Kazoo Films Picks Up ‘HitPig!’, Michael Guerrero Appointed Head of Marketing

Kazoo Films, the new U.K.-based kids’ and family animated feature distribution company launched by award-winning independent production company Cantilever Media (The Amazing Maurice), has acquired Aniventure’s latest animated film HitPig!, starring Jason Sudeikis (Ted Lasso), from international sales rep GFM Animation. Kazoo will release the film in the U.K. and Ireland.

The company has appointed a new Head of Marketing, Michael Guerrero. The new hire has been made with the support of the UK Global Screen Fund’s Business Development Fund. He will be working closely with Kazoo CEO Andrew Baker on the theatrical release and marketing campaigns for the company’s slate of titles, starting with its first release Night of the Zoopocalypse, which premieres in the U.K. later this year. Guerrero will liaise with Kazoo’s strategic partner Viva Pictures in the U.S. to collaborate on marketing and promotional efforts for select joint titles to maximize reach in both territories.

“Not only does Michael have a huge amount of industry experience, he also has the passion and enthusiasm for the business model we have put in place at Kazoo for the release of animated family features in the U.K. and Ireland,” said Baker. “We are so grateful to the BFI for their support which has enabled us to bring on board someone of Michael’s caliber. We’re excited to get started on the campaigns for our first release Night of the Zoopocalypse as well as our newly acquired HitPig!.”

Guerrero arrives at Kazoo Films with a wealth of experience, most recently at StudioCanal, where he was SVP Global Creative Marketing, working on international creative campaigns for titles across the slate including this year’s box-office hit We Live in Time. Prior to that, he was Head of Marketing at Pathe UK, leading on theatrical marketing campaigns for in-house productions including The Great Escaper and Allelujah. During his time at Altitude and eOne, Guerrero also worked on the successful theatrical releases of family franchises including Peppa Pig and Horrible Histories.

Viva Pictures released HitPig! in the U.S. on November 1, 2024 across 2,107 screens. Based on the New York Times bestseller Pete & Pickles from Berkeley Breathed, the film follows a clever bounty hunting pig (Sudeikis) who catches escaped animals and returns them to their owners. The next job for HitPig is his biggest yet: returning a dancing elephant named Pickles (Lilly Singh) to a maniacal Vegas showman (Rainn Wilson), for a million bucks.

The film is produced by Adam Nagle and Dave Rosenbaum of Aniventure, alongside CG animation by Cinesite.

Launched in January this year, Kazoo Films plans to release up to four films annually to audiences across the U.K. and Ireland, including both Cantilever Media productions and collaborations with international producers and sales agents.

kazoofilms.co.uk