Pecola The Movie (2002)

Pecola The Movie is a 2002 Canadian-Japanese 3D computer animated comedy film directed by Naomi Iwata and based on the children's television series of the same name. The film follows Pecola, a curious and hyperactive penguin who tries to help the people of Cube Town but often wreaks havoc instead.

Pecola The Movie was released in Japan on July 20, 2002 and in Canada on September 3, 2002. It received mixed reviews from critics but was a box office success, grossing $2 million worldwide.

Plot:
Pecola is an orphaned penguin who lives with Pecolius, his grandfather. Cube Town is a small, isolated coastal village which contains an art museum, a beach, a lighthouse and a canal. It is located adjacent to Crescent Bay surrounded by the Rookery Mountains coastal range and serviced by regular ships (including a weekly freighter) which deliver mail, food and other supplies, as well as occasional tourists from nearby Cubic City. The heights above it lead into Glacier Valley which is snowbound even during summer.

Distributed:
Pecola The Movie was first released in Canada on September 3, 2002. It was later released in Japan on December 21, 2002.

Soundtrack:
The film's soundtrack was composed by Yukio Kaneoka and features songs performed by various Canadian and Japanese artists including Raffi, Barenaked Ladies, Crash Test Dummies, Chantal Kreviazuk andmediocreNOBODY.

Animation:
Pecola The Movie is animated using CGI animation created with Alias Wavefront's Maya software.

Similars To:
Pecola The Movie is similar to the previous Pecola television series in that it follows the same main character and features cube-shaped anthropomorphic animals in a place called Cube Town. However, the film is much longer than any of the episodes of the television series, running for approximately 90 minutes. In addition, while the majority of the film takes place in Cube Town, there are also segments set in Cubic City which show a more high-tech and cosmopolitan environment than the rural setting of Cube Town.

Trailers:
Pecola The Movie - Trailer 1

Pecola The Movie - Trailer 2

Production:
Pecola The Movie was produced by XD Productions, Inc. in association with Teletoon Canada and TV Tokyo. Funding for the film was provided in part by the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit program administered by the Canadian Government's Department of Canadian Heritage through Telefilm Canada.

Development:
Pecola The Movie began development in 2000 after the success of the Pecola television series. Series creator Naomi Iwata served as both writer and director on the film, while Takashi Yamazaki was brought on board to serve as animation supervisor. The film's script took approximately two years to write, with much of that time spentdeveloping the new characters and environments introduced in Cubic City.

Casting:
The majority of the voice cast from the Pecola television series returned to reprise their roles for the film. New additions to the cast included Paul Mercier as Brock the Block and Sheila McCarthy as Cori.

Release:
Pecola The Movie was initially released in Canada on September 3, 2002. It had a limited theatrical release in Japan on December 21, 2002 before being released direct-to-video on March 5, 2003. In both countries, it was distributed by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (formerly MCA/Universal Home Video).

Screening:
Pecola The Movie was screened at the 2003 Annecy International Animated Film Festival in France. It was also nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the 26th Saturn Awards, though it lost to Spirited Away.

Home media:
Pecola The Movie was released on VHS and DVD in Canada on March 4, 2003. In Japan, it was released direct-to-video on December 21, 2002 before being released on Blu-ray and DVD on March 5, 2003.

Reception:
Pecola The Movie received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 60% approval rating based on 22 reviews with an average rating of 6/10. The site's consensus reads "The animation is impressively detailed and beautifully realized, but Pecola hews too closely to itsTV roots." However, the film was nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the 26th Saturn Awards.

Box office:
Pecola The Movie was a box office bomb, grossing only $74,064 against its $5 million budget. This led to XD Productions filing for bankruptcy in 2003 and the closure of the studio's Canadian operations. However, the company's Japanese branch remained open and continues to produce animation to this day.

Accolades:
Pecola The Movie won the Grand Prix at the 2002 Ottawa International Animation Festival and was also nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the 26th Saturn Awards.

Legacy:
Pecola The Movie is considered to be the first Canadian-Japanese co-production of a 3D CGI animated film. It was also one of the first films to use Maya for its animation, predating high-profile productions such as Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron and Finding Nemo.

Categories:
Pecola The Movie

2002 films

2000s children's comedy films

Canadian computer-animated films

Japanese computer-animated films

Films about penguins

Films set in Canada

Japanese-language films

Teletoon original films

TV Tokyo shows

XD Productions films

Animated films about orphans

Child mortality in fiction