Céline Dion will perform original songs by Paul McCartney in “High in the Clouds”, the animated film based on his children’s book. Her place in the voice cast had already been announced, but her musical involvement has now been confirmed. McCartney has heard some of her recordings and praised her contribution, while the production has yet to reveal song titles or a soundtrack release date.
Céline Dion is adding a musical role to her involvement in “High in the Clouds”, singing songs written and composed by Paul McCartney specifically for the forthcoming film. Gaumont’s 3D animated production had already announced her as a member of its voice cast. An October 27 announcement confirmed that her voice will also feature in the original songs.
Universal Music Group will release the soundtrack internationally. The announcement establishes Dion’s participation in that part of the project, but does not identify the individual tracks she will sing. It also leaves open whether particular performances will be solo recordings or involve other members of the cast, whose characters inhabit a story built around music.
McCartney has already heard some of Céline Dion’s contributions. In a post published in September, he praised both her involvement in the film and her return to live performance. He said that hearing her parts had left him astonished, describing her as an exceptional talent and expressing gratitude for being part of the same team.
He also said he looked forward to sharing the result with audiences. His comments concerned recordings already made, although listeners have not yet been given a complete account of the music. In particular, no duet between Dion and McCartney has been confirmed, and no individual song release dates accompanied the latest announcement.
The project originates in the children’s book McCartney published in 2005 with author Philip Ardagh and illustrator Geoff Dunbar. Its central character is Wirral, a young squirrel. In the screen version, his adventure brings him into conflict with Gretsch, an authoritarian owl who has forbidden every form of music in her town.
Wirral sets out to bring music back. Céline Dion voices his mother, Sugartail, while Himesh Patel plays the young hero and Hannah Waddingham takes the role of Gretsch. The characters’ relationship to singing is therefore part of the story itself, rather than music being confined to something heard only over the opening or closing credits.
The wider cast includes McCartney, Ringo Starr, Lionel Richie, Idris Elba and Jimmy Fallon. Patel, Waddingham and McCartney will also contribute musical performances within the film. With several musicians among the performers, the production brings its voice casting and its songs together, while still distinguishing those performances from the work of creating the orchestral score.
That score is being written by Michael Giacchino, the Oscar-winning composer of “Up”, whose other animated-film work includes “Ratatouille” and “Inside Out”. He is drawing on McCartney’s musical themes for the orchestral accompaniment. This is a separate creative contribution from the original songs McCartney has written for the characters and cast to perform.
For McCartney, adapting “High in the Clouds” has been a long-running undertaking. Earlier versions of the project were announced with different production arrangements and creative plans. A brief collaboration with Lady Gaga on a song intended for a previous version became public in 2015, illustrating how far back work on the adaptation extends.
The current production is moving forward with Gaumont Animation and a different creative team. McCartney remains involved in production as well as music. Earlier development history does not establish which recordings will appear in the finished film, making the specific confirmation of Céline Dion’s musical role a clearer indication of what audiences can expect from this version.
The announcement arrives as Dion has returned to the stage. Figures released for her recent Paris concerts describe 16 performances attended by approximately 550,000 people. That run followed her extended absence from major concert engagements after the interruption of the “Courage World Tour”, placing the film work within a period of renewed public performance.
McCartney had already referred to the reception for her comeback before the additional information about her film songs became public. His praise links two distinct aspects of her recent work: audiences seeing her sing in concert and the recordings made for this animated production. The latest announcement concerns the latter, without supplying a separate schedule for the soundtrack.
Toby Genkel, known for “The Amazing Maurice”, is directing “High in the Clouds”, from a screenplay by Jon Croker, whose credits include work on “Paddington 2”. Patrick Hanenberger is responsible for the production’s visual design. Gaumont Animation is collaborating with 88 Pictures on major parts of the animation, with production material due to be shown at the American Film Market.
Distribution agreements already cover several territories, including Greece, where Tanweer holds the rights. Gaumont has announced a French cinema release for October 2027. The worldwide soundtrack release through Universal Music Group still has no specific date. Until further details arrive, Céline Dion’s performances of McCartney’s original compositions remain among the film’s confirmed musical elements. The October 2027 date concerns the French theatrical release; it does not specify when Greek audiences will see the film or when Céline Dion’s songs will become available separately.
