Pete the Cat (2021 film)

Pete the Cat is a 2021 American live-action/animated hybrid comedy film based on the character and series of the same name. The film is directed by Tim Story and produced by Leonardo DiCaprio. The film stars Ryan Reynolds, Ed Helms, Kevin Hart, Chris Pratt, and Jacob Tremblay. The film is scheduled to release on November 19, 2021 by Sony Pictures Releasing.

The film was also a box-office success, grossing $200.8 million worldwide on a $70 million budget, making it the eleventh highest-grossing film from Sony Pictures Animation, as well as the 19th highest-grossing live-action/animated hybrid film. The film received mixed reviews from critics, with praise for the blend of live-action and animation, performances, the animated characters being 2D animated, and score, while the plot and script were criticized.

Synopsis
Pete is a blue cat from Los Angeles, California. He is a professional guitar player, and dreams to play at the Hollywood Bowl. Along his way, he encounters crazy experiences, such as performing tricks on his skateboard, and fitting in with the human world. Is he going to fulfill his dreams by playing at the Hollywood Bowl?

Plot
The film starts off with Pete (Jacob Tremblay) talking to the audience about the Hollywood Bowl, and how he wants to play there. By doing so, he does guitar-playing on a street, making many bystanders notice. As he performs, the people start to put in change. After raising enough money, Pete starts to pack-up, and replies, "Sorry, guys. The show's over!". This makes many people furious. Pete uses his skateboard to ride down the street to Hollenbeck Park, his next location. On his way there, he does crazy performances, such as riding down the skateboard on the road, jumps on many cars, with his insane one being a jump over the truck. After landing, Pete says to himself, "Let's not do that again." and continues on his way to Hollenbeck Park.

In an office building in Downtown LA, Darren (Ryan Reynolds) is looking up some cat pictures to give to his brother Rob (Archie Yates), when John (Chris Pratt) yells at him for not working. Darren apologizes, and John replies in disgust. As he looks at the pictures again, John calls a conference meeting. The chart shows that the business is declining, and Bobby (Ed Helms) shows how he could fix that. When Billy (Robert Sheehan) and Darren ask some questions, Bobby decides to ignore them. As no one asks their question, Bobby starts off before being cut-off.

As Pete makes it to Hollenbeck Park, he finds many animals, like Callie (Alyson Stoner) and Emma (Indie Nameth) doing many performances that people have never heard of before. Wondering how he can do something, he came up with an idea of performing many daredevil skateboard tricks done by a cat. He chooses a spot near the lake, whereas while doing so, all the performers start to notice him. Feeling noticed, Pete does the biggest stunt, and as he lands, his skateboard dangles on the edge of the path, into the water. Trying to keep his balance, Pete is able to prevent himself from falling into the water, but as he was about to get off the skateboard, a soccer ball hits him in the head, and causes him to fall into the water. The crowd gasps, but as he swims up to the surface, they cheer, and Pete gives them a wink.

After explaining all the things they can do to make the business recline, Bobby tells everyone they are dismissed, except for Darren. After everyone exits the room, Bobby comes to Darren, and tells him he knows what he thinks he is. Bobby tells him that he won't be able to achieve his dream, and that he will find a way for him to get fired soon. John calls him, and Bobby dismisses Darren, saying that he is lucky he called him. Darren leaves work, and calls his friend Lily (Ellie Kemper) to call him and pick him up, and meets up with Alexander (Kevin Hart) and Theo (T.J. Miller) near the park. While walking on the walkway, they spot Pete getting out of the water, while two people reach for him. Theo asks what that is supposed to be, but Alexander replies, "No, that's just something common."

After getting taken out of the lake, Pete gets to know the other animals that were performing in the park, like Grumpy (Atticus Shafer), Gustavo (Felix Avitia), and Sally (Juliet Donenfield). While he appreciates all the praise, he still thinks he isn't good enough to fit in with the human world. Before leaving, he said to himself if he is confident enough to play at the bowl, in which the others don't know about. Callie finds something strange about him, so she walks over to Pete, in which he ignores. Pete continues to walk down the street on his way to the animal shelter, as his skateboard got damaged when he got hit with the soccer ball.

Pete arrives at the animal shelter, as he enters, a song plays as Pete sings "Alone in LA". When the song ends, the screen cuts to Bobby and John, walking down a street. Bobby tells his hate about pets, and that he wants them to be killed. John replies that that's way too harsh. But in return, Bobby says that it's not a big problem, it's just hate. John also says that a cat named Pete is supposed to be in the animal shelter near the park. This gave Bobby the idea to exterminate him, once and for all. But John says "Isn't that just animal cruelty?!" Bobby says it's as easy as like stepping on a bug. He sings "Easy as Pie", where the characters become animated, as Bobby sings on how John can be able to achieve his dream.

Back at Hollenbeck Park at night, Callie is planning on heading out, to find Pete. But Grumpy says that it's too dangerous out there, and that she needs to wait for him to come. While walking, Callie gets jumpscared by Leonardo (Leonardo DiCaprio), in which she falls into the lake the same way as Pete. Leonardo talks about how they can use a device called the "Animal-Finder 3000". When it is used, it can find the animal within a 10-mile radius. When they use it, they find that there are 3 cats named Pete. So they have to split up to find him. Back at the animal shelter, a dog named Brody comes up to Pete, and have a chat with him. While talking, one of the employees come up, and selects one of the animals who will be used for an upcoming performance show inside U.S. Bank Tower. Unexpected, he chooses Pete to come to the show. Brody wishes him luck, and heads back to his cage.

At the U.S. Bank Tower, the performance is being set up, with one worker asking where Pete is Back at the Park Pete and his Friends End Up With Sad Kind of Look the Next Day Pete Said Is It a Day Go Out With You Guys.

Live-action cast

 * Ryan Reynolds as Darren Smith, a hard-working employee, and the deuteragonist of the film.
 * Ed Helms as Bobby Davis, the main antagonist of the film, who attempts to get rid of Pete.
 * Kevin Hart as Alexander, Darren's best friend, and a baseball player.
 * Ellie Kemper as Lily Williams, Darren's friend, and is a visitor from Canada.
 * Chris Pratt as John Hayes, the secondary antagonist, who bosses Darren around.
 * Archie Yates as Rob Smith, Darren's little brother, who befriends Pete after being saved by him.
 * Jack McBrayer as Terry Donovan, the regional manager and boss of Samantha.
 * T.J. Miller as Theo, Alexander's adopted brother.
 * Rashida Jones as Allison, a worker and assistant for Samantha.
 * Mila Kunis as Julie.
 * Robert Sheenan as Billy.
 * DJ Shadow as Al, the leader of the Alley gang.
 * Peter Dinklage as Tony, a member of the gang.
 * Daniel Radcliffe as Stu, a second member of the gang.
 * Lizzo as herself.
 * Leonardo DiCaprio as himself, who makes a cameo in the film.
 * Seth Rogen as a police officer.
 * Tim Story as Reginald.

Voice cast

 * Jacob Tremblay as Pete the Cat, who dreams of playing at the Hollywood Bowl.
 * Alyson Stoner as Callie, a new friend of Pete.
 * Juliet Donenfield as Sally, a squirrel living in Hollenbeck Park.
 * Atticus Shaffer as Grumpy, a frog also living with Sally in Hollenbeck Park.
 * Indie Nameth as Emma, an artistic pug.
 * Felix Avitia as Gustavo.
 * Naomi Scott as Fiona, a stray kitty.
 * Pitbull as Gerald, a cat.
 * Evan Agos as Dennis.
 * Phill Jupitus as Wilson, a night owl, who wanders around LA in the night.
 * Andy Samberg as Brody.
 * Dee Bradley Baker as an unnamed cat.

Development
In 2017, there were plans to develop a Pete the Cat animated film during the development of Pete the Cat: A Groovy New Year. The film was also originally going to be produced at Paramount Pictures, and that Dan Lin would serve as producer. The film was also going to be a fully-animated film, but was later put on turnaround.

In January 2018, Universal and Illumination announced that Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were developing a live-action/animated hybrid film titled Cat Dayz. This would've marked the first film where Lord and Miller would collaborate with Illumination. In May 2018, Tim Story would serve as director, while Mark Archer and Pamela Ribon would write the film. In June 2018, it was announced the film would be transferred to Sony Pictures Animation. Sometime in January 2021, a test animation for the film was released on Twitter.

Casting
On May 3, 2019, Ed Helms was revealed to have joined the cast. The following week, Neil Patrick Harris and Ellie Kemper would join. In July, Regina Hall, Archie Yates, Kevin Hart, and Daniel Radcliffe would be cast. Later in August 2019, Peter Dinklage, Chloë Grace Moretz, Chris Pratt, Jack McBrayer, and Lizzo were revealed to have joined the cast. In September, Jacob Tremblay, P.J. Bryne, Naomi Scott and Dee Bradley Baker had joined. At the same time, it was announced that Neil Patrick Harris would be replaced by Ryan Reynolds due to creative differences.

Animation
Animation was done at Sony Pictures Imageworks, with Pete being 2D-animated, with some CGI elements. Other animal characters were also animated, similar to the 2021 film Tom & Jerry. However, some animals will not be animated if they are not being focused.

Filming
Filming began on September 3, 2019, in Downtown Los Angeles under the working title Cat Dayz, and ended on November 26.

Music
On June 19, 2019, it was confirmed that Tim Story's collaborator, Christopher Lennertz will compose the film. There were 2 original songs in the soundtrack, the first being “Night of the Pets” by DJ Shadow, featuring Flo Rida. The second is “Ballad of Pete” by Jason Mraz.

Release
Pete the Cat is scheduled to release on November 26, 2021. It was originally scheduled to release on June 12, 2020, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2020, the film was removed from the release schedule. In August, the film was shown to release on November 5, 2021, before being delayed 2 weeks to avoid competition with Paramount Pictures film Clifford the Big Red Dog.

Marketing
In May 2021, it was announced that SPA would partner with Spin Master by making toys to promote the film. Three months later, in August, a Pete the Cat special, entitled Pete the Cat: The Grooviest Show was released on Amazon as a Prime original, also to promote the film.

Home media
Pete the Cat was released to digital by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on January 21, 2022, with Blu-Ray, DVD, and Ultra HD Blu-ray releasing on February 12. Some deleted scenes from the movie were cut, but were added to the bonus features on the Blu-Ray version.

Box office
The film was released in the US, alongside Licorice Pizza. The film has grossed $100.2 million in the US and Canada, and $150.6 million in other territories, in a total of $250.8 million against a $95 million dollar budget.

Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has received an approval rating of 40% based on 155 critics, with an average rating of 4.96/10. The website’s critics consensus reads, “With the adventure of the grooviest cat deemed short, Pete the Cat isn't one of the most greatest voyages of the cat's journey.” Audiences polled on CinemaScore gave the film a “B” on an A+ to F, while PostTrak showed that 73% of audience members gave the film a positive review, with 56% saying a "definite recommend". On Metacritic, the film has a weighted score of 40 out of 100 based on 20 critics, indicating “mixed or average reviews”.

IGN gave the film a 5/10, stating, "While Pete the Cat isn't an entirely animated film, they do still have references to the books and the show. Some of the characters aren't well written enough, but the film's still a good one."

The Hollywood Reporter's John DeFore said, "Tim Story's Pete the Cat is not a big motion-picture starring the grooviest cat in Los Angeles on the big screen. Though he can do some never-before-seen stunts, like the Xtreme Circle, he is not one of those skaters that can glide down handlers."