“High School Musical” star Vanessa Hudgens will lead the voice cast of “My Little Pony: A New Generation,” a Netflix film based on the popular children’s toy line.
The animated adventure’s cast will also include Kimiko Glenn (“Orange Is the New Black”) and James Marsden (“Enchanted”), with the two playing Izzy Moonbow and Hitch Trailblazer. Hudgens will put her spin on Sunny Starscout — these ponies have quite the surnames.
Entertainment One is backing the film, which debuts on Netflix on September 24, 2021, at which point it will delight parents and kids by joining a heavy rotation of other animated fare. The film was originally intended to be distributed theatrically by Paramount Pictures, but due to the Covid pandemic, those plans were altered and the project wound up at Netflix.
Other cast members include Sofia Carson, Liza Koshy, Ken Jeong, Elizabeth Perkins, Jane Krakowski, Phil Lamarr and Michael McKean.
Here...
The animated adventure’s cast will also include Kimiko Glenn (“Orange Is the New Black”) and James Marsden (“Enchanted”), with the two playing Izzy Moonbow and Hitch Trailblazer. Hudgens will put her spin on Sunny Starscout — these ponies have quite the surnames.
Entertainment One is backing the film, which debuts on Netflix on September 24, 2021, at which point it will delight parents and kids by joining a heavy rotation of other animated fare. The film was originally intended to be distributed theatrically by Paramount Pictures, but due to the Covid pandemic, those plans were altered and the project wound up at Netflix.
Other cast members include Sofia Carson, Liza Koshy, Ken Jeong, Elizabeth Perkins, Jane Krakowski, Phil Lamarr and Michael McKean.
Here...
- 6/30/2021
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Vanessa Hudgens, Kimiko Glenn and James Marsden will star in “My Little Pony: A New Generation,” it was announced Tuesday.
Additional voice cast members include Sofia Carson, Liza Koshy, Ken Jeong, Elizabeth Perkins, Jane Krakowski, Phil Lamarr and Michael McKean.
The film is directed by Robert Cullen and José L. Ucha, and co-directed by Mark Fattibene. The story was created by Cullen, Ucha and Tim Sullivan. The screenplay was written by Sullivan and Gillian Berrow, while Cecil Kramer and Peter Lewis are producing.
The film’s full synopsis is as follows: “The unimaginable has happened… Equestria has lost its magic! Earth Ponies, Unicorns and Pegasi are no longer friends and now live separated by species. But idealistic Earth Pony Sunny (Hudgens) is determined to find a way to bring enchantment and unity back to their world. Teaming up with open-hearted Unicorn Izzy (Glenn), the pair travel to faraway lands where...
Additional voice cast members include Sofia Carson, Liza Koshy, Ken Jeong, Elizabeth Perkins, Jane Krakowski, Phil Lamarr and Michael McKean.
The film is directed by Robert Cullen and José L. Ucha, and co-directed by Mark Fattibene. The story was created by Cullen, Ucha and Tim Sullivan. The screenplay was written by Sullivan and Gillian Berrow, while Cecil Kramer and Peter Lewis are producing.
The film’s full synopsis is as follows: “The unimaginable has happened… Equestria has lost its magic! Earth Ponies, Unicorns and Pegasi are no longer friends and now live separated by species. But idealistic Earth Pony Sunny (Hudgens) is determined to find a way to bring enchantment and unity back to their world. Teaming up with open-hearted Unicorn Izzy (Glenn), the pair travel to faraway lands where...
- 6/30/2021
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Wrap
The next My Little Pony movie has just been picked up by Netflix in a global rights deal excluding China.
Paramount was set to release the movie on Sept. 24.
The pic is from eOne’s animation outfit Boulder Media, directed andby Rob Cullen and Jose Ucha, with co-director Mark Fattibene. Cecil Kramer and Peter Lewis produced.
A streaming date is planned for later this year.
The last My Little Pony: The Movie in 2017, released via 2017, earned $21.9M domestic and $60.3M WW.
The My Little Pony toy franchise was first launched in 1981, with the brand reportedly grossing over $1 billion annually in retail sails by 2014.
Variety first had the news about My Little Pony.
Paramount was set to release the movie on Sept. 24.
The pic is from eOne’s animation outfit Boulder Media, directed andby Rob Cullen and Jose Ucha, with co-director Mark Fattibene. Cecil Kramer and Peter Lewis produced.
A streaming date is planned for later this year.
The last My Little Pony: The Movie in 2017, released via 2017, earned $21.9M domestic and $60.3M WW.
The My Little Pony toy franchise was first launched in 1981, with the brand reportedly grossing over $1 billion annually in retail sails by 2014.
Variety first had the news about My Little Pony.
- 2/12/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
The “My Little Pony” movie is skipping theaters in favor of a streaming debut. The adorable little horsies of Equestria will (Rainbow) dash to Netflix “later this year,” a person with knowledge of the plan told TheWrap.
The movie was originally going to be distributed by Paramount Pictures and had a theatrical release date of Sept. 24, 2021. We do not know yet if that early fall date will remain for Netflix’s launch — we just know “My Little Pony” will bow on the streaming service in ’21.
Netflix has acquired the worldwide rights (excluding China) from Entertainment One (eOne), Hasbro’s entertainment studio, for an all-new, computer-animated feature film based on Hasbro’s popular My Little Pony property, the person said. EOne had previously planned to partner with Paramount for a theatrical release of the film, with the studio collecting a distribution fee.
The animated rom eOne’s animation studio Boulder Media...
The movie was originally going to be distributed by Paramount Pictures and had a theatrical release date of Sept. 24, 2021. We do not know yet if that early fall date will remain for Netflix’s launch — we just know “My Little Pony” will bow on the streaming service in ’21.
Netflix has acquired the worldwide rights (excluding China) from Entertainment One (eOne), Hasbro’s entertainment studio, for an all-new, computer-animated feature film based on Hasbro’s popular My Little Pony property, the person said. EOne had previously planned to partner with Paramount for a theatrical release of the film, with the studio collecting a distribution fee.
The animated rom eOne’s animation studio Boulder Media...
- 2/12/2021
- by Tony Maglio
- The Wrap
“My Little Pony,” an animated movie aimed at family audiences, is heading to Netflix.
Paramount Pictures was originally set to distribute the film, which had been scheduled to open in theaters on Sept. 24, 2021. Hasbro’s entertainment studio Entertainment One produced the movie and sold it to Netflix. It will retain distribution rights in China.
Though the exact release date is unclear, “My Little Pony” is expected to land on Netflix later this year.
In the wake of ongoing movie theater closures, Hollywood studios have continued to either postpone their upcoming films or send them to streaming services. Paramount has sold several titles to streamers amid the pandemic, including Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall’s “Coming 2 America,” Aaron Sorkin’s courtroom drama “The Trial of the Chicago 7” and “Without Remorse” starring Michael B. Jordan. Elsewhere, Disney moved “Mulan, “Soul” and “Raya and the Last Dragon” to Disney Plus, and...
Paramount Pictures was originally set to distribute the film, which had been scheduled to open in theaters on Sept. 24, 2021. Hasbro’s entertainment studio Entertainment One produced the movie and sold it to Netflix. It will retain distribution rights in China.
Though the exact release date is unclear, “My Little Pony” is expected to land on Netflix later this year.
In the wake of ongoing movie theater closures, Hollywood studios have continued to either postpone their upcoming films or send them to streaming services. Paramount has sold several titles to streamers amid the pandemic, including Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall’s “Coming 2 America,” Aaron Sorkin’s courtroom drama “The Trial of the Chicago 7” and “Without Remorse” starring Michael B. Jordan. Elsewhere, Disney moved “Mulan, “Soul” and “Raya and the Last Dragon” to Disney Plus, and...
- 2/12/2021
- by Rebecca Rubin
- Variety Film + TV
CBS and The Young and the Restless were the top winners Friday at the Daytime Emmy Creative Arts Awards, which were handed out at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, the site of tomorrow’s 46th annual Daytime Emmys.
The Young and the Restless scored five nods at the ceremony, which honored the year’s best in children’s and animated programming along with crafts. Baobab Studios’ animated Crow: The Legend and Amazon Prime’s soap After Forever scored four wins apiece.
The syndicated The Ellen DeGeneres Show was one of four shows with three wins apiece, among them for directing and writing. Others with three included HBO’s Sesame Street, which was named Outstanding Preschool Children’s Series; NBC’s Days of Our Lives, which leads all programs this year with 27 total noms; and CBS’ The Talk.
Other marquee children’s programming winners included PBS’ Odd Squad, which won the Outstanding...
The Young and the Restless scored five nods at the ceremony, which honored the year’s best in children’s and animated programming along with crafts. Baobab Studios’ animated Crow: The Legend and Amazon Prime’s soap After Forever scored four wins apiece.
The syndicated The Ellen DeGeneres Show was one of four shows with three wins apiece, among them for directing and writing. Others with three included HBO’s Sesame Street, which was named Outstanding Preschool Children’s Series; NBC’s Days of Our Lives, which leads all programs this year with 27 total noms; and CBS’ The Talk.
Other marquee children’s programming winners included PBS’ Odd Squad, which won the Outstanding...
- 5/4/2019
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
When they catch you, they will kill you… but first they must catch you. Ominous words in the first trailer for the remake of classic animated drama Watership Down.
The trailer for the Netflix and BBC One co-pro gives off an almost Game of Thrones vibe as it follows the adventure, courage and survival of a band of rabbits on their flight from the intrusion of man and the certain destruction of their home.
The series, which airs around Christmas on both the British public broadcaster and Svod service, has an A-list cast including James McAvoy, Daniel Kaluuya, Nicholas Hoult, Ben Kingsley, John Boyega, Gemma Arterton, Rosamund Pike, Gemma Chan, Peter Capaldi, Taron Egerton, Miles Jupp, Freddie Fox, Mackenzie Crook, Olivia Colman, Anne-Marie Duff, Rory Kinnear, Tom Wilkinson, Jason Watkins, Craig Parkinson, Henry Goodman, Lee Ingleby, Charlotte Spencer and Daniel Rigby.
Set in the idyllic rural landscape of southern England,...
The trailer for the Netflix and BBC One co-pro gives off an almost Game of Thrones vibe as it follows the adventure, courage and survival of a band of rabbits on their flight from the intrusion of man and the certain destruction of their home.
The series, which airs around Christmas on both the British public broadcaster and Svod service, has an A-list cast including James McAvoy, Daniel Kaluuya, Nicholas Hoult, Ben Kingsley, John Boyega, Gemma Arterton, Rosamund Pike, Gemma Chan, Peter Capaldi, Taron Egerton, Miles Jupp, Freddie Fox, Mackenzie Crook, Olivia Colman, Anne-Marie Duff, Rory Kinnear, Tom Wilkinson, Jason Watkins, Craig Parkinson, Henry Goodman, Lee Ingleby, Charlotte Spencer and Daniel Rigby.
Set in the idyllic rural landscape of southern England,...
- 12/4/2018
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
A Private War star Rosamund Pike, Doctor Who’s Peter Capaldi, Crazy Rich Asians’ Gemma Chan and Kingsman’s Taron Egerton have joined the voice cast of the BBC and Netflix’s adaptation of Watership Down.
It comes as the first images of the show are revealed. The quartet join the likes of James McAvoy, Daniel Kaluuya, Nicholas Hoult, Ben Kingsley, John Boyega and Gemma Arterton, which is produced by 42 and Biscuit Entertainment.
Pike will play The Black Rabbit Of Inlé, Capaldi plays seagull Kehaar, Egerton joins as El-Ahrairah and Chan plays Dewdrop.
Elsewhere, Miles Jupp, Freddie Fox, Mackenzie Crook, Olivia Colman, Anne-Marie Duff, Rory Kinnear, Tom Wilkinson, Jason Watkins, Craig Parkinson, Henry Goodman, Lee Ingleby, Charlotte Spencer and Daniel Rigby round out the A-list cast.
Adapted for the screen by Tom Bidwell (My Mad Fat Diary), Watership Down uses Richard Adams’ bestselling novel as its source to bring a...
It comes as the first images of the show are revealed. The quartet join the likes of James McAvoy, Daniel Kaluuya, Nicholas Hoult, Ben Kingsley, John Boyega and Gemma Arterton, which is produced by 42 and Biscuit Entertainment.
Pike will play The Black Rabbit Of Inlé, Capaldi plays seagull Kehaar, Egerton joins as El-Ahrairah and Chan plays Dewdrop.
Elsewhere, Miles Jupp, Freddie Fox, Mackenzie Crook, Olivia Colman, Anne-Marie Duff, Rory Kinnear, Tom Wilkinson, Jason Watkins, Craig Parkinson, Henry Goodman, Lee Ingleby, Charlotte Spencer and Daniel Rigby round out the A-list cast.
Adapted for the screen by Tom Bidwell (My Mad Fat Diary), Watership Down uses Richard Adams’ bestselling novel as its source to bring a...
- 11/1/2018
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Miles Teller has been set as the lead voice for Unified Pictures' upcoming animated feature The Ark and the Aardvark. directed by Kung Fu Panda filmmaker John Stevenson. Teller will play the lead role of Gilbert, an outcast aardvark, in the story of Noah's Ark told from the perspective of animals. It’s directed by Kung Fu Panda filmmaker John Stevenson and is currently in production. Unified's Keith Kjarval and Kurt Rauer produce while Cecil Kramer, a producer on Aardman…...
- 10/3/2016
- Deadline
The actor has boarded the voice cast in the lead role as Gilbert in The Ark And The Aardvark, Keith Kjarval’s company confirmed on Monday.
The film tells the story of Noah’s Ark from the perspective of the animals, specifically a group of misfits lead by Teller’s character. Teller currenbtly stars in awards contender Bleed For This.
Oscar-nominee John Stevenson (Kung Fu Panda, the upcoming Gnomeo & Juliet: Sherlock Gnomes) directs the film, currently in production.
Kjarval and Kurt Rauer are producing and Cecil Kramer serves as executive producer alongside Ben Ruffman and Steve Goldstein of Unified, Wayne Godfrey and Robert Jones of The Fyzz, and Kitt Watson of Watson Enterprises.
“Gilbert is young, spirited, sarcastic, and we couldn’t have found a more perfect artist to bring Gilbert to life in Miles,” said Stevenson. “His humourously rebellious and clever repartee are both spot-on and wonderfully entertaining, and I cannot wait to tell this story...
The film tells the story of Noah’s Ark from the perspective of the animals, specifically a group of misfits lead by Teller’s character. Teller currenbtly stars in awards contender Bleed For This.
Oscar-nominee John Stevenson (Kung Fu Panda, the upcoming Gnomeo & Juliet: Sherlock Gnomes) directs the film, currently in production.
Kjarval and Kurt Rauer are producing and Cecil Kramer serves as executive producer alongside Ben Ruffman and Steve Goldstein of Unified, Wayne Godfrey and Robert Jones of The Fyzz, and Kitt Watson of Watson Enterprises.
“Gilbert is young, spirited, sarcastic, and we couldn’t have found a more perfect artist to bring Gilbert to life in Miles,” said Stevenson. “His humourously rebellious and clever repartee are both spot-on and wonderfully entertaining, and I cannot wait to tell this story...
- 10/3/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
John Stevenson ("Kung Fu Panda") has been hired to direct the CG animated feature "Noah's Ark" for Unified Pictures.
Philip Lazebnik ("The Prince Of Egypt," "Mulan") pens the script which tells the Biblical tale from the point of view of the animals. In particular it focuses on an outcast aardvark who becomes the reluctant leader of a ragtag group of misfit animals that need to be led to the mighty ark before the impending flood.
Along their journey, they band together to conquer unforeseen obstacles, and the aardvark discovers inner strength and ingenuity within him.
Cecil Kramer and Stevenson will executive produce the project which is in pre-production ahead of a 2016 release.
Source: Screen...
Philip Lazebnik ("The Prince Of Egypt," "Mulan") pens the script which tells the Biblical tale from the point of view of the animals. In particular it focuses on an outcast aardvark who becomes the reluctant leader of a ragtag group of misfit animals that need to be led to the mighty ark before the impending flood.
Along their journey, they band together to conquer unforeseen obstacles, and the aardvark discovers inner strength and ingenuity within him.
Cecil Kramer and Stevenson will executive produce the project which is in pre-production ahead of a 2016 release.
Source: Screen...
- 8/20/2014
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Unified Pictures has hired Ku Fu Panda director John Stevenson to make its first CGI feature.
Noah’s Ark is in pre-production and earmarked for completion in 2016. Stevenson will direct from a script by Philip Lazebnik, whose credits include The Prince Of Egypt, Mulan and Pocahontas, and Glen Dolman.
The story will tell the Biblical tale from the point of view of the animals and centres on an outcast aardvark who becomes the reluctant leader of a motley crew of imperilled misfits.
Executive producers are Cecil Kramer and Stevenson are overseeing production with Unified Pictures’ Kurt Rauer and president Keith Kjarval.
“John Stevenson is among the finest storytellers and animation filmmakers in the business and brings with him a wealth of experience, said Kjarval.
“His unique ability to personalise this global story with tremendous heart and humour is sure to make this an inspiring film for all ages.”
Stevenson added: “As soon as Kurt and Keith approached...
Noah’s Ark is in pre-production and earmarked for completion in 2016. Stevenson will direct from a script by Philip Lazebnik, whose credits include The Prince Of Egypt, Mulan and Pocahontas, and Glen Dolman.
The story will tell the Biblical tale from the point of view of the animals and centres on an outcast aardvark who becomes the reluctant leader of a motley crew of imperilled misfits.
Executive producers are Cecil Kramer and Stevenson are overseeing production with Unified Pictures’ Kurt Rauer and president Keith Kjarval.
“John Stevenson is among the finest storytellers and animation filmmakers in the business and brings with him a wealth of experience, said Kjarval.
“His unique ability to personalise this global story with tremendous heart and humour is sure to make this an inspiring film for all ages.”
Stevenson added: “As soon as Kurt and Keith approached...
- 8/20/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
John Stevenson has boarded Noah's Ark. Stevenson, who was nominated for an Oscar for directing Kung Fu Panda, will helm Unified Pictures' animated adventure comedy. The film is described as a reworking of the biblical tale from the animals' point of view, following an outcast aardvark named Gilbert who must leads a ragtag group of creatures to the ark in time to escape the flood. Philip Lazebnik and Glen Dolman wrote the script. The film is currently in pre-production and is set for completion in 2016. It is being overseen by executive producers Cecil Kramer and Stevenson with Unified co-founders Kurt Rauer and Keith Kjarval. Noah's Ark
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- 8/20/2014
- by Austin Siegemund-Broka
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Hong Kong-based CG-animation company Imagi Studios is ramping up its executive roster with, among others, the hiring of Cecil Kramer, former co-head of production at DreamWorks Animation.
The announcement Monday from company founder and CEO Francis Kao and co-CEO Douglas Glen came just days ahead of the release of its first major movie, "TMNT", an animated update of the hit "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" franchise.
Kramer joins Imagi as executive vp production, responsible for developing and producing a slate of high-end CG-animated features.
Maryann Garger and Lynne Southerland are on board as producers, while Mark Tarbox comes in as line producer, all reporting to Kramer, and all based in Sherman Oaks, Calif.
" 'TMNT' marks a new breed of CG animation -- big action films for people who love video games and superheroes," Kao said in making the announcement. "As we expand the capacity of our production pipeline in Hong Kong to make more of these movies, we're expanding our world-class creative team in Los Angeles."
"Starting with the release of (upcoming) 'Gatchaman, ' we'll be delivering about one movie every eight months," Glen said.
The announcement Monday from company founder and CEO Francis Kao and co-CEO Douglas Glen came just days ahead of the release of its first major movie, "TMNT", an animated update of the hit "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" franchise.
Kramer joins Imagi as executive vp production, responsible for developing and producing a slate of high-end CG-animated features.
Maryann Garger and Lynne Southerland are on board as producers, while Mark Tarbox comes in as line producer, all reporting to Kramer, and all based in Sherman Oaks, Calif.
" 'TMNT' marks a new breed of CG animation -- big action films for people who love video games and superheroes," Kao said in making the announcement. "As we expand the capacity of our production pipeline in Hong Kong to make more of these movies, we're expanding our world-class creative team in Los Angeles."
"Starting with the release of (upcoming) 'Gatchaman, ' we'll be delivering about one movie every eight months," Glen said.
- 3/20/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
In Flushed Away, Aardman Features, the U.K.-based cartoon studio that has achieved world renown for its stop-motion animation, jumps daringly and with great success into a brand new style.
The movie, a wonderfully chaotic affair nimbly directed by David Bowers and Sam Fell, is entirely computer animated yet retains the Aardman "look" as the characters are designed as if they were plasticine puppets with the expressive brows and exaggerated mouths one associates with its films. Collaborating with DreamWorks Animation, for whom the studio already has made "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" and Chicken Run, Aardman has turned out a gloriously droll comic adventure that combines British wit with Yankee exuberance.
There is no age limit to this movie, which might need multiple viewings to catch all the background gags and snappy one-liners that rush at the viewer with a vaudevillian sense of gleeful anarchy. Flushed Away appears primed to make the cartoon studios and Paramount flush with money.
Roddy St. James (Hugh Jackman in full Roddy McDowell form) is a pampered pet mouse in the posh Kensington neighborhood of London. His space is invaded by a lower-class sewer rat named Sid (Shane Richie), while his family is on holiday. Roddy's scheme to lure his rival for the pleasures of the household into a toilet for a "whirlpool bath" backfires when Sid, wise to the ploy, flushes Roddy down instead.
Roddy winds up underground in an alternate version of London, comprised of discarded items that replicate well-known landmarks and teeming with mice, rats, frogs and slugs. Almost immediately, Roddy gets embroiled in the nefarious misadventures of a red-headed tomboy rodent named Rita. Kate Winslet takes that name to heart, giving the character a hip London accent and the confident street smarts that remind you of many of Rita Tushingham's roles in British films from the 1960s.
Rita captains her own sewer boat called the Jammy Dodger, aboard which a gas can serves as a cabin, water tap for a helm and green tennis balls for side bumpers. Rita is locked in mortal combat with the villainous Toad (Ian McKellen), who hopes to rid his world of rodents yet employs two as his henchrats, the all-talk-little-action Spike (Andy Serkis) and a haulking albino rat named Whitey (Bill Nighy).
A struggle over a Ruby Diamond devolves into a battle for a piece of cable Toad needs to fulfill his dastardly plan to wipe out the cheese-eating underground population. When his henchrats come up empty, Toad calls on his cousin Le Frog (a hilarious Jean Reno), a French mercenary who means business but only after a five-hour dinner.
A wild river chase through the sewers is the film's highlight, but really once Roddy gets flushed underground the action is more or less nonstop.
Sound effects and music play key roles in the comedy. Noises and sounds are familiar yet spring from unexpected sources. Song cues drift in from singing slugs. These colorful, tiny, blob-like creatures burst into pop songs that comment deliciously on the action, joining in with Roddy at one point in serenading Rita. They come very close to stealing the picture from the rodent heroes.
In truth, all the characters are brilliantly conceived both in terms of their physical form and their strong personalities, from which rich comedy is developed by writers Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais, Chris Lloyd, Joe Keenan and Will Davies (from a story by Fell, Peter Lord, Clement and La Frenais).
The characters are not as elastic as is typical in CG or, for that matter, even old-fashioned cel animation. The figures are designed to move and behave as if they were made of clay, wood and paint. They pose and use facial expressions with a heavy emphasis on the Aardman trademark of brows and mouths.
The backgrounds, witty takes on the contemporary human world, are colorful and meticulous in detail. Harry Gregson-Williams' rollicking score gives a huge lift to all the comedy.
FLUSHED AWAY
Paramount Pictures
DreamWorks Animation/Aardman Features
Credits:
Directors: David Bowers, Sam Fell
Screenwriters: Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais, Chris Lloyd, Joe Keenan, Will Davies
Story: Sam Fell, Peter Lord, Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais
Producers: Cecil Kramer, Peter Lord, David Sproxton
Co-producer: Maryann Garger
Visual effects supervisor: Wendy Rogers
Production designer: David A.S. James
Art directors: Pierre-Olivier Vincent, Scott Wills
Music: Harry Gregson-Williams
Head character animator: Jeff Newitt
Editor: John Venzon
Cast:
Roddy: Hugh Jackman
Rita: Kate Winslet
Toad: Ian McKellen
Le Frog: Jean Reno
Whitey: Bill Nighy
Spike: Andy Serkis
Sid: Shane Richie
Running time -- 85 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
The movie, a wonderfully chaotic affair nimbly directed by David Bowers and Sam Fell, is entirely computer animated yet retains the Aardman "look" as the characters are designed as if they were plasticine puppets with the expressive brows and exaggerated mouths one associates with its films. Collaborating with DreamWorks Animation, for whom the studio already has made "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" and Chicken Run, Aardman has turned out a gloriously droll comic adventure that combines British wit with Yankee exuberance.
There is no age limit to this movie, which might need multiple viewings to catch all the background gags and snappy one-liners that rush at the viewer with a vaudevillian sense of gleeful anarchy. Flushed Away appears primed to make the cartoon studios and Paramount flush with money.
Roddy St. James (Hugh Jackman in full Roddy McDowell form) is a pampered pet mouse in the posh Kensington neighborhood of London. His space is invaded by a lower-class sewer rat named Sid (Shane Richie), while his family is on holiday. Roddy's scheme to lure his rival for the pleasures of the household into a toilet for a "whirlpool bath" backfires when Sid, wise to the ploy, flushes Roddy down instead.
Roddy winds up underground in an alternate version of London, comprised of discarded items that replicate well-known landmarks and teeming with mice, rats, frogs and slugs. Almost immediately, Roddy gets embroiled in the nefarious misadventures of a red-headed tomboy rodent named Rita. Kate Winslet takes that name to heart, giving the character a hip London accent and the confident street smarts that remind you of many of Rita Tushingham's roles in British films from the 1960s.
Rita captains her own sewer boat called the Jammy Dodger, aboard which a gas can serves as a cabin, water tap for a helm and green tennis balls for side bumpers. Rita is locked in mortal combat with the villainous Toad (Ian McKellen), who hopes to rid his world of rodents yet employs two as his henchrats, the all-talk-little-action Spike (Andy Serkis) and a haulking albino rat named Whitey (Bill Nighy).
A struggle over a Ruby Diamond devolves into a battle for a piece of cable Toad needs to fulfill his dastardly plan to wipe out the cheese-eating underground population. When his henchrats come up empty, Toad calls on his cousin Le Frog (a hilarious Jean Reno), a French mercenary who means business but only after a five-hour dinner.
A wild river chase through the sewers is the film's highlight, but really once Roddy gets flushed underground the action is more or less nonstop.
Sound effects and music play key roles in the comedy. Noises and sounds are familiar yet spring from unexpected sources. Song cues drift in from singing slugs. These colorful, tiny, blob-like creatures burst into pop songs that comment deliciously on the action, joining in with Roddy at one point in serenading Rita. They come very close to stealing the picture from the rodent heroes.
In truth, all the characters are brilliantly conceived both in terms of their physical form and their strong personalities, from which rich comedy is developed by writers Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais, Chris Lloyd, Joe Keenan and Will Davies (from a story by Fell, Peter Lord, Clement and La Frenais).
The characters are not as elastic as is typical in CG or, for that matter, even old-fashioned cel animation. The figures are designed to move and behave as if they were made of clay, wood and paint. They pose and use facial expressions with a heavy emphasis on the Aardman trademark of brows and mouths.
The backgrounds, witty takes on the contemporary human world, are colorful and meticulous in detail. Harry Gregson-Williams' rollicking score gives a huge lift to all the comedy.
FLUSHED AWAY
Paramount Pictures
DreamWorks Animation/Aardman Features
Credits:
Directors: David Bowers, Sam Fell
Screenwriters: Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais, Chris Lloyd, Joe Keenan, Will Davies
Story: Sam Fell, Peter Lord, Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais
Producers: Cecil Kramer, Peter Lord, David Sproxton
Co-producer: Maryann Garger
Visual effects supervisor: Wendy Rogers
Production designer: David A.S. James
Art directors: Pierre-Olivier Vincent, Scott Wills
Music: Harry Gregson-Williams
Head character animator: Jeff Newitt
Editor: John Venzon
Cast:
Roddy: Hugh Jackman
Rita: Kate Winslet
Toad: Ian McKellen
Le Frog: Jean Reno
Whitey: Bill Nighy
Spike: Andy Serkis
Sid: Shane Richie
Running time -- 85 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
- 10/16/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
TORONTO -- After breaking in their act in several hilarious shorts -- two won Oscars -- and a TV series, Wallace and Gromit get their very own feature film in “Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.” Wallace, of course, is that cheerful but daft inventor extraordinaire and Gromit is his silent though sage canine, who quietly cleans up his master’s disasters. Most fans of the U.K.-based Aardman Animations’ magical claymation technique think of these two as the studio’s best creations. They certainly live up to that reputation in “The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.”
Aardman’s first feature for DreamWorks, “Chicken Run” in 2000, didn’t completely manage the trick of maintaining the laughs and stylish glee of its shorts in a film nearly three times their length. The studio now hits its stride in a second outing, displaying the same technical flair, wonderful British wit and a sharper story sense. Since “Curse” is both a family movie and a date movie, DreamWorks should enjoy a long theatrical run followed by a lively ancillary afterlife.
This adventure is scripted by the two co-directors, Steve Box and Nick Park, along with Bob Baker and Mark Burton. Wallace (voiced by Peter Sallis) & Gromit run a humane extermination company called Anti-Pesto, which collects rabbits savaging vegetable patches in a comfy British suburb and brings them back to the house. (The basement is getting rather overrun by rabbits, the truth be told.)
Anti-Pesto faces its greatest challenge when a monster rabbit devours patch after patch in the days leading up to the annual Giant Vegetable Competition, sponsored by Lady Tottington (an aristocratically bubbly Helena Bonham Carter). The team must also outwit the blustery Victor Quartermaine (Ralph Fiennes in a delightfully over-the-top caricature), who means to kill the monster rabbit with a gold bullet, a 24-carat one. (The Aardman crew is truly addicted to puns.)
Then the unthinkable happens: Wallace & Gromit meet the enemy and it is … Wallace? Yes, in a foolish attempt to rehab rabbits from their desire for veggies in his laboratory, things went horribly wrong. Now, when the moon comes out, Wallace transforms into the Were-Rabbit in a delightful sequence that captures the best of claymation.
Park and Box can now spoof all the old monster movies, everything from werewolves to King Kong himself. From here on the movie rolls merrily along with slapstick action and whimsical characters. And always there’s Gromit working feverishly to prevent disaster after disaster.
Julian Nott’s jolly music with its mock epic swells just barely keeps up with the breakneck pace, one-liners and jokey signs that fly by too fast for the eye to catch every one.
WALLACE & GROMIT: THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT
DreamWorks Pictures
DreamWorks Animation presents an Aardman Animations production
Credits: Directors: Nick Park, Steve Box; Writers: Steve Box, Nick Park, Bob Baker, Mark Burton; Producers: Claire Jennings, Carla Shelley, Peter Lord, David Sporxton, Nick Park; Executive producers: Michael Rose, Cecil Kramer; Director of photography: Tristan Oliver, Dave Alex-Riddett; Production designer: Phil Lewis; Music: Julian Nott; Editor: Dave McCormick, Greg Perler.
Cast: Wallace: Peter Sallis; Victor Quatermaine: Ralph Fiennes; Lady Tottington: Helena Bonham Carter; Rev.Hedges: Nicholas Smith; PC McIntosh: Peter Kay; Mrs. Mulch: Liz Smith.
MPAA rating G, running time 80 minutes.
Aardman’s first feature for DreamWorks, “Chicken Run” in 2000, didn’t completely manage the trick of maintaining the laughs and stylish glee of its shorts in a film nearly three times their length. The studio now hits its stride in a second outing, displaying the same technical flair, wonderful British wit and a sharper story sense. Since “Curse” is both a family movie and a date movie, DreamWorks should enjoy a long theatrical run followed by a lively ancillary afterlife.
This adventure is scripted by the two co-directors, Steve Box and Nick Park, along with Bob Baker and Mark Burton. Wallace (voiced by Peter Sallis) & Gromit run a humane extermination company called Anti-Pesto, which collects rabbits savaging vegetable patches in a comfy British suburb and brings them back to the house. (The basement is getting rather overrun by rabbits, the truth be told.)
Anti-Pesto faces its greatest challenge when a monster rabbit devours patch after patch in the days leading up to the annual Giant Vegetable Competition, sponsored by Lady Tottington (an aristocratically bubbly Helena Bonham Carter). The team must also outwit the blustery Victor Quartermaine (Ralph Fiennes in a delightfully over-the-top caricature), who means to kill the monster rabbit with a gold bullet, a 24-carat one. (The Aardman crew is truly addicted to puns.)
Then the unthinkable happens: Wallace & Gromit meet the enemy and it is … Wallace? Yes, in a foolish attempt to rehab rabbits from their desire for veggies in his laboratory, things went horribly wrong. Now, when the moon comes out, Wallace transforms into the Were-Rabbit in a delightful sequence that captures the best of claymation.
Park and Box can now spoof all the old monster movies, everything from werewolves to King Kong himself. From here on the movie rolls merrily along with slapstick action and whimsical characters. And always there’s Gromit working feverishly to prevent disaster after disaster.
Julian Nott’s jolly music with its mock epic swells just barely keeps up with the breakneck pace, one-liners and jokey signs that fly by too fast for the eye to catch every one.
WALLACE & GROMIT: THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT
DreamWorks Pictures
DreamWorks Animation presents an Aardman Animations production
Credits: Directors: Nick Park, Steve Box; Writers: Steve Box, Nick Park, Bob Baker, Mark Burton; Producers: Claire Jennings, Carla Shelley, Peter Lord, David Sporxton, Nick Park; Executive producers: Michael Rose, Cecil Kramer; Director of photography: Tristan Oliver, Dave Alex-Riddett; Production designer: Phil Lewis; Music: Julian Nott; Editor: Dave McCormick, Greg Perler.
Cast: Wallace: Peter Sallis; Victor Quatermaine: Ralph Fiennes; Lady Tottington: Helena Bonham Carter; Rev.Hedges: Nicholas Smith; PC McIntosh: Peter Kay; Mrs. Mulch: Liz Smith.
MPAA rating G, running time 80 minutes.
- 9/17/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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