How do you turn a beloved Canadian preschool animated TV series into a big screen outing for all to enjoy this summer? Add a touch of Gotham spirit, a colourful joker and an orphan backstory (or two) into the mix with Paw Patrol.
Bigfoot Family’s Cal Brunker and Bob Barlen have joined writing forces with Madagascar’s Billy Frolick and come up with a credible tale of the infamous, resourceful puppies saving the day for all, complete with an environmental message looming like a storm cloud above. It sounds like a lot on a ‘U’-slated film’s plate, but the filmmakers have merely supersized the paw power and turned the lovable pups into big-city superheroes, after taking them out of their normal stomping ground of Adventure Bay.
Boy leader Ryder (voiced by Will Brisbin) and his team of six brave pups called Chase (Iain Armitage), Marshall (Kingsley Marshall...
Bigfoot Family’s Cal Brunker and Bob Barlen have joined writing forces with Madagascar’s Billy Frolick and come up with a credible tale of the infamous, resourceful puppies saving the day for all, complete with an environmental message looming like a storm cloud above. It sounds like a lot on a ‘U’-slated film’s plate, but the filmmakers have merely supersized the paw power and turned the lovable pups into big-city superheroes, after taking them out of their normal stomping ground of Adventure Bay.
Boy leader Ryder (voiced by Will Brisbin) and his team of six brave pups called Chase (Iain Armitage), Marshall (Kingsley Marshall...
- 8/11/2021
- by Lisa Giles-Keddie
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
If you don’t have a toddler in your life, the world of Nick Jr.’s “Paw Patrol” world might not be one you recognize. I myself headed into a screening for “Paw Patrol: The Movie” as an ambivalent aunt, surrounded by little nieces and nephews who just squee in delight at the mere mention of their favorite animated hero pups.
At best, I figured, they will have some fun, and I can be the cool Tia. So, you can imagine my surprised delight to find “Paw Patrol: The Movie” to be engaging, funny, and wonderful.
Much of the credit goes to writer-director Cal Brunker (“The Nut Job 2”) and co-writers Billy Frolick (“Madagascar”) and Bob Barlen (“Arctic Dogs”), who have seamlessly created a movie world where you believe 10-year-olds can run around with their dogs and save the city from political corruption. Yes, political corruption, but that’s not...
At best, I figured, they will have some fun, and I can be the cool Tia. So, you can imagine my surprised delight to find “Paw Patrol: The Movie” to be engaging, funny, and wonderful.
Much of the credit goes to writer-director Cal Brunker (“The Nut Job 2”) and co-writers Billy Frolick (“Madagascar”) and Bob Barlen (“Arctic Dogs”), who have seamlessly created a movie world where you believe 10-year-olds can run around with their dogs and save the city from political corruption. Yes, political corruption, but that’s not...
- 8/8/2021
- by Yolanda Machado
- The Wrap
Since the “Paw Patrol” series began airing in 2013, we’ve seen the heroic pooches and their fearless 10-year-old leader go on a pirate adventure, rescue dinosaurs and tangle with various other foes in their fictional, idyllic world. In the real world, the show has left its mark on the pop-culture zeitgeist with bountiful merchandise deals and as the butt of jokes on other TV shows. It even became an unwitting lightning rod for political controversy when the now-former White House Press Secretary erroneously reported it was cancelled in the wake of Black Lives Matters protests.
Nevertheless, the popular Canadian-produced preschool show persisted, and now the squad is on its toughest mission yet in the imaginatively named “Paw Patrol: The Movie,” which bows in theaters and on Paramount Plus on the same day. Writer-director Cal Brunker, along with co-writers Billy Frolick and Bob Barlen, add further depth and dimension to these beloved puppy protagonists,...
Nevertheless, the popular Canadian-produced preschool show persisted, and now the squad is on its toughest mission yet in the imaginatively named “Paw Patrol: The Movie,” which bows in theaters and on Paramount Plus on the same day. Writer-director Cal Brunker, along with co-writers Billy Frolick and Bob Barlen, add further depth and dimension to these beloved puppy protagonists,...
- 8/8/2021
- by Courtney Howard
- Variety Film + TV
The Paw Patrol is on a roll! When their biggest rival, Humdinger, becomes Mayor of nearby Adventure City and starts wreaking havoc, Ryder and everyone’s favorite heroic pups kick into high gear to face the challenge head on. While one pup must face his past in Adventure City, the team finds help from a new ally, the savvy dachshund Liberty. Together, armed with exciting new gadgets and gear, the Paw Patrol fights to save the citizens of Adventure City!
Check out the brand new trailer now.
Joining the Paw Patrol in their thrilling first big screen adventure are members from the original series’ cast along with Iain Armitage, Marsai Martin, Yara Shahidi, Kim Kardashian West, Randall Park, Dax Shepard, with Tyler Perry and Jimmy Kimmel and introducing Will Brisbin.
Paw Patrol The Movie is directed by Cal Brunker with a screenplay by Billy Frolick and Cal Brunker & Bob Barlen,...
Check out the brand new trailer now.
Joining the Paw Patrol in their thrilling first big screen adventure are members from the original series’ cast along with Iain Armitage, Marsai Martin, Yara Shahidi, Kim Kardashian West, Randall Park, Dax Shepard, with Tyler Perry and Jimmy Kimmel and introducing Will Brisbin.
Paw Patrol The Movie is directed by Cal Brunker with a screenplay by Billy Frolick and Cal Brunker & Bob Barlen,...
- 6/3/2021
- by Michelle Hannett
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Fantawild, the Chinese entertainment group behind the widely popular “Boonie Bears” animated franchise, is for the first time planning to target slightly older viewers with a new IP, “Realm of Terracotta.” Intended for teenagers, the adventure story is expected to hit theaters this summer.
Fantawild has produced six “Boonie Bears” films in just seven years, which have collectively brought in more than $415 million at the Chinese box office. The property is also a popular TV series, on air since 2012, and hauls in about $390 million of merchandising revenue each year.
The new title, “Realm of Terracotta,” tells the tale of a young girl named Jade and a terracotta warrior named Magnus who must team up to fight the creatures that keep attacking their Qin dynasty underground city, and who eventually fall in love. The story was developed with Mike de Seve, a story consultant on “Shrek 2” and “Madagascar,” and Billy Frolick,...
Fantawild has produced six “Boonie Bears” films in just seven years, which have collectively brought in more than $415 million at the Chinese box office. The property is also a popular TV series, on air since 2012, and hauls in about $390 million of merchandising revenue each year.
The new title, “Realm of Terracotta,” tells the tale of a young girl named Jade and a terracotta warrior named Magnus who must team up to fight the creatures that keep attacking their Qin dynasty underground city, and who eventually fall in love. The story was developed with Mike de Seve, a story consultant on “Shrek 2” and “Madagascar,” and Billy Frolick,...
- 3/19/2019
- by Rebecca Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Easily leading the new wave of Russian animation successes abroad, the “Snow Queen” series see its third edition this year at Cannes with “Snow Queen 3: Fire and Ice,” which producer Wizart’s Yuri Moskvin contends will continue to build alongside the company’s other hit toon franchise, “Sheep and Wolves.”
The latest “Snow Queen” film was released in France through Universal and Klb in February, and launched April 5 in China across more than 8,000 screens. With the two franchises having earned more than $100 million worldwide, Moskvin says they were “setting a new threshold and a record for independently produced European-American animated feature films released globally without any support from a major multi-national corporation.”
As Russian animation continues to gain wider visibility, Moscow-based studio Licensing Brands is behind two 3D toon feature films in Cannes Market this year with worldwide distribution by Luminescence.
“The Big Trip 3D” is described by Licensing...
The latest “Snow Queen” film was released in France through Universal and Klb in February, and launched April 5 in China across more than 8,000 screens. With the two franchises having earned more than $100 million worldwide, Moskvin says they were “setting a new threshold and a record for independently produced European-American animated feature films released globally without any support from a major multi-national corporation.”
As Russian animation continues to gain wider visibility, Moscow-based studio Licensing Brands is behind two 3D toon feature films in Cannes Market this year with worldwide distribution by Luminescence.
“The Big Trip 3D” is described by Licensing...
- 5/9/2018
- by Will Tizard
- Variety Film + TV
The Big Trip 3D and Magic Arch 3D are the first films on its slate
A new international sales outfit called Luminescence has been launched in Hungary to handle titles from Moscow-based animation studio Licensing Brands and third-party pick-ups.
The new company willl launch officially in Cannes next month where its slate will include The Big Trip 3D and Magic Arch 3D. Both were previously handled internationally by Licensing Brands and did brisk business at the Afm last November.
Written by Billy Frolick (Madagascar), The Big Trip 3D tells the story of Baby Panda, who gets mistakenly delivered to the...
A new international sales outfit called Luminescence has been launched in Hungary to handle titles from Moscow-based animation studio Licensing Brands and third-party pick-ups.
The new company willl launch officially in Cannes next month where its slate will include The Big Trip 3D and Magic Arch 3D. Both were previously handled internationally by Licensing Brands and did brisk business at the Afm last November.
Written by Billy Frolick (Madagascar), The Big Trip 3D tells the story of Baby Panda, who gets mistakenly delivered to the...
- 4/16/2018
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
Features the voices of: Fiona Hardingham, Roger Jackson, Jenifer Beth Kaplan, Eric Larsen, Katie Leigh, Michael Robles, Johnny Rose, Nancy Sullivan, Phillip Vasquez | Written by Billy Frolick, Alicia Núñez Puerto | Directed by Leopoldo Aguilar
When young Lucas finds out he’s not really a human; the news changes his whole world. Especially since his first monster transformation happened in front of the most popular kids at school! After unreasonably blaming his Dad for keeping his identity a secret, the angry and embarrassed Lucas runs away from home. His search for Monster Island and his real roots takes him on a fabulously scary journey that puts him face to face with more tentacles, fangs and far-out situations than he can shake one of his new wings at. Ultimately Lucas learns that being a freak, isn’t freaky – it means you’re a member of a brand new type of family you can proudly call your own.
When young Lucas finds out he’s not really a human; the news changes his whole world. Especially since his first monster transformation happened in front of the most popular kids at school! After unreasonably blaming his Dad for keeping his identity a secret, the angry and embarrassed Lucas runs away from home. His search for Monster Island and his real roots takes him on a fabulously scary journey that puts him face to face with more tentacles, fangs and far-out situations than he can shake one of his new wings at. Ultimately Lucas learns that being a freak, isn’t freaky – it means you’re a member of a brand new type of family you can proudly call your own.
- 10/13/2017
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
Update: The two Jungle Book movies in the works are shaping up to be quite different. Jon Favreau, the director behind movies like Iron Man, Elf and Zathura, is directing the Disney live-action version. Now, Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu is in talks to direct the other one from Warner Brothers - he's the guy behind really heavy, artsy movies like Babel. His next movie is called Birdman starring Emma Stone and Michael Keaton. It looks like these dueling live-action Jungle Books will be as similar as 2012's Mirror, Mirror and Snow White and the Huntsman.
June 20, 2012 - A second remake of The Jungle Book is now in the works, this one will be in 3D animation. Madagascar screenwriter Billy Frolick will adapt Rudyard Kipling's classic book about a boy adopted by jungle animals. Jun Falkenstein, director of The Tigger Movie, will co-direct with Kevin Johnson, whose credits include Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked...
June 20, 2012 - A second remake of The Jungle Book is now in the works, this one will be in 3D animation. Madagascar screenwriter Billy Frolick will adapt Rudyard Kipling's classic book about a boy adopted by jungle animals. Jun Falkenstein, director of The Tigger Movie, will co-direct with Kevin Johnson, whose credits include Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked...
- 12/5/2013
- by tara@kidspickflicks.com (Tara the Mom)
- kidspickflicks
The Jungle Book is to be adapted for cinema once again, this time as a CG animated feature. India-based animation house Dq Entertainment is developing a $$45 million stereoscopic 3D film based on Rudyard Kipling's classic stories. Animation veterans Jun Falkenstein and Kevin Johnson are co-directing the project based on a screenplay by Madagascar writer Billy Frolick, Deadline reports. Jungle Book was famously adapted for cinema by Disney in 1967, though the popular film deviated (more)...
- 6/20/2012
- by By Mark Langshaw
- Digital Spy
Update: A second remake of The Jungle Book is now in the works, this one will be in 3D animation. Madagascar screenwriter Billy Frolick will adapt Rudyard Kipling's classic book about a boy adopted by jungle animals. Jun Falkenstein, director of The Tigger Movie, will co-direct with Kevin Johnson, whose credits include Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Dq Entertainment Ireland Limited is launching its feature film business with The Jungle Book, which it intends to put into theaters in 2014. Dq Entertainment plans to put out at least two more movies adapted from classic literature.
April 30, 2012 -- Rudyard Kipling's "The Jungle Book" is getting another go, this time as a live-action film. In the book, orphan Mowgli is brought up by the animals in the jungle who protect him from the murderous tiger Shere Khan. Harry Potter screenwriter Steve Kloves is in talk to write,...
April 30, 2012 -- Rudyard Kipling's "The Jungle Book" is getting another go, this time as a live-action film. In the book, orphan Mowgli is brought up by the animals in the jungle who protect him from the murderous tiger Shere Khan. Harry Potter screenwriter Steve Kloves is in talk to write,...
- 6/20/2012
- by tara@kidspickflicks.com (Tara the Mom)
- kidspickflicks
India-based animation house Dq Entertainment is launching a new theatrical feature division reports Deadline.
The first project being done is a $45 million stereoscopic 3D animated film based on the Rudyard Kipling classic "The Jungle Book".
Previous adaptations of the work include the 1967 animated classic and Stephen Sommers' 1994 live-action version starring Jason Scott Lee and Lena Headey. A new live-action version is also in development at Warner Bros. Pictures.
Jun Falkenstein and Kevin Johnson are co-directing from a script by Billy Frolick. Production is already underway with a 2014 release planned.
The first project being done is a $45 million stereoscopic 3D animated film based on the Rudyard Kipling classic "The Jungle Book".
Previous adaptations of the work include the 1967 animated classic and Stephen Sommers' 1994 live-action version starring Jason Scott Lee and Lena Headey. A new live-action version is also in development at Warner Bros. Pictures.
Jun Falkenstein and Kevin Johnson are co-directing from a script by Billy Frolick. Production is already underway with a 2014 release planned.
- 6/20/2012
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
A considerable improvement over the frenetic, warmed-over Shark Tale but falling short of that Shrek magic, Madagascar certainly starts off on the right foot, or is that hoof?
When a pampered zebra at New York's Central Park Zoo gets a serious case of wanderlust, his sheltered buddies come to the rescue, only to find themselves crated and being shipped off to Africa.
But around the time the mini-menagerie is lost at sea, the story follows suit, never to regain its bearings.
It's frustrating to see this wonderful-looking, laugh-out-loud funny survival tale fall short of its potential, but that disappointment probably won't rattle the cages of its young target demo, who'll likely go mad for Madagascar's eye-catching visuals, rewarding it with mighty though not Shrek-green numbers.
Paying affectionate tribute to the style and sensibilities of Looney Tunes legends Chuck Jones and Tex Avery, the picture, written and directed by Eric Darnell (Antz) and Tom McGrath ("The Ren & Stimpy Show"), kicks off in high comic gear, finding Marty the Zebra (voiced by Chris Rock) strutting his way through a fantasy number to the tune of Born Free. Allusions ranging from American Beauty to Cast Away to Frankenstein also figure into the schematics.
While Alex the Lion (Ben Stiller), the zoo's star attraction, enjoys living the catered-to life -- as do Melman, a hypochondriacal giraffe (an ideally cast David Schwimmer) and Gloria, a no-nonsense hippo Jada Pinkett Smith) -- Marty's feeling like he's missing the bigger picture.
When he goes AWOL in the middle of the night, Alex, Melman (walking in Kleenex boxes so he doesn't have to make contact with those germ-laden mean streets) and Gloria form a search party and ultimately track him down in Grand Central Station. But before they can catch the train back to the zoo, they're captured, boxed up and Africa-bound.
Meanwhile, above the cargo hold, an on-the-lam quartet of slap-happy penguins have commandeered the ship with the intention of heading for Antarctica. But in the ensuing melee, Alex, Marty, Melman and Gloria get thrown overboard, washing up on the shores of exotic Madagascar.
Presided over by a self-important ring-tailed lemur who answers to King Julien the 13th (voiced by Sacha Baron Cohen aka Ali G, channeling Robin Williams), the island brings out the more primal of Alex's animal instincts, much to the concern of Marty, who's beginning to look a lot like his next meal ticket.
It's around this point that Madagascar runs out of gas. While motivations and situations were clear-cut and energetically rendered back in the urban jungle, the script, also penned by Mark Burton and Billy Frolick, falls apart in the real jungle, especially in its attempt to deal with those darker impulses.
Up until then, the picture was looking like a keeper. Technically, the folks at PDI/DreamWorks continue to outdo themselves, and the latest level of computer animation literally jumps off the screen with an eye-popping, impossibly bright clarity.
That's especially true of the photo-realistic New York sequences. With apologies to Woody Allen, Manhattan has never looked so inviting.
The voice work, also provided by Cedric the Entertainer and Andy Richter, is uniformly solid, though Pinkett Smith's underdeveloped hippo character doesn't give her all that much to work with, unlike those scene-swiping goodfella penguins.
Madagascar
DreamWorks
DreamWorks Animation presents a PDI/DreamWorks production
Credits: Directors: Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath
Producer: Mireille Soria
Screenwriters: Mark Burton & Billy Frolick and Eric Darnell & Tom McGrath
Production designer: Kendal Cronkhite-Shaindlin
Editor: H. Lee Peterson
Music: Hans Zimmer. Voices: Alex: Ben Stiller
Marty: Chris Rock
Melman: David Schwimmer
Gloria: Jada Pinkett Smith
Julien: Sacha Baron Cohen
Maurice: Cedric the Entertainer
Mort: Andy Richter
MPAA rating PG
Running time -- 86 minutes...
When a pampered zebra at New York's Central Park Zoo gets a serious case of wanderlust, his sheltered buddies come to the rescue, only to find themselves crated and being shipped off to Africa.
But around the time the mini-menagerie is lost at sea, the story follows suit, never to regain its bearings.
It's frustrating to see this wonderful-looking, laugh-out-loud funny survival tale fall short of its potential, but that disappointment probably won't rattle the cages of its young target demo, who'll likely go mad for Madagascar's eye-catching visuals, rewarding it with mighty though not Shrek-green numbers.
Paying affectionate tribute to the style and sensibilities of Looney Tunes legends Chuck Jones and Tex Avery, the picture, written and directed by Eric Darnell (Antz) and Tom McGrath ("The Ren & Stimpy Show"), kicks off in high comic gear, finding Marty the Zebra (voiced by Chris Rock) strutting his way through a fantasy number to the tune of Born Free. Allusions ranging from American Beauty to Cast Away to Frankenstein also figure into the schematics.
While Alex the Lion (Ben Stiller), the zoo's star attraction, enjoys living the catered-to life -- as do Melman, a hypochondriacal giraffe (an ideally cast David Schwimmer) and Gloria, a no-nonsense hippo Jada Pinkett Smith) -- Marty's feeling like he's missing the bigger picture.
When he goes AWOL in the middle of the night, Alex, Melman (walking in Kleenex boxes so he doesn't have to make contact with those germ-laden mean streets) and Gloria form a search party and ultimately track him down in Grand Central Station. But before they can catch the train back to the zoo, they're captured, boxed up and Africa-bound.
Meanwhile, above the cargo hold, an on-the-lam quartet of slap-happy penguins have commandeered the ship with the intention of heading for Antarctica. But in the ensuing melee, Alex, Marty, Melman and Gloria get thrown overboard, washing up on the shores of exotic Madagascar.
Presided over by a self-important ring-tailed lemur who answers to King Julien the 13th (voiced by Sacha Baron Cohen aka Ali G, channeling Robin Williams), the island brings out the more primal of Alex's animal instincts, much to the concern of Marty, who's beginning to look a lot like his next meal ticket.
It's around this point that Madagascar runs out of gas. While motivations and situations were clear-cut and energetically rendered back in the urban jungle, the script, also penned by Mark Burton and Billy Frolick, falls apart in the real jungle, especially in its attempt to deal with those darker impulses.
Up until then, the picture was looking like a keeper. Technically, the folks at PDI/DreamWorks continue to outdo themselves, and the latest level of computer animation literally jumps off the screen with an eye-popping, impossibly bright clarity.
That's especially true of the photo-realistic New York sequences. With apologies to Woody Allen, Manhattan has never looked so inviting.
The voice work, also provided by Cedric the Entertainer and Andy Richter, is uniformly solid, though Pinkett Smith's underdeveloped hippo character doesn't give her all that much to work with, unlike those scene-swiping goodfella penguins.
Madagascar
DreamWorks
DreamWorks Animation presents a PDI/DreamWorks production
Credits: Directors: Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath
Producer: Mireille Soria
Screenwriters: Mark Burton & Billy Frolick and Eric Darnell & Tom McGrath
Production designer: Kendal Cronkhite-Shaindlin
Editor: H. Lee Peterson
Music: Hans Zimmer. Voices: Alex: Ben Stiller
Marty: Chris Rock
Melman: David Schwimmer
Gloria: Jada Pinkett Smith
Julien: Sacha Baron Cohen
Maurice: Cedric the Entertainer
Mort: Andy Richter
MPAA rating PG
Running time -- 86 minutes...
Regency Enterprises has hired Billy Frolick to pen the script for the upcoming animated CG feature Ollie. Frolick, co-writer of DreamWorks' Madagascar, is expected to deliver the Ollie script for storyboarding shortly. Northern California-based CritterPix Studios will begin full-scale production soon after.
- 5/23/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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