Though some had expressed doubts recently that Robin Williams completed his vocal work on Terry Jones’ new comedy Absolutely Anything before his tragic death last week, the film’s producers have gone on the record to assure us that Williams’ voice will indeed show up in the film as that of Dennis, canine chum to Simon Pegg’s main character.
“Contrary to reports, we are able to confirm that Robin Williams completed his voice recording for the role of Dennis,” say Bill Jones and Ben Timlett in a statement. “Everyone on the Absolutely Anything team was distraught to hear the sad news and we send our condolences to Robin's family.”
Pegg plays Neil Clarke in the film, a disillusioned teacher who discovers he has magical powers, albeit in more of a Thor sense of the word since the abilities come from some alien interlopers. The extra-terrestrials in question will be voiced by director Jones alongside old pals John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle and Michael Palin, while Kate Beckinsale is Catherine, the object of Neil’s affection. While it will be bittersweet to hear Williams’ work on the film, we’re glad he got to finish one of his more anticipated recent jobs.
With Rob Riggle, Eddie Izzard, Joanna Lumley, Meera Syal and Sanjeev Bhaskar among the cast, Absolutely Anything should be ready to hit our screens next year.