Valatty 2023: Release date, plot, trailer, voice cast, who plays who, behind the scenes, OTT platform and more

The maker of Valatty: The Tale of Tails, knew they were doing the first-of-its-kind film in Indian cinema when they set out to make the live-action movie that featured dogs as its main characters. The film, helmed by debutant Devan, is a labour of love and innocence – one that has spanned over three and a half years.

While there has been several movies featuring a canine cast in Hollywood such as the Isle of Dogs, The Art of Racing in the Rain and A Dog’s Purpose – that are all told from the perspective of the furry companions, Indian cinema is yet to have a full-length feature film with mainstream actors. That’s what the Malayalam movie, which will also be released in multiple languages, will change when it hits theatres.

Also read: Valatty director Devan: We had to devise new tricks to get various reactions from the dogs 

Release date

Valatty, which is produced by Friday Film House that has backed experimental ventures such as Angamaly Diaries and Aadu, was initially set for release on July 14. However, the rains in Kerala and the subsequent postponement of several other big films including Dileep’s Voice of Sathyanathan, prompted the makers to push the film to July 21.

Also read: Valatty director Devan: Had Soubin Shahir and Ranjini Haridas in mind even while I was scripting 

Devan, in an exclusive chat with OTTplay, had also confirmed that while the Malayalam version will hit theatres on July 21, the Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada versions will release only on July 28.

Plot

The movie revolves around a group of dogs, but it’s Tomy the Golden Retriever, and Amalu the Cocker Spaniel that play the protagonists. After the two dogs fall in love, much to the disapproval of their pet parents, they are forced to elope. The series of adventures they embark on, in the company of other dogs, animals and humans they meet along the way, form the plot of the film. Devan had said that the film is for everyone “who carry innocence in their hearts and minds” just like dogs in real life.

Trailer

The makers had first announced the project back in July 2020 and since then have teased the viewers with posters featuring its canine cast from the movie. But the first trailer of the movie dropped in June 2023, and immediately piqued the curiosity of the viewers for two reasons. One being the adorable animals and other, obviously, the presence of popular actors, albeit as voices.

The trailer has already racked up 2.4M views since its release and has kept the hype alive for the film along with some of its songs and teasers. The team had also released a sneak peak of the movie a few months ago that has got over 2.6M views.

Voice cast

The voice cast of the film is also one of its chief highlights. Some of the leading actors in Malayalam cinema including Soubin Shahir, Roshan Mathew, Aju Varghese, Saiju Kurup, Sunny Wayne, Indrans, Raveena Ravi, Ranjini Haridas and Surabhi Lakshmi have lent their voices to the characters. Vijay Babu, Rohini, Akshay Radhakrishnan, Sanju Sanichen and Dev Mohan are also part of the Valatty.

Also read: 777 Charlie was told more from a human perspective but Valatty is entirely from dogs’ POV: Devan | Exclusive 

In an interview with OTTplay, Devan said that he had many of these actors – including Soubin and Ranjini – in mind while scripting the film itself. All of them, who had come onboard, had watched the film, which had a dummy pilot track for reference, and were impressed with what they had seen. “After the dubbing, I felt that nobody else’s voice suited any of the characters than the ones who had dubbed for them. That’s how good each of them were,” he said.

Who plays who

Valatty has Roshan and Raveena essaying the characters of Tommy and Amalu, respectively. Soubin essays the role of Karidas, a dog of an indigenous breed, while Sunny Wayne, Indrans and Saiju Kurup play the characters essayed by a Rottweiler, Labrador and Dobermann, respectively. Aju Varghese has given his voice for a rooster in the film, while Vijay Babu and

Behind the scenes

Most of the work by team was done during the pre-production of the movie that lasted for over one and a half years. Devan had previously told us that he along with his directorial team, a dog trainer and the dogs, which they had bought when they were pups, had stayed together for six months at a place in Kollam during the lockdown.

This is also where they got the animals to familiarise with the shoot surroundings and equipment. “We had done a lot of work beforehand to know what we should be doing to get a particular expression out of the dogs. For instance, during the pre-production phase, we understood what triggered happiness, anger and disappointment in them and how to get these reactions out of them. So, we were prepared like that,” he said, adding that they also came up with new tricks that served as triggers.

OTT platform

The makers are yet to announce the OTT platform of the movie. The OTT rights of Friday Film House’s previous two movies - #Home and Theerppu – were sold to Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ Hotstar, respectively.