Brad Pitt, Will Ferrell And Jonah Hill Join 'Oobermind'

The top dogs at DreamWorks Animation must be feeling pretty pleased with themselves today. Variety reports that their upcoming "Oobermind" just snatched itself three superstars: "SNL" alum Will Ferrell, Apatow-spawn Jonah Hill and -- the whopper -- "Inglourious" bastard Brad Pitt. Sure, Ferrell is replacing Robert Downey Jr., a man who complements his "Iron Man" armor with the power to please a crowd, but this trio is still a pretty big "get" for DreamWorks.

It's a cool project too, at least from the sound of things. One of those increasingly rare "original spins" on an established idea. Super-villain Oobermind (Ferrell) has finally defeated his arch-nemesis (Pitt), and now he's bored to tears. So he uses one of his dastardly machines to create a new hero (Hill) to fight, only the newbie just wants to be a jerk. All of a sudden, Oorbermind finds himself in the hero's role. See? Clever.

Ferrell and Hill aren't exactly hurting for work these days, but I'm not surprised to see them join the cast. Pitt comes as a bit of a surprise. It sounds like his role is a minor one, as Oobermind's defeated nemesis, but the star's last voice acting gig -- in "Sinbad: Voyage of the Seven Seas" (2003) -- was rather underwhelming. Then again, the "Inglourious Basterds" star hasn't really made a bad choice since "Troy" (2004); if he sees something in "Oobermind," then I'm all the more interested in it.

The freshly cast trio join Tina Fey, who plays the obligatory no-nonsense reporter who is constantly trying to make sense of the crazy world around her. The bad guys winning? Super-villains saving the day? Crazy-talk, all of it. Should be fun to see Fey bring her "30 Rock" attitude to a Lois Lane-type. Especially with her three new voice actor pals.

Were you interested in "Oobermind" before this news? Was it on your radar? What does the addition of Pitt, Ferrell and Hill do for you? The loss of Downey? Who would make the better diabolical super-villain in real-life: Ferrell or Downey?

Tags brad pitt, jonah hill, oobermind, robert downey jr., Tiny Fey, will ferrell