Charlie Theron and Matthew McConaughey will appear for the first time on the big screen as animated characters in Kubo and the Two Strings. The actors wanted to try their hands at working on an animated film for the same reason.

EXCLUSIVE: @McConaughey and @CharlizeAfrica make their animated film debut https://t.co/uPIaMH3Pmb pic.twitter.com/6n34JPHrXA

— People Magazine (@people) January 27, 2016

Since both Matthew McConaughey and Charlize Theron are parents, they wanted to make something they could feel proud about letting their children watch. Many of the films the two have starred in aren’t child appropriate.

Let’s talk about the @kubothemovie cast! Who are you more excited for: Monkey (Charlize Theron) or Beetle (Matthew McConaughey)? #KuboSweeps

— Megan Calhoun (@socialmoms) January 28, 2016

When McConaughey first checked out the script for Kubo and the Two Strings, he read it to his kids as a bedtime story.

“He would read them little sections each night,” the film’s director, Travis Knight, says in a recent interview with People magazine.

“That was his way of bringing the story to life and connecting with his children–it essentially became a bedtime story for the McConaughey family,” the director adds.

Charlize Theron loved the script, too.

Here it is – the beautiful trailer for Kubo & The Two Strings! #KUBOmovie https://t.co/bfGhIOkMZa

— Charlize Theron (@CharlizeAfrica) January 27, 2016

“She found that this was not only something that she could show her child, but it was a beautiful story that she could be a part of,” Knight says.

Charlize Theron will play the role of a sword-wielding monkey named Monkey, while Matthew McConaughey’s character is a “big, brawny man-bug” named Beetle.

“Monkey and Beetle become a makeshift family for Kubo as they go on this journey, and they bond together as this family,” Knight says of Theron and McConaughey’s characters.

Take a look at the first poster for Kubo and the Two Strings. I feel lucky to be a part of it ! pic.twitter.com/jOdswHx0yx

— Charlize Theron (@CharlizeAfrica) December 9, 2015

Since Matthew McConaughey has a Texas twang and Charlize Theron has a bit of a South African accent, both actors needed to work on a bit of voice modification for this project.

“They modified their natural accents accordingly,” Travis Knight says.

“Not a whole lot of actors can do it,” he adds. “But these are some of the best actors in the entire world, and from my perspective they seemed like they breezed through it.”

In addition to Charlize Theron and Matthew McConaughey, Kubo and the Two Strings will also star Rooney Mara, Art Parkinson, Ralph Fiennes and George Takei. It is scheduled to premiere in theaters on August 19.