The surreal show promises agricultural chaos, from chickens sprouting teeth, to ducks giving the side-eye and cows that kick up more than dirt.
Wānaka’s arts festival is held every second year and next year it will run from March 29 to April 6.
Festival executive director Ruth Heath said the team was "so excited" to have secured the internationally acclaimed show from Quebec, Canada.
Artistic director Sophie Kelly announced the show at the conclusion of a Nadia Reid music concert in Wanaka on Sunday.
Tickets go on sale today.
The Cirque Alfonse company hails from Saint-Alphonse-Rodriguez in Quebec.
It was established in 2005 by Antoine Carabinier-Lepine and his father Alain.
Members have worked with some of the most renowned "nouveau cirque" companies around the world, according to its website.
The team of acrobats include graduates from the Ecole Nationale de Cirque in Montreal, a professional dancer, an ex-skiing champion and three talented and versatile musicians.
"This brave and creative group of young performers is blazing a creative path that no-one has yet dared to explore, blending the arts and techniques of the circus and infusing them with the most picturesque facets of traditional Quebec folklore," its website says.
Ms Heath said Animal would be a surreal circus experience set to an infectious live soundtrack of "agricultural funk".
"In just 20 years, this rural-raised collective has toured the biggest cities in the world with their truly authentic circus style.
"We are lucky that they will be joining us for two special performances in the Lake Wānaka Centre next year."
Animal is touring with support from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Quebec and the Canada Council for the Arts.
The Wanaka Festival of Colour production is supported by Milford Asset Management.
— APL
