How a Hollywood Bowl Concert Revealed Minogue, Groff and Tate for Bad Fairies

Cynthia Erivo announced the voice cast of Bad Fairies on 15 October 2026, during the Hollywood Bowl concert Let Me Sing to You. Kylie Minogue, Jonathan Groff and Catherine Tate join Erivo in the animated musical from Warner Bros. Pictures Animation and Locksmith Animation.

Erivo introduced Groff and Tate on stage, according to Variety. The concert then revealed that Minogue, who was seated in the audience, would be joining the cast. The film is in production in London and is scheduled for a 2027 release, though published reports differ on the day.

Three New Voices and Their Roles

Minogue voices Clowder, the Cat Witch. Groff voices Robin Goodfellow, and Tate voices the Fairy Gothmother. Cynthia Erivo voices the lead, Jayne Staplegun, whom TheWrap describes as a trailblazing fairy. TheWrap’s cast report and Variety’s report both list these three roles.

Variety quotes Minogue describing playing a cat and a witch as ‘a little bit magical.’ TheWrap’s October 2025 report says the role marks Cynthia Erivo’s first lead in an animated feature.

Two of the three new roles, Clowder and the Fairy Gothmother, carry witch or fairy titles. The other four named voices are Serrana Su-Ling Bliss as Fei Chang, James Acaster as Stickers, Dee Bradley Baker as Groundbeef and Ncuti Gatwa as Butterwort. Variety and TheWrap both list them in their October 2026 coverage, which brings the named cast to eight voices.

Release Date on Record
Box Office Mojo lists May 21, 2027 as the earliest domestic release date for Bad Fairies, with Warner Bros. as the domestic distributor. Variety gives May 27, 2027 in its report on the new casting.

A Concert Reveal and the Film’s Premise

The second half of the concert opened with an orchestral piece built on ‘Hard to Believe’, Jayne’s song from the film, according to Variety. TheWrap reports that the same orchestral song was played during that half. Erivo then introduced Groff, Tate and Minogue, and TheWrap says Erivo confirmed they would star in the film.

TheWrap’s October 2025 report described the film as following a delightfully subversive gang of fairies as they shake up their magical world. The same report calls Jayne a trailblazing fairy whose defiant streak sparks a rebellion.

Variety places the story in contemporary London. Box Office Mojo’s logline says the film follows fairies who break every rule. Variety also reports the news came at a Thursday evening concert, and TheWrap’s report, dated 15 October 2026, also describes a Thursday concert.

The Songwriters, Director and Creative Team

Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, the Tony-winning duo behind Six: The Musical, are writing the original songs. Isabella ‘Machine’ Summers, of Florence and the Machine, is composing the score and contributing to the songs, according to TheWrap’s October 2026 report. Variety names Ian Eisendrath as executive music producer and cites KPop Demon Hunters as a credit.

Megan Nicole Dong directs the film and created the Netflix series Centaurworld. Olivier Staphylas is co-director, and TheWrap lists Staphylas as a head of character animation on Wish Dragon. Variety quotes Staphylas saying the animators aim for characters that feel ‘larger than life.’

Deborah Frances-White wrote the original screenplay. Carolyn Soper is the producer, and Cartoon Brew lists Soper’s earlier credits as Bolt, Tangled and Sherlock Gnomes.

Sim Evan-Jones is editor, and James C.J. Williams is cinematographer. Uwe Heidschötter is character designer, and Rikke Asbjoern and Chris Garbutt are heads of story. Justin Hutchinson-Chatburn and Mike Redman are production designers, according to Variety.

The songwriters and composer named in Cartoon Brew’s July 2024 article are the same as in TheWrap’s reports from 2025 and 2026. TheWrap’s 2025 and 2026 reports both credit Summers with composing the score and contributing to the songs.

Studios, Partners and the First-Look Deal

Warner Bros. Pictures Animation and Locksmith Animation are behind the film. Variety names DNEG Animation as the digital partner on the animation, and Cartoon Brew says DNEG is producing it.

Locksmith Animation’s announcement of 10 June 2023 describes a first-look deal with Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group covering two projects in development. The first is Bad Fairies, a ‘subversive musical comedy’ set in contemporary London. The second is The Lunar Chronicles, based on Marissa Meyer’s bestselling novels.

The 2023 announcement attached Megan Nicole Dong to direct and had Deborah Frances-White writing the screenplay. TheWrap’s October 2025 report says Bad Fairies is the first release under the first-look deal between Warner Bros. Pictures Animation and Locksmith.

Cartoon Brew says Warner Bros. Pictures Animation has dated the film, and lists DNEG Animation as producing the animation. Cartoon Brew says the Locksmith and Warner Bros. deal was first announced in 2019 and renewed in 2023.

In TheWrap’s October 2026 cast report, Bill Damaschke, president of Warner Bros. Pictures Animation, said the cast is ‘bold and joyful’. Natalie Fischer, CEO of Locksmith Animation, describes the film as funny and full of heart. Variety quotes Fischer on Erivo’s voice, calling it the soul of the film.

Minogue, who was seated in the audience, would be joining the cast.

From Development to Casting: A Timeline

A Cartoon Brew article from July 2024 names Megan Nicole Dong as director and lists the crew, including Carolyn Soper as producer. Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss already appear as songwriters in that article. It also describes Deborah Frances-White as creator and host of the podcast The Guilty Feminist.

TheWrap’s report of 9 October 2025 announced Cynthia Erivo as the lead in an animated musical that was in production in London. The same report gave a release date of May 21, 2027.

The new voices were announced on 15 October 2026 at the Hollywood Bowl. The sources place the film’s release in 2027, as the final section sets out.

Locksmith’s 2023 announcement described Bad Fairies as set in contemporary London, the same setting Variety gives in its 2026 report.

Release Date, Running Time and Production Status

Three sources give May 21, 2027. TheWrap’s October 2026 cast report gives that date, as does its October 2025 report. Box Office Mojo lists May 21, 2027 as the earliest domestic release date, with Warner Bros. as the domestic distributor.

Variety’s October 2026 report gives May 27, 2027 as the opening date. Cartoon Brew, in its July 2024 article, gives July 23, 2027. Neither studio executive quoted in the October 2026 coverage names a day.

Box Office Mojo gives a running time of 1 hour 49 minutes and lists the genres as adventure, animation, comedy, family, fantasy and musical. It shows no domestic, international or worldwide box office figures. TheWrap’s 2025 report calls the film an animated musical.

The October 2026 coverage from Variety and TheWrap says production is underway in London.

Photo: Library of Congress Life · CC0 · via Wikimedia Commons