Sir Sean Connery`s animated film gets jump start after 3 year stall

His wizardry helped Harry Potter soar to new heights and now he has sprinkled his magic over Sir Sean Connery's cinematic swan song. The makers of the Scottish animated feature film Sir Billi The Vet could not believe their luck when they managed to coax the 007 star out of retirement to make one final movie. But three years later, with no sign of a release date, questions were beginning to be asked about whether the project had stalled.

Now Scotland on Sunday can reveal that one of the most gifted editors in Hollywood, Steven Weisberg, has joined the project, giving the movie a badly needed kick-start.

The involvement of Weisberg, who edited the acclaimed big screen adaptation of Harry Potter And The Prisoner of Azkaban, means the movie is almost complete and will hit cinema screens next year.

Producer Tessa Hartmann hopes the film's impressive list of high-profile stars, including Connery, Alan Cumming, Ruby Wax, Taggart star Alex Norton, Richard Briers, Miriam Margolyes, and Chewing The Fat funnymen Ford Kiernan and Greg Hemphill, will help it pack a punch way above the weight of its relatively small £6m budget.

Hartmann said: "We are absolutely delighted to be able to confirm that Steven Weisberg has agreed to join our team.

"He is an amazingly talented individual, who could have his pick of nearly any Hollywood project, so we are over the moon to have him on board.

"Not for the first time we have aimed high and have been successful."

Hartmann, who is producing the film with husband Sascha, revealed, as was the case with Connery, that they managed to convince Weisberg to provide his services for the love of the project alone.

"We asked our composer Patrick Doyle to recommend a film editor.

"Without hesitation he told us Steve Weisberg was the best guy around, but warned us that he probably wouldn't have the time, and we wouldn't have the budget to get him.

"But, much to our surprise, he agreed to meet with us in London and we let him have a look at the film."

The couple were amazed when the film-maker, whose CV includes the recent remake of comedy classic The Producers, Nurse Betty with Renée Zellweger and Dustin Hoffman's Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium, agreed to become the film's unpaid editing consultant.

Hartmann said: "Steve watched the film and told us that he thought we had something special.

"To our delight he said: 'I'm going to take a gamble and would really like to do the film.' He is incredibly busy, but thankfully we managed to squeeze him in between projects.

"It is a tremendous compliment to have someone with so much experience recognise the quality of the animation."

The 75-minute film, which is having post-production tweaks, is heading towards completion, and will have its premiere in 2009.

"The film will definitely be out next year, and we are looking to have it in cinemas in the autumn.

"Sir Sean's plan is to present it at film festivals.

"He really cares about the film and his expertise has been invaluable.

"It is well known that he loves to support projects coming out of Scotland, but it is great that a man of his stature is able to take the time to get involved so heavily."

As well as supplying the voice for the lead character, the world's best-known living Scot has also acted as an adviser to the novice film-makers.

With his balding head and silver whiskers, Sir Billi the Vet bears a striking resemblance to Connery, although the animated version is noticeably stouter than the famously svelte former Bond star.

The character also proudly displays his Scottish roots by sporting a natty pair of red and green tartan dungarees.

The 77-year-old star retired from acting in 2003 stating it would take "a Mafia-like" offer to convince him to return to the screen. But the Edinburgh actor, who commanded £12m per role at his peak and turned down the role of Gandalf in the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, was coaxed back after his wife burst out laughing while watching an early trailer for Sir Billi.

Connery said he wanted to help a small-scale, independent project and waived his usual fee completely.

He said: "Sir Billi is set in Scotland, is steeped in authentic Scottish history and is a great adventure. The film touches everyone.

"Three-year-olds, grandparents and babysitters will understand. Billi thinks he is smart but is not really.

"It gives an insight into a lot of Scottish characteristics and our humour."

The adventure, which is set in the Highlands, chronicles the adventures of the eccentric skateboarding veterinarian Sir William Sedgewick, better known as Billi, who faces enormous dangers to rescue his furry friends.

Meanwhile, comedians Kiernan and Hemphill are reported to have dissolved their double act after a falling out.

But the Still Game and Chewing The Fat partners have both landed parts in the production, with Hemphill playing Mr McTavish and Kiernan bringing Banjo Barry to life.

Hartmann, of Glasgow Animation, revealed the film was originally meant to be a 22-minute short, but it snowballed when offers of support rolled in.

"We had a mountain to climb, because the big American studios like Pixar have 250 animators at any one time and our maximum capacity is just 45.

"But we are delighted we have managed to beat the odds and produce a film of this quality entirely in Scotland."

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