Sir Sean Connery talks about cartoon comeback

Sir Sean Connery revealed yesterday his wife's laughter is the biggest thrill of his return to the big screen.

The Hollywood legend has come out of retirement to star as a cartoon vet in a star- studded animated movie.

He signed up after being approached by the Scots makers of Sir Billi The Vet.

The superstar actor had previously said only a "Mafia-like" offer would tempt him out of retirement.But he told yesterday how wife Micheline's giggling was enough to change his mind.

In an exclusive interview with the Sunday Mail, Scotland's biggest star revealed artist Micheline's love of cartoons brought his self-imposed cinema exile to an end.

The 75-year-old James Bond legend is the first to admit that taking on the voice in the title role of the movie was a new challenge But he says he's delighted to try something different in a world dominated by special effects.

Sir Sean laughed: "Now I've seen the first scene I can't wait to see the finished product.

"My wife, who adores animation, saw it with me and she was laughing away. It really is very funny.

"One of the things that appealed to me about this project is that it is complete family entertainment. A three-year-old could watch it alongside their babysitter. There's something for everyone and I'm certain it's going to be something special."

For a man choosing to concentrate on voiceover work, Sir Sean was losing his voice last week. He admitted he was going to take some time to recuperate - and where better than his base in the Bahamas.

It was at recording studios in the sunshine paradise that he recorded his part as Billi.

In the film, which is due for completion next summer, Sir Sean plays an eccentric vet working in a remote Highland village.

He is joined by fellow Scots Alan Cumming, Gail Porter, Chewin' The Fat's Ford Kiernan and American funnywoman Ruby Wax.

The musical score has been written by award-winning Scottish composer Patrick Doyle.

Despite being able to command fees of £12million per movie, it is no secret the veteran superstar has become increasingly fed up with Hollywood. So much so that this is his first acting role in two years.

This is the man who famously said: "I'm fed up with the idiots and the ever-widening gap between people who know how to make movies and the people who green-light the movies."

It's not something that he's backing down from now.

He said: "It's all special effects these days. That's why I liked the premise of this film from the start. It's so original and contemporary.

"It was important to me there was a Scottish element in terms of the production and the context. In many ways, the landmarks used in Billi, even though imaginary, remind me of my time filming Highlander.

"We did that in the North of Scotland where there are great beaches and spectacular countryside."

The story follows the adventures of Sir Billi and a goat called Gordon, who thinks he's a dog, voiced by Cumming.

While the village think Sir Billi is a hero, it's Gordon who always saves the day and is a better vet.

As soon as Sean, who won an Oscar for his 1988 role in The Untouchables, saw the script he knew he wanted to be involved.

"I'd been given an early drawing of what Billi would look like and it actually turned out to be spot on. In many ways that helped me to get into the character but he's a very straightforward, good guy," he said.

As well as providing the voice for Sir Billi, the former 007 has also signed up to feature in a new computer game, James Bond: From Russia With Love.

It's the only computer game to feature the voice and likeness of Sir Sean, who worked alongside pop singer Natasha Bedingfield for the PlayStation game.

Not surprisingly, he says he never expected or wanted to escape from Bond, which brought him international stardom in Dr No in 1962"I don't know how one would escape," he revealed. "The movies are still there. In America they do 24 hours a day of the Bond films, which is amazing."

Sir Sean quit 007 after seven films, in part because the special effects had eclipsed the locations and the script.

For Sascha and Tessa Hartmann, the husband and wife team behind the £3million Sir Billi The Vet project, getting Connery to lead the star-studded cast was a terrific coup.

Tessa revealed: "Having Sir Sean on board has been a real honour and we will always be indebted to him for his belief in this project."

Sascha, who runs Glasgow Animation with his wife, added: "Sean told us he'd been approached by the big boys but wasn't interested. He likes Sir Billi because he's not a hero like Bond. The goat is the real hero.

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