The Pencilmation Movie is a 2023 American computer-animated film based on the series of shorts of its same name, Pencilmation, created by Ross Bollinger. Produced by Sony Pictures Animation and Movie Land Animation Studios, in association with Ross Bollinger Animation, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, the film was directed by Pascal Charrue and Arnaud Delord, who directed Fortiche's Arcane, from a screenplay by Adele Lim, Carlos López Estrada, Qui Nguyen and Rodney Rothman. The film's ensemble voice cast includes Tyler Posey as the voice of Pencilmate, and also includes Kausar Mohammed, Jacob Tremblay, Sean Giambrone, Jake Johnson, María Cecilia Botero and Kimiko Glenn. Production was underway by 2020, and the cast was publicly announced in December 2021. A teaser trailer for the film and the first official trailer were shown on October 20, 2022, and December 22, 2022, respectively.
The Pencilmation Movie was released by Sony Pictures Releasing first in China on April 7, 2023, before releasing in the United States on April 14. The film received favorable reviews from critics, with praises for its animation, musical score, and faithfulness to the source material, but criticism for its screenplay, character development, and product placement. The film grossed $757.4 million on its $80 to $100 million budget.
Plot[]
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Cast[]
- Tyler Posey as Pencilmate, the tormented yet tenacious leader of the Pencilmation gang. Color: blue.
- Kausar Mohammed as Pencilmiss, the assertive, smart, and sweet character with a bit of a silly side. She is Pencilmate's romantic companion. Color: pink.
- Jacob Tremblay as Mini-Pencilmate (aka Mini P), the hyper and mischievous young neighborhood boy who pals around with Pencilmate and crew. He is constantly finding himself in trouble. Color: yellow.
- Sean Giambrone as Tall Guy, the high-strung but friendly member of the ensemble. Color: orange.
- Jake Johnson as Big Guy (aka Big Red Block and/or Red Box Guy), the strong yet sometimes cowardly gentle giant of the group. Color: red.
- María Cecilia Botero as Granny, the sneaky and beguiling wise elder of the crew. Color: green.
- Kimiko Glenn as Lil' Miss, the cute, caring little neighborhood girl whom Pencilmate and Pencilmiss look out after. Color: purple.
Production[]
Development[]
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Casting[]
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Animation[]
The film is being animated by Movie Land Digital Production Services (MLDPS), which has animated many of Movie Land's previous films, in San Francisco, California, and Studio Mir in Seoul, South Korea, with a help from Fortiche and Jellyfish Pictures. Production was underway by September 2020. The film features a 2D-style CG animation similar to Sony Pictures Animation's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and an inspiration for the design of the film came from Fortiche's Arcane: League of Legends, to make the film look more like storybook illustrations, from an idea suggested by production designer Lindsey Olivares, who collaborated with Sony Pictures Animation on The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021).
Music[]
On October 5, 2022, it was announced that Henry Jackman, Movie Land Animation Studios' frequent collaborator, would compose the score for The Pencilmation Movie.
Marketing[]
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Release[]
The Pencilmation Movie was released by Sony Pictures Releasing first in China on April 7, 2023, before releasing in the United States on April 14, 2023. It will be available to stream on Netflix 45 days afterwards.
Reception[]
Box-office[]
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Critical responses[]
On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 84% of 7.94 critics gave the film a positive review, with an average rating of 80/10. On the website, the critics' consensus reads, "The Pencilmation Movie is a milestone in terms of representation – but as a storytelling experience, this dazzlingly animated adventure offers little audiences haven't already seen." Using a weighted average calculator, Metacritic assigned the film a score of 78 out of 100, based on 70 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A+" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it an overall positive score of 89%, including an average four out of five stars.
References[]
External links[]
- Official website
- The Pencilmation Movie at IMDb
| 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) |