The idea of foosball players coming to life to help a kid save his village and the girl of his dreams sounds pretty silly, but it’s hard to turn down a movie with Ariana Grande, Nicholas Hoult, Matthew Morrison, Katie Holmes, John Leguizamo, Eugenio Derbez, Taran Killam, Bobby Moynihan and Chazz Palminteri attached to voice the characters.  Plus, the film did win the Grand Prize Award for a feature film at the New York International Children’s Film Festival, so perhaps I’m being too quick to judge.  (Although I do find Grande's speaking voice quite grating.)

Hit the jump to read more about the Underdogs movie voice cast and to check out two images from the film as well.

The Weinstein Company just announced that Morrison will be taking the role of Jake, a talented foosball player who’s got eyes for Grande’s Laura.  Hoult will step in as the villain of the film, Ace, a local bully who goes on to become a star soccer player and then returns home to level the town and turn it into a sports stadium.

The cut screened at the New York Children’s Film Festival was the Argentinian version, but the script will be reworked for the January 16, 2015 US release.

Here’s the official synopsis for Underdogs:

From Academy Award® winning director Juan Campanella comes UNDERDOGS, an animated comedy with a little bit of magic and a whole lot of heart. Jake is a shy, but talented, foosball player. His passion for the game is rivaled only by his love for free-spirited Laura. With her encouragement, he beats the town bully, Ace, in a foosball game. But everything changes when Ace becomes the world’s best soccer player and returns years later to turn their village into a new sports stadium. He starts to destroy everything and kidnaps Laura in the process. Just when it looks like all hope is lost, the toy figures from Jake’s foosball table come to life! He and the players embark on a wild adventure to save Laura and reclaim their village. With the help of his team, his town, and a little bit of magic, Jake will try to save the day.

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