Fry and Laurie to co-star in animated 'Canterville Ghost' movie

LOS ANGELES, May 9 (UPI) -- Imelda Staunton, Freddie Highmore, Miranda Hart and Toby Jones, as well as former comedy team Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, are to lend their voices to characters in an animated film version of Oscar Wilde's The Canterville Ghost, producers announced Friday.

Currently in pre-production, the comedy tells the story of Sir Simon de Canterville, a spirit who has been haunting Canterville Chase, his ancestral home in rural England, for more than 300 years. He has successfully scared off every previous tenant with ease and aplomb -- up until the Otis family from America arrives.

The film is being directed by Kim Burdon and produced by Robert Chandler and Gina Carter.

"I'm excited as a little child to be playing in Oscar Wilde's hilarious and touching ghost-story/romance/comedy -- especially as it will mean working again with Hugh Laurie after all these years," Fry said in a statement. "The standard and style of the animation will be astounding and the voice talent unmatched in what I am certain will be, the cliché is unavoidable, an unmissable experience for all the family."

"Take one bone-rattling Canterville Ghost, add a dollop of Fry, a slice of Laurie and the result is pure, perfect, hilarious magic. Robert, Gina and Kim have created an extraordinarily wonderful world and Content is thrilled to be a part of it," said Jamie Carmichael from the company Content, which will be handling the worldwide sales for the movie, starting at the Cannes Film Festival market this month.