Wicked Flying Monkeys

Wicked Flying Monkeys

Mexican theatrical release poster
Directed by Alberto Mar[1][2]
Produced by Jorge Gutierrez (executive)
Screenplay by Jorge Gutierrez[2][3]
Doug Langdale[2]
Evan Gore[2]
Story by Jorge Gutierrez[2][3]
Starring Héctor Emmanuel Gómez
Susana Zavaleta
Loreto Peralta
Raúl Araiza
Jorge "El Burro" van Rankin
Music by Leoncio Lara[4]
Edited by Roberto Bolado
Production
company
Distributed by FilmSharks International (international)
Videocine (Mexico)[1]
Grindstone Entertainment (United States)
Release dates
  • April 10, 2015 (2015-04-10)

[1][2]

Running time
 87 minutes
Country Mexico
India
Language English[5]
Spanish
Budget $4.5 million[6]

Wicked Flying Monkeys (Spanish: Guardianes de Oz) is a 2015 Mexican-Indian 3D computer animated adventure fantasy film, directed by Alberto Mar[5] and executive produced by Jorge Gutierrez. The film is produced by Ánima Estudios, Discreet Arts, and distributed by FilmSharks International.[5] The film will be the first English-language and flagship CG production for Ánima Estudios.[5] It is also the studio's biggest production and is described as Mexico's biggest animated production.[5] Mexico's take on the Wizard of Oz books by L. Frank Baum, it features an original story and new characters,[7] and was released theatrically on 10 April 2015 in Mexico.[2][8]

Variety has reported that Lionsgate's Grindstone Entertainment has acquired North American rights to the film and may receive a direct-to-video release on April 2016.[9]

Plot

After the Wicked Witch of the West is melted by a bucket of water, and Dorothy is sent back to her world, Glinda, the Good Witch of the South, decides to revive the Wicked Witch and remove her powers by storing them in a magic broom. Glinda then gives the magical broom to Dorothy's friends, Tin Woodman, Cowardly Lion, and Scarecrow, and they become the guardians of the broom.

Evilene, the Wicked Witch, conspires with her Flying Monkeys to retrieve her broom. However, a friendly little monkey named Ozzy forgets to close the gate of the castle and a battle ensues between the flying monkeys and the 'Bums of Oz.' Evilene retrieves her broom and repels the Champions of Oz from the castle. She then punishes Ozzy's father, transforming him into a chicken. Angered by the witch's spell on his father, Ozzy steals the broom from Evilene and runs away from the palace.

Ozzy reaches Glinda to find she has been paralyzed by accidentally drinking a magic potion created by her nephew Gabby, who is unable to create an antidote without a vital ingredient based on wood. Gabby and Ozzy set off to find the Champions of Oz. They are pursued by the other Flying Monkeys.

They soon find Cowardly Lion, who is out of sorts due to the witch's spell, but with some effort they guide him to the north town, where they find the Tin Woodman, who is extremely depressed by the spell. The spell-raged Lion smashes the Tin Man to bits, but calms down when Ozzy accidentally hits him with the magic broom.

Ozzy, Gaby, and the Cowardly Lion take the Tin Man's parts to the Library of Oz where (due to the spell) Scarecrow is obsessively reading books in an effort to become more intelligent. He quickly repairs Tin with the help from a clue. However, the group is attacked by the Flying Monkeys, and in the chaos Ozzy cures Scarecrow of the spell's effects, but they are unable to save Gabby from being whisked away by the Flying Monkeys.

The group arrives in Emerald City where the Wicked Witch gives an ultimatum to Ozzy to return the broom. The Guardians of Oz challenge the Witch but they are quickly defeated. Ozzy decides to break the broom in order to remove Evilene's powers for good, and tells the rest of the winged monkeys that they obey Evilene due to their dumb and cowardly mindset. The Monkeys rebel against Evilene who discovers there is some power left in the broom and tries to defeat Ozzy who escapes with a part of the broom. A chase through the streets of Emerald City ends with a crash in the fountain dedicated to Dorothy Gale, and the wicked witch is melted for good.

As the story ends, Glinda breaks Evilene's spell on Ozzy´s father and Ozzy learns how to fly on his own, being recognized as a hero by all of Oz.

Cast

Spanish cast[1]

The film's English-language cast is still yet to be announced.

Production

Animation

The film's animation was provided by Discreet Arts Productions in India and co-produced by Ánima Estudios.[2] “We believe the ideal medium for this ambitious story was the use of 3D, hence the effort to use this technique for the first time in one of our movies,” said producer Jose C. Garcia de Letona. He also said he was very satisfied with the animation outcome and plans for more CG animation in future projects. “The experience has been very satisfying and we want to repeat it for our next project.”[2]

Designs

In addition to writing the story, Jorge R. Gutierrez, along with his wife, Sandra Equihua, have designed the characters.[2] In an interview with Cartoon Brew, he told them that “working with the amazing Mexican artists at Ánima Estudios was a blast! This film is yet another encouraging sign of the endless talent currently brewing in my beloved Mexico.”[2]

Release

The film's teaser premiered on February 11, 2014.[10] As of 19 May 2014, it has been reported that the film was sold to Top Films Distribution (Eastern Europe), Shooting Star (Middle East) and Cine Colombia (Colombia).[11] Distribution in the United States is currently in process.[11] With the budget of $55 million pesos ($4.5 million USD), it is the most expensive film produced by Ánima Estudios.[6] The film's official Mexican trailer was released on 16 January 2015.[12] The English-language trailer was released on 1 April 2015.[13] The film received a PG rating "for mild action" by the Motion Picture Association of America.[14] The film was later screened at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.[15] The film is set to be released in the United Kingdom sometime in Q4 2015/Q1 2016, distributed by eOne.[15] The United States release will be handled by Grindstone Entertainment.[15][9]

Box office

On its opening weekend in Mexico, the film opened at #3 behind Home and Fast and Furious 7, earning $13,132,330 pesos ($796,606 USD).[16][17]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Videocine distribuirá la película animada "Guardianes de OZ"". Televisa Corporativo (Televisa). 21 January 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Amidi, Amid (24 January 2015). "Mexican Studio Anima Releases ‘Wicked Flying Monkeys’ Trailer (Exclusive)". Cartoon Brew (Cartoon Brew).
  3. 1 2 Save Oz! Coming Soon | Alicia Nunez Puerto
  4. ↑ Twitter / LeoncioLaraBon Ya viene Save Oz, Pelicula para la que estoy componiendo el Score.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 AFM: Film Sharks Toons Up Anima’s Feature ‘Save Oz’ (EXCLUSIVE) | Variety
  6. 1 2 "ANIMA ESTUDIOS prepara sorpresas en cine de animación (in Spanish)". 1 May 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  7. ↑
  8. ↑ Ánima Estudios - "Les presentamos el trailer de 'Guardianes de Oz'..." - Facebook
  9. 1 2 Hopewell, John (5 November 2015). "AFM: Grindstone Takes North America on ‘Wicked Flying Monkeys’ (EXCLUSIVE) - Variety". Variety (magazine) (Penske Business Media, LLC.). Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  10. ↑ Save OZ - Teaser - YouTube
  11. 1 2 Kay, Jeremy (19 May 2014). "EXCLUSIVE: Albert Mar’s animation sells to the Middle East, Colombia, CIS and Eastern Europe.". Screen Daily. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  12. ↑ OZ TRAILER ESPAÑOL - YouTube
  13. ↑ Wicked Flying Monkeys - OFFICIAL Trailer (2015)
  14. ↑ "Issued MPAA ratings as of March 18, 2015" (PDF). MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America). 18 March 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  15. 1 2 3 Hopewell, John (15 May 2015). "Cannes: ‘Wicked Flying Monkeys’ Rolls Out Sales". Variety (magazine) (Penske Business Media, LLC.). Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  16. ↑ "Canacine". Canacine.org.mx. Canacine. 16 April 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  17. ↑ "'Guardianes de Oz', en tercer lugar de la taquilla en México". Informador.mx (Unión Editorialista, S.A. de C.V.). 13 April 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2015.

External links

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