Sushi is a 2021 American computer-animated science fiction martial arts action comedy-drama film produced by Sony Pictures Animation and Movie Land Animation Studios. Directed by Kirk Kelley from a screenplay he wrote with Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, the film stars the voices of Simu Liu as Dylan, alongside Dylan O'Brien, Tenzing Norgay Trainor, Elle Fanning, Awkwafina, Jackie Chan, Jamie Chung, Albert Tsai, Fala Chen and Cathy Ang. Panko and Panda Studios was not involved in this film due to the box-office failure of Netflix's Gwen and Dan (2019)
Sushi premiered in Los Angeles on May 28, 2021 and was first released theatrically in China the same date and was theatrically released in the United States on June 18, 2021 by Sony Pictures Releasing under the Columbia Pictures label. Sushi received generally positive reviews from critics for the performances, animation, characters and the action sequences, but criticism for its plot, screenplay, and references to Instant Family and Cobra Kai. The film was also a commercial success, grossing $576.5 million against a budget of $100 million. A sequel is in development with Panko & Panda (who were not involved with this film) will co-produce.
Plot[]
Dylan, a young, lonely boy meets and befriends William, Alejandro and his brother, Daniel Wang. A week later, Dylan works all night on their projects to start the tournament. The next day at the school's science fair, Dylan, his friends and his classmates were being selected by Laurie, Andre and the coach guy. Daniel recover a machine that Chon Chon has stolen. Dylan tries to demonstrate the projects and his machine, but it has been sabotaged by Chon Chon and falls apart, throwing the science fair into chaos. Dylan leaves while Chon Chon, with a help from a robotic hat named Dory, repairs and steals the machine before the kids can.
Ten years later, Dylan and his friends having solved numerous problems after he noticed that the machine was stolen by their bullies, goes into business, with the Canadian singer Justin Bieber as their investor, but Bieber refuses to do business with Dylan, William, Alejandro and Daniel Wang involved. The next day at the nightclub, Dylan met and hangs out with two best friends and Daniel Wang, and finally met Dylan's girlfriend, Jessica. A week later, Dylan married Jessica and finally have their several children, Lance, Linda, Din and Manny along with Jessica's daughter, Anna.
Seven days later that night, Lance, Linda, Din, Anna and Manny move in with them, whose lives become hectic – Linda refuses to eat anything but potato chips, Manny is extremely emotional, and Anna resents Jessica's attempts to parent them. Their friends turn to the support group of their fellow foster parents. Dylan's mother, Sam wins the siblings over by taking their friends and children to Six Flags, but Anna disappears with friends and returns late, prompting Dylan to ground her.
One day, as Dylan and Jessica confront Anna trying to leave with friends, Manny accidentally shoots a nail into his foot. Seeing Dylan and Jessica rush Manny to the hospital and comfort Linda, Anna begins to warm up to them, and Dylan invites her to vent her frustrations by demolishing the kitchen of the house he is renovating. Linda calls Dylan "Daddy" after he fixes her doll during their soccer practice. The next day, Dylan confronts some long-time bullies, Chon Chon, becoming a president of the science lab, by destroying their Q-Bots.
Later that night in Venice Beach, Chon Chon and their bully agents chase Dylan, his friends and Jessica through the city, but they escape in Dylan's spy car. The next morning, Dylan and Jessica meet Dylan's second mother, Marcy, who has been released from prison and wants to reunite with her children. Their friends express their feelings to the support group, but the social workers explain the system's main goal is to keep them together, and the children could be returned to their biological mother. Dylan, Jessica and his friends takes a trip and tracks down Mr. Wong to a resort in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. There, they learn of Chon Chon's whereabouts in San Francisco, California before Chon Chon and their bully agents can capture them again. On their way to San Francisco, Dylan attempts to make a machine, but fails.
Arriving in San Francisco during the first day of school, Jyothi hijacks the PA system and calls out Anna for kissing Miguel at the party, shocking everyone including Ryan. She then starts a fight with Anna, and the chain of events escalates into a brutal school brawl between the Sushis and the Changas. During the fight, Jyothi gives Anna a scar before Sam defeats her, and Miguel gains the upper hand on Ryan , but ultimately shows mercy upon remembering Mr. Wong's teaching. However, Ryan uses the opportunity and inadvertently kicks Miguel off of the balcony, paralyzing him. Miguel is put on life support while Ryan flees. Heartbroken in the rain, Anna and their friends were seriously separated by their students between them, and she then runs away, Dylan and Jessica chase after her. They re-assure her that they love her, and the trio reconcile.
The next day that night, Chon Chon and their bully agents kidnaps Jessica and chases Dylan and their friends through the towns and the city. Chon Chon tries to give Dylan a scar, but fails and Daniel Wang arrives on command and throws Chon Chon and their bully agents away into the water. The next day, Chon Chon was fired by Linda and takes Chon Chon away from the agents and then make fun of her, while Chon Chon is found and arrested. Later then, Dylan and his mother announce to take them to the night club. Linda later apologize to Dylan, Daniel Wang, Jessica and his friends for having a food fight with them like last time she refuses to eat anything but potato chips, and Linda then found and repairs Dylan's machine, happily. They all pose for a picture, joined by their groups and fellow foster groups, before they reignite their team to go saving the world together again.
Cast[]
- Simu Liu as Dylan, one of the coolest 27-year-old man.
- Dylan O'Brien as William, Dylan's best friend along with Alejandro.
- Tenzing Norgay Trainor as Alejandro, Dylan's best friend along with William.
- Daniel Henney as Daniel Wang, Dylan's brother and William and Alejandro's best friend who works at Bonchon.
- Elle Fanning as Sam, Dylan's mother.
- Christina Hendricks as Jessica, Dylan's girlfriend who is Anna's mother of 27.
- Awkwafina as Sicko, Anna's sister.
- Jackie Chan as Jeong, Dylan's father.
- Jamie Chung as Kia Wang, Alejandro's girlfriend.
- Albert Tsai as Lance, Dylan's son
- Fala Chen as Chao, Dylan and Jessica's 16-years old and the old sibling.
- Gustavo Escobar as Manny, Dylan and Jessica's 10-years old and the middle sibling.
- Julianna Gamiz as Linda, Dylan and Jessica's 6-years old and the youngest sibling.
- Robert G. Chiu as Din, Jessica's 7-year-old son who becomes a cool guy.
- Cathy Ang as Anna, a 14-year-old girl and Jessica's daughter.
- Helen Mirren as Chon Chon, Dylan and his friends' bully who is the president of the science lab.
- Jamie Foxx as Damien
- Ming-Na Wen as Rita Wang, a high school teacher.
- Rodrigo Santoro as Andre
- Jesse Eisenberg as Trevor
- Phillipa Soo as Chin Yao, a current principal.
Production[]
Development[]
On March 2, 2018, Sony Pictures Animation announced the title of a Phil Lord and Christopher Miller-produced animated film that was in development, entitled Sushi. Kirk Kelley, who works at HouseSpecial with his notable works on the M&M's commercials, was served to direct the film, with Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger served as the film's screenwriters and Movie Land Animation Studios producing the film. On June 12, 2019, Kristine Belson announced at the 2019 Annecy International Animated Film Festival that Zack Snyder would join the film as the film's producer. On February 20, 2020, first images were revealed through Entertainment Weekly, and it was announced the title will receive a theatrical release date of June 18, 2021.
Additionally, Dylan Brown was originally served as a director, but was fired near the beginning of production. Instead, Kirk Kelley was currently served as a film's director. Sony Pictures Animation and Movie Land Animation Studios subsequently did not include a director's credit in the completed film. However, Kirk Kelley was mentioned in the film's end credits.
Casting[]
As of November 14, 2020, the cast were announced with Simu Liu will voice as Dylan along with Dylan O'Brien will voice as William. This was followed by the casting announcements of Tenzing Norgay Trainor, Elle Fanning and Awkwafina the next day. On December 19, 2020, Daniel Henney was cast as Tyler along with Jake T. Austin was cast as Jakob. In February 2021, more cast members were announced with Jackie Chan, Jamie Chung, Albert Tsai, Fala Chen and Cathy Ang.
On April 30, 2021, ahead of the film's theatrical release, more cast members were confirmed to be starring in the film, including Robert G. Chiu, Christina Hendricks, Jamie Foxx, Ming-Na Wen, Rodrigo Santoro, Jesse Eisenberg and Phillipa Soo, among others. Hendricks later announced that she was also serving as a creative consultant on the film.
Animation[]
Animation work at Movie Land Digital Production Services (MLDPS) had already begun by March 2019, as confirmed by animator Prashanth Cavale. To prepare for the film, MLAS sent several of the film's artists to San Francisco and China for a research trip, during which they took photos of the area's landscape and peoples. During the research trip, Andrew Edward Harkness and Andy Bialk, the film's art director, noted that they were watched by curious onlookers and chose to incorporate that into the character designs.
Music[]
Following the release of the first teaser poster, Lord confirmed on Twitter that Henry Jackman, Rupert Gregson-Williams, Lorne Balfe and Tom Holkenborg will compose the score for the film. In May 2021, director Kelley revealed on Twitter that the movie's soundtrack will incorporate songs from various artists, with "R U HIGH (feat. Mallrat)", performed by The Knocks and Mallrat, and "Best of Me", performed by BTS, for the film as a single as well. Both singles were played in the film's end credits.
Release[]
Sushi will be released on June 18, 2021 in the United States by Sony Pictures Releasing via its Columbia Pictures label. The film premiered at Regency Village Theater in Los Angeles on May 18, 2021, the first major red carpet premiere since the pandemic began. The film was also released in China on the same date. The film received a PG-rating from the Motion Picture Association, "for some sci-fi action violence, pervasive rude humor and thematic elements".
Tickets for the theatrical screenings went on sale on May 26, 2021, and it was announced that the film will also be screened in Dolby Cinema in select territories. It was first screened for critics the same day.
Home media[]
Sushi was released as a purchase on VOD on July 27, 2021, and will be released on DVD, Blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray on August 31, 2021 by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
In addition to the VOD release, the film was also released on Netflix on the same date.
Reception[]
Box office[]
Sushi grossed $281.1 million in the United States and Canada and $295.4 million in other territories, totaling $576.5 million worldwide against a production budget of $100 million. Deadline Hollywood calculated the net profit of the film to be $250.5 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues.
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Critical responses[]
On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 88% of 8.53 critics gave the film a positive review, with an average rating of 140/10. On the website, the critics' consensus reads, "Sushi deserves to be an action-packed comedy friendly film marked by a story of considerable depth." Using a weighted average calculator, Metacritic assigned the film a score of 75 out of 100, based on 130 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.
References[]
External links[]
- Official website
- Sushi at IMDb
| v - e - dWilliam Renschen | |
|---|---|
| Films directed | Las Vegas (2020) • The JH Movie Collection Movie 4: Friendship Vacation (2021) • Animals vs. Monsters (2021) • Jerry and Will (2021) • Panko the Dragon (2021) • The Hollow (2021) • The JH Movie Collection Movie: Friendsformania (2022) • Black vs. White (2022) |
| Films produced | Sarcastics 2 (2019) • Ned's Newt (2020) • Twister (2020) • Tom the Hand 4 (2020) • Panko the Dragon (2021) • Famous 5 (2021) • The JH Movie Collection Movie 4: Friendship Vacation (2021) • The Chinese vs. The Korean (2021) • Animals vs. Monsters (2021) • Sushi (2021) • Marcos (2021) • Carmen Sandiego 2 (2021) • 6teen (2021) • The Crown 2 (2021) • The Hollow (2021) • The Last Kids on Earth (2021) • Grossology 2 (2021) • Go Touching (2021) • Super Bowl (2021) • The JH Movie Collection Movie: Friendsformania (2022) • The Sarcastics Adventures of Alexa (2022) • Sally Bollywood (2022) • The Animals in the Attic 2 (2022) • Red (2022) • League of Techs (2022) • Voltron (2022) • Bunny: The Rise of Dylan (2022) |
| v - e - dPhil Lord and Christopher Miller | |
|---|---|
| Films directed | Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) • 21 Jump Street (2012) • The Lego Movie (2014) • 22 Jump Street (2014) • Tom the Hand 3 (2019) • Faster Bike (2020) |
| Films produced | Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013) • Storks (2016) • Brigsby Bear (2017) • The Lego Batman Movie (2017) • The Lego Ninjago Movie (2017) • Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) (accolades) • The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (2019) • Gwen and Dan (2019) • The JH Movie Collection Movie 2: The Second Part (2019) • Chocolate Fever (2019) • Spider-Gwen (2019) • Ghost in the Shell (2019) • Everest (2019) • Las Vegas (2020) • The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021) • Cocaine Bear (2023) • Fast & Furious Spy Racers (2023) • Strays (2023) • Backrooms (2023) |
| Television series created | Clone High (2002–2003) |
| Television series produced | The Last Man on Earth (2015–2018) • Son of Zorn (2016–2017) • Making History (2017) • Unikitty! (2017–2020) • The JH Movie Collection Show (2018–2021) • Bless the Harts (2019–2021) |