Kirby (2007 film)

Kirby is a 2007 computer-animated action-adventure film based on the video game series developed by HAL Laboratory and the characters created by Masahiro Sakurai. Produced by Alcon Entertainment in association with Nintendo and Revolution Studios, and distributed by Universal Pictures, the film is directed by Tim Hill and written by David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin based on a screenplay by Paul Higgins and David Lynch. The film features Maddie Blaustein as the titular character, with Jack Black, Dwayne Johnson, Maya Rudolph, and Chris Evans.

The film follows Kirby, a pink, spherical body with small stubby arms and large red feet who has the ability to inhale objects and shoot them as projectiles. Meta Knight's planned attack on Dream Land was alerted to Kirby, and he decides to team up with King Dedede, his long-time archenemy, to help defeat Meta Knight before Dream Land is destroyed. Production on a Kirby film dated back to 2001. With the release of The Crystal Shards in 2000, Kirby creator Masahiro Sakurai became interested in adapting the character to film. Signing a first-look deal with Sony Pictures in 2002, the project was scrapped until Universal Pictures picked up the rights in 2004, and declared production in September. Sony Pictures Imageworks provided the animation services.

Kirby premiered at the Broadway Theatre in New York City on November 1, 2007 before it was theatrically released on November 25, 2007 in the United States, and on January 12, 2008 in Japan. It received positive reviews from critics, with praise for its voice cast, faithfulness to the source material, music by Hans Zimmer, animation and visuals, though there was criticism for the plot, screenplay and runtime. Grossing $519 million worldwide against its budget of $81 million, it was a box office success, becoming the highest-grossing video game adaptation of all time until The Super Mario Bros. Movie was released in 2023.