no to the movie, but not asking him at all?

I’m really sad with all this. You don’t have any idea how BIG, BIG fan of Sly I am, but if this situation doesn’t change, I WILL BOYC*TT THE MOVIE, SUCKER PUNCH AND BLOCKADE WITHOUT MERCY! And I encouge all the other Sly fans to do the same!
ChipWhitley
January 28, 2014 at 7:20 pm PST

This looks great! Any chance of Dimitri or Penelope making an appearance?
Astroking112
January 28, 2014 at 7:32 pm PST

You’ll get enough response from the fans that I’m confident that you’ll fix Murray. Seeing a less… different version of him would go great with some character development (He used to be quite timid before becoming confident in the sequel. It’d be great to see him developed, too), hint hint.

That said… Maybe make Bentley’s glasses a little bit more reflective? I certainly enjoy seeing his face, but it seems almost as if they’re not there sometimes. Not too much to obscure it, just a little bit to acknowledge their presence.

Now, Sly. I’m actually mostly fine with his redesign, but there are a few big things:
– His voice. Need I say more? As soon as I heard him speak in the trailer I said, “Where’s Sly?” I don’t think that anyone else has ever voiced him, actually. I normally never care much for voice actors (I was fine with the inFamous 2 changes), but it immediately sounded off. It’d be like replacing Captain Jack Sparrow, it just shouldn’t be done.
– His legs are a bit too long and human for my tastes. I guess I can make due with those pants…
– Face is off. Just a few things like the snout being too short or it being too long. Minor stuff.
Elvick_
January 28, 2014 at 7:38 pm PST

Please change Murray’s design. Bentley looks great (odd without glasses) and I think witb time Sly will grow on me. But Murray? He looks horrible. His frog chin, ugly face, and the way his fat is make him disgusting and not The Murray we all love.

Very disappointed in you replacing Kevin Miller.
Lin_Bei_Fong
January 28, 2014 at 8:23 pm PST

I am disappointed.. big time highly highly disappointed. At first I was so looking forward to this like everyone else. Then I imagine the utter rage I felt upon hearing the true gang’s voices will not be playing. Kevin Miller is Sly Cooper there is no replacement for him and I for one find it rather sad that you would use some other voice actor to fill his shoes.

You didn’t even ask Kevin Miller. Weather or not this is a whole new team playing for this whole movie I can’t believe you would completely turn a blind eye on all this. Call it what you will but this is no sly cooper movie. The characters don’t look right, the voice actor the main voice actor is all wrong and I can’t even begin to wonder what you’ll do to Carmelita or if you’ll even show her but I am terrified at what I might see upon hearing her or seeing her for the first time.
Lin_Bei_Fong
January 28, 2014 at 8:23 pm PST

Continuing here due to comment being too long) : First Sanzaru disappointed me with the Sly four game.. now this. Really I am really and truly disappointed. A true sly fan would not stand for this. Sorry blockade but I do respect you all as a company but not this. I don’t respect this and I don’t stand for what it’s doing. I am not saying I won’t watch it when it comes out but I won’t be a fan of it not even a little. Sucker punch should have never given up it’s rights for this. I am ashamed of myself for wanting to watch it. Even more so ashamed that I call myself a fan because Sly has changed too much and I feel everyone is taking the sly franchises true potential and flushing it down the toilet.

Forgive me for being so rude and harsh but it’s just how I feel. I know some of you may not agree with me and heck I probably even offended some of you and for that I am sorry but I cannot change how I feel about this. I am not happy not even a little.
JayBizzle311
January 28, 2014 at 11:48 pm PST

I liked the idea and overall feel of the trailer. But, I’d like to see some refinements to the style a little bit and somehow make it more like the appearance of the games..

Murray looks really awkward.

and where is Carmelita?
freshprincepbg
January 29, 2014 at 12:08 am PST

Just being honest, I do not like the way Sly looks at all, his proportions look very weird, and the whiskers are kinda freaking me out.

I do not see the problem in making this a cartoon movie

I did enjoy the trailer of this very much, so good job on that, it’s just Sly’s look that is throwing me off.
tonydamiani
January 29, 2014 at 2:17 am PST

Very Nice! :D
Gagimeister
January 29, 2014 at 8:29 am PST

pt 1 .
Love you guys for doing this! This is awesome, but you guys seriously shouldn´t had changed the voice for sly, Sly is only Sly when speaking with his own voice. Kevin Miller is the one and only sly cooper.

You guys probably shouldn´t go with that hoodie sense it goes against his personality, his polo gives him a more unique and relaxed look that I find really iconic. Otherwise, it´s the best Sly cooper design of all time, really looks devious and really cool.
Getting back the backpack wouldn´t hurt either, it reminds you of his mission of stealing back the thivius raccoonus.
Gagimeister
January 29, 2014 at 8:30 am PST

pt 2
Other then that I just hate Murray´s look overall, just makes me afraid kids wont be allowed to go to the theater because he looks that disgusting. I would recommend you guys to make him look more like he did in the second and third game sense that is the one that looks the best. I´m also really glad that it´s still the voice of “the murray” that plays ” the Murray”

Bentley looks okey, like those new characteristic new teethes but miss those even more characteristic eyebrows on the glasses that look like cheese. I guess that you made the glasses transparent to make it easier to show emotions but the original glasses is what makes him so like-able, adds mystique to the world and atmosphere. With the return of the voice of Bentley It is still awesome but you still really need to change back some things.
Gagimeister
January 29, 2014 at 8:30 am PST

pt3
absolutely love the look of the city, it´s the best part of the whole trailer actually, love the darker approach but you still manage to keep it funny which is amazing. It is just like the TMNT movie, amazing looking city.

can´t wait to see Carmelita, hope she doesn´t look like she did in thieves in time, man that was disturbing, no, make her look pretty and attractive without giving her a disturbing hourglass figure, can´t wait to see her in full glorious CG with your new more atmospheric look!
Clockwork will probably look amazingly cool and scary, remember to only reveal his full body near the end, that was what made the first game soo amazing.
can´t wait to watch this, I beleve in you guys, there are some huge problems but I still see a lot of quality and all of my friends and I are planning to watch it in 2016 in theater, if it comes to europe that is. anyways take care and I hope you follow my advice, it would make a lot of people really happy.
Duck_mann86
January 29, 2014 at 9:34 am PST

I agree with everyone. Kevin Miller is irreplaceable as Sly. It is a shame that he wasn’t even asked to reprise the role.
BoNeSaW23
January 29, 2014 at 11:08 am PST

BRAD FOXHOVEN Quote: “We (Blockade) helped bring in new talent for the film to make sure it was to the level we all want to see on the big screen!”

Wow! What a slap to the face of all the original Voice Actors that brought these characters to life for the past 12 years, that they are not good enough for the them now. If you have EVER played a Sly game you would know Kevin,Matt and Chris are a phenomenal voice talent team. Get Kevin back! HE IS SLY COOPER!

You guys just lost 6 ticket sales and a blu-ray purchase. Give gamers a middle finger and we’ll give one right back!

P.S. Murray looks horrible and Sly’s whiskers are a distraction.
TheIronicTea
January 29, 2014 at 11:28 am PST

Guys, sign this petition to get Kevin Miller to voice Sly! https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/rainmaker-entertainment-inc-blockade-entertainment-inc-allow-kevin-miller-to-reprise-his-role-as-the-voice-of-sly-cooper-in-the-2016-film-sly-cooper
Dr_Omni
January 30, 2014 at 6:22 am PST

@Bonesaw23

I think he’s referring to the animation team as opposed to the voice actors.
Dr_Omni
January 30, 2014 at 6:35 am PST

I have to first state that I love the feel of the trailer, it certainly captures Sly Cooper’s humour and narrative style. And having Sly steal from the police rather than the shop was a great touch. Bentley’s design also matches up well, perhaps a bit of shine on his glasses wouldn’t go amiss, but honestly that’s just nitpicking on my part.
OVERALL, I was left with feeling positive, despite these next few complaints.

First of all, Sly’s snout perhaps needs to be a little bit longer, other than that, he’s great. I mean, honestly, he’s serviceable as he is now, but I feel that snout is a little too short. Oh, and as great a job the current voice actor does, I’d be much more interested if Kevin Miller were to reprise his role, or at least given the choice to.

Conversely, Murray’s snout is way too big. I think what feels off about him is that, in the games, his face is much wider, with larger cheekbones than the movie Murray. Widen his face, shorten the snout (and maybe pull back on the neck bulge, it’s a nice touch, but it’s not Murray) and I think he’d be great.
Dr_Omni
January 30, 2014 at 6:36 am PST

I have to reiterate the concerns for the story, too. Sly knew about his ancestry long before he was orphaned thanks to tales from his father when he was very young, this is virtually stated in the first cartoon-cutscene of the first game.
Not only that, but this sentence worries me: “Sly races to reassemble pieces of an ancient book holding the Cooper clan’s family secrets BEFORE it can fall into the hands of Clockwerk.” The Fiendish Five (which Clockwerk was a part of) stole the Thievius Raccoonus when they killed Sly’s father. It’s hinted that it was the Thievius Raccoonus that really allowed the Fiendish Five to become the feared gang they are by the time the first game takes place. In essence, Clockwerk already HAS the Thievius Raccoonus by the time Sly comes to stop him.

The designs can be fixed (and, to be honest, are somewhat negligeable anyway), but I’m worried that the story issues could pull me out of it if the movie veers so far away from what happened in the games.
Assasinman2012
January 30, 2014 at 7:24 am PST

This is great news but here are some of my nit picks

– need Slys original voice actor
– Murray is the driver of the van not Bentley (he doesn’t know how to drive stick shift ;) )
BoNeSaW23
January 30, 2014 at 9:28 am PST

@ Dr_Omni His response was to someone expressing concern over voice actors and animation. You may be right.

I’m still upset about Kevin Miller not even being approached to work on it. I also agree with your comments.

Good day!
MrMention
January 30, 2014 at 9:42 am PST

The character models look really bad. Really, really, really stinking bad. That said, I think this could be a really clever and fun movie. But they HAVE to fix those characters. They look really bad. Like really, really,…
Snookums-Gal
January 31, 2014 at 4:27 pm PST

There’s a mistake in the article, it says “Bentley’s helmet”, when you meant Murray’s (although personally I would call it a luchador mask rather than a helmet). Bentley’s signature safari hat/helmet is fine!
zachmalinak
January 31, 2014 at 8:34 pm PST

I know everyone has been commenting this, but Brad, I have a serious question. Are you going to use the original trio, Kevin Miller, Matt Olsen and Chris Murphy, or are you thinking of getting a brand new cast for the screen? Because to a big fan of Sly like myself, these characters are some of those rare characters that are brought to their full life and potential with the original voice actors who have voiced them for years and have never been replaced. I know you must be tired of hearing this but please take this into serious consideration, in the interest of almost all of the fans of this franchise, you should seriously consider contacting Kevin Miller to voice Sly, it adds to the quality of the Sly brand. Why have the two with out the third? It makes no sense to me and it destroys the universe for the fans that way. I’m sorry to repeat the constantly repeated but thanks ofr listening and hope to hear back from you. Likewise, i’m excited for this movie and the Ratchet and Clank movie, hope there’s a Jak and Daxter one too!!!
Elvick_
January 31, 2014 at 11:00 pm PST

Ignoring Sly… LittleBigPlanet movie please. Would be the most adorable film ever.
anynymous1982
February 1, 2014 at 6:04 am PST

hope you’ll get everything right in 2 years, so far i cannot put this teaser into any continuity: bentley can’t drive yet, not dont wear that adventurer hat etc.

i’m fine with voices , they’ll get redubbed in my country anyway , just focus on tweaking the designs. can’t wait to see clockwerk or miss fox. hope you won’t overdo them like murray.
THEKevinMiller
February 1, 2014 at 1:03 pm PST

Kevin Miller here and I can’t wait to see Sly in 3D on the big screen! Brad, Kevin and crew everything looks so marvelous! The water tower ALONE is bursting with character! Thanks for posting this blog. Looking forward to more updates!
Shockwave1321
February 1, 2014 at 3:14 pm PST

I’m a huge fan of the Sly Cooper series, I always had (have) fun playing them, in I’ve beaten the games in a total of 23 (Sly 1: twice, Sly 2: 8 times, Sly 3: 11 times, Sly 4: twice). So to a see a movie adaptation of the series has gotten me jumping out of my seat.

I do like the look of the Sly world, it looks realistic, but still….Sly-like. I also love the look of Sly, Bentley is good too, but I think Murray might need some work. The problem I have with Murray is that he has a bit too big mouth, but what most bothers me is that weird tan he has going on his back.

Besides that it looks great, and loving how you brought back most of the voice actors. As long as that new Sly voice actor captures his charming, and sarcastic self, which looks like he does, and on top of that he sounds very similar to Kevin Miller. The characters are what make the series so great, so if you get that right then I just hope you can make the story look just as good too. Can’t wait until 2016, big fan.
IamtheRazgriz
February 2, 2014 at 11:39 am PST

I’ll say, it looks very promising. It does suck that the original voices of the trio aren’t in it, but they sound extremely close to it, besides when they speak really low or high, like when Sly said, “I’m on it.” The big part that is strange is how Murray looks more like white trash, rather than a caped thief. Murray’s snout is messed up too, but keep up the great work otherwise! I understand you’re still trying to find that perfect feel, so I won’t impose too much.
Ninjackz
February 2, 2014 at 1:13 pm PST

wow, i just started the sly cooper game on vita a few days ago and now they’ve announced a cooper movie.
(Shocking!) o.o
Jrayoliver
February 3, 2014 at 10:54 am PST

This Looks Promising as long as they can work on Murray and get Kevin Miller on Board, then it will be even better! Carmelita’s Voice is not a big problem since they have been different in each game,but Grey Delise did an awsome preformance in sly 4, and would not mind her being in the movie.

P.S im waiting On that Twisted Metal Movie Sony!
STCooper1
February 18, 2014 at 2:17 pm PST

I hope this movie is a huge success. We may even get a Sly Cooper animated series if this does well. In respect and response to Kevin Miller’s request, I grant this film my blessing and wish it the best of luck. However, I don’t think it’ll be the same without Kevin voicing Sly. There’s no replacing him with justice.