Top Cat Begins

Top Cat Begins
Directed by Andrés Couturier[1]
Produced by Fernando de Fuentes
Jose C. Garcia de Letona
Screenplay by James Krieg[1]
Doug Langdale[1]
Jorge Ramírez-Suárez[1]
Based on Top Cat 
by William Hanna
Joseph Barbera
Starring Raúl Anaya
Mauricio Pérez
Jesús Guzmán
Gerardo Alonso
Mario Filio
Octavio Rojas
Music by Leoncio Lara Bon[1]
Edited by Patrick Danse
Production
company
Ánima Estudios[2]
Discreet Arts Production[1]
Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures (International)[2][3]
Kaleidoscope Film Distribution (UK co-distributor)
Freestyle Releasing (US co-distributor)
Release dates
  • October 30, 2015 (2015-10-30) (Mexico)[4]
  • May 27, 2016 (2016-05-27) (United Kingdom)[3]
Running time
 90 minutes[5]
Country India
Mexico[1]
Language English
Spanish
Budget $8 million[6]
Box office $3.9 million[7]

Top Cat Begins (also known in Spanish as Don Gato: El Inicio de la Pandilla, literally Top Cat: The Start of the Gang) is an Indian-Mexican[1] computer-animated comedy film, produced by Ánima Estudios and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures in Mexico.[2] Based on the animated television series, Top Cat, made by Hanna-Barbera, this film will be a prequel to both the series and the movie, taking place before Top Cat met his gang.[6]

The film was released in Mexican theaters on October 30, 2015 to mixed-to-negative critical reception.

The film is set to be released in the United Kingdom on May 27, 2016, distributed by Kaleidoscope Film Distribution and Warner Bros. UK.[3][8][9]

Plot

The film is an origin story, explaining how Top Cat met Benny and how he created his gang.[2]

Cast

Character Spanish voice actor English voice actor
Top Cat Raúl Anaya Jason Harris Katz
Benny Mauricio Pérez Chris Edgerly
Choo-Choo Jesús Guzmán Jason Harris Katz
Brain Jesús Guzmán Jason Harris Katz
Fancy-Fancy Gerardo Alonso Matthew Piazzi
Spook Mario Filio Benjamin Diskin
Officer Dibble Octavio Rojas Bill Lobley

Production

Variety reported that the film's producer, José C. García de Letona, is working on a sequel.[10] He said that the sequel will be "slightly more edgy and contemporary".[11] Fernando De Fuentes, chairman of Anima Estudios, also explained that film is "the most ambitious project in our studio’s history."[2]

Animation

Unlike the previous film, which was animated in 2D Adobe flash, the film was animated entirely in computer-generated imagery, according to producer Jose Garcia de Letona.[2] Animation production is handled by Discreet Arts Productions in India.[1]

Writing

The film's screenplay is written by James Krieg,[1] (known for writing the Scooby-Doo television shows), Doug Langdale,[1] and Jorge Ramírez-Suárez.[1]

Casting

For the English version, Jason Harris Katz, the voice of Top Cat and other characters from the first film, has announced via his Twitter that he will reprise his role as the same character.[12] It was also announced that voice actors, Chris Edgerly, Bill Lobley, Hope Levy, and David Hoffman, have also joined the English cast.[8]

Release

The film's Mexican release trailer premiered on July 1 2015,[13][14] followed by second trailer, released on September 14, 2015.[15]

The film was released on October 30, 2015 in Mexico, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures Mexico and confirmed to release in the rest of Latin America.

The film is set to be released in the United Kingdom in 2016, distributed by Kaleidoscope Film Distribution.[8] “We are very excited to be working with Ánima Estudios, [by] bringing this latest chapter of Top Cat to a worldwide audience., said Spencer Pollard, CEO of KFD.[8] "As a leading global animation brand, we’re looking forward to T.C. and his friends hitting [the] screens everywhere in 2016.”[8] The film is expected to open in the United Kingdom on May 27, 2016, co-distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures UK.[3] The film's UK release and English-language trailer was released on March 8, 2016.[16]

Box office

On its opening weekend in Mexico, the film debuted at #3 behind Goosebumps and Crimson Peak, earning $18,138,843 pesos ($1,092,066 USD),[17][18][19] performing weaker than its predecessor.

Reception

The film has received mixed critical reception, with critics criticizing the animation, directing, pacing, and writing, but praising the film's dubbing and attempt to revive the original show's characters.[20][21]

Carlos Del Río of Cine Premiere gave this film a 1 star rating, saying that the film has "[c]heated again. [The] Top Cat film fails to approach the spirit and humor of the TV series."[22]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Don Gato: El inicio de la pandilla". Conaculta. Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografía.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 de la Fuente, Anna Marie (September 17, 2014). "Anima Brings ‘Top Cat Begins’ to the Bigscreen". Variety. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Semlyen, Phil De (7 March 2016). "First Top Cat Begins trailer and poster lands". Empire - Movies (Empire). Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  4. ↑
  5. ↑ "TOP CAT BEGINS - British Board of Film Classification".
  6. 1 2 Rojas, Robinson (21 September 2014). "'Don Gato' regresa con película sobre el inicio de su pandilla (in Spanish)". La Tercera (La Tercera). Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  7. ↑ "Don Gato: el inicio de la pandilla (Top Cat Begins)".
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Wiseman, Andreas (1 November 2015). "'Top Cat Begins' gets sales deal". Screen Daily (Media Business Insight Limited). Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  9. ↑ "Top Cat Begins".
  10. ↑ Mexican animator adds English - Entertainment News, Animation, Media - Variety Variety. December 1, 2012. James Young
  11. ↑ Hopewell, John (12 June 2013). "Anima Puts ‘Momias’ into Pre-prod (EXCLUSIVE) | Variety". Variety. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  12. ↑ Harris, Jason. "Jason Harris on Twitter - "Great group day for @TheAmericansFX - Now..."". Twitter. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  13. ↑ Beck, Jerry (2 July 2015). "TRAILER: "Top Cat Begins"". Animation Scoop (Indiewire). Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  14. ↑ "WB Pictures México on Twitter". Twitter.
  15. ↑ "DON GATO: El Inicio de la Pandilla - Trailer 2 - Oficial Warner Bros. Pictures". YouTube. Warner Bros. Pictures Latinoamérica. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  16. ↑ Top Cat Begins UK TRAILER 1 (2016) Youtube
  17. ↑ "Mexico Box Office".
  18. ↑ "Canacine". Canacine. Canacine. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  19. ↑ TG, Esteban (2 November 2015). "Taquilla mexicana (30 oct-1° nov-2015): Guillermo del Toro en la cima con la “Cumbre Escarlata”". Cine3 (Cine3.com). Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  20. ↑ Muñoz, Mauricio (29 October 2015). "“Don Gato: el Inicio de la Pandilla”". En La Butaca (enlabutaca.com). Retrieved 4 November 2015. (in Spanish)
  21. ↑ "RESEÑA DON GATO: EL INICIO DE LA PANDILLA". Play Reactor. 31 October 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2015. (in Spanish)
  22. ↑ Del Río, Carlos (29 October 2015). "Cine PREMIERE - DON GATO: EL INICIO DE LA PANDILLA". Cine Premiere (Cine PREMIERE). Retrieved 4 November 2015. (in Spanish)

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, May 01, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.