‘A Monster Calls’ Trailer: Liam Neeson Is a Friendly Tree

Liam Neeson is exchanging his leather jacket and kidnap rescue mission for his next film, in which he plays a gravelly-voiced CG tree monster. You don’t get to see too much of him in the first trailer for A Monster Calls, but you can hear his Tom Waits impression as he narrates with the story of an invisible monster who doesn’t want to be invisible and alone anymore. It’s like The Iron Giant, but with a tree creature.

Based on the award-winning children’s novel, A Monster Calls centers on a young boy (Lewis MacDougall) who copes with his mother’s illness and persistent torment from school bullies by escaping into a fantasy world. Those with sharp ears will notice the use of the Cloud Atlas score in the trailer, which does a good job of teasing the film and Neeson’s role in it.

Directed by J.A. Bayona (The Impossible), A Monster Calls also stars Felicity Jones, Sigourney Weaver and Toby Kebbell, and is officially described as follows:

A visually spectacular drama from acclaimed director Juan Antonio Bayona (“The Impossible”), based on the award-winning children’s fantasy novel. 12-year-old Conor (Lewis MacDougall) attempts to deal with his mother’s (Felicity Jones) illness and the bullying of his classmates by escaping into a fantastical world of monsters and fairy tales that explore courage, loss, and faith.

A Monster Calls doesn’t arrive until October 14, 2016.