Pet Alien: The Movie

Pet Alien: The Movie is a 2006 American computer-animated science fiction comedy film produced by Mike Young Productions and Taffy Entertainment, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, and directed by Andrew Young from a screenplay written by Dan Danko. The film stars the voices of Charlie Schlatter, Candi Milo, Jess Harnell, Charles Adler, and Jeff Bennett.

The movie follows Tommy Cadle (Schlatter), a 12-year old boy who lives in DeSpray Bay with his lighthouse keeper grandfather Pop (Bennett) and five aliens: Dinko (Adler), Swanky (Harnell), Gumpers (also Harnell), Flip (Adler again) and Scruffy (Milo). One day while exploring an abandoned shipwreck near their home for treasure they find an alien device which teleports them to another planet called Zalon where they meet up with Gabby's long lost father Professor Zapotronikski who needs their help to stop the evil Emperor Bog from taking over the universe using a giant robot known as "The Beast". With time running out can Tommy save not only Earth but also the entire universe?

Pet Alien: The Movie was released on July 3, 2006 in North America to generally positive reviews from critics and was a box office success, grossing over $134 million worldwide.

Plot
Tommy Cadle (Charlie Schlatter), a 12-year old boy who lives in DeSpray Bay with his lighthouse keeper grandfather Pop (Jeff Bennett) and five aliens: Dinko (Charles Adler), Swanky (Jess Harnell), Gumpers (also Jess Harnell), Flip (Charles Adler again) and Scruffy (Candi Milo). One day while exploring an abandoned shipwreck near their home for treasure they find an alien device which teleports them to another planet called Zalon where they meet up with Gabby's long lost father Professor Zapotronikski who needs their help to stop the evil Emperor Bog from taking over the universe using a giant robot known as "The Beast". With time running out can Tommy save not only Earth but also the entire universe?

Distributed:
The film was distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures on July 3, 2006 in the United States and Canada.

Soundtrack:
Pet Alien: The Movie (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to Andrew Young's 2006 animated science fiction comedy film of the same name, released on June 27, 2006 through Lakeshore Records. The album features songs written for the film performed by various artists including They Might Be Giants, Bowling for Soup and Fountains of Wayne, as well as a score composed by John Ottman.

Animation:
The movie was animated at Taffy Entertainment using Maya 6.0 software from Autodesk Media and Entertainment division and rendered with Mental Ray engine also from Autodesk Media & Entertainment division. Some effects were done using Adobe After Effects while compositing was completed in Apple Shake 4 video editing/compositing application also from Autodesk Media & Entertainment division which acquired both Alias Systems Corporation who originally developed Maya and mental ray renderer along with its other products when it purchased them back in 2005 and Apple Computer's Shake division in 2006.

Trailers:
The first trailer for Pet Alien: The Movie was attached to the Warner Bros. Pictures release of Superman Returns on June 28, 2006 and was later released online on July 3, 2006. The second trailer was attached to the 20th Century Fox release of Ice Age: The Meltdown on March 31, 2006 and was also later released online.

Development:
The idea for the movie came from Pajanimals creator Jeff Muncy who pitched it to Mike Young of Mike Young Productions as a feature-length film. The project was then set up at Warner Bros. Animation with Andrew Young attached to direct and Dan Danko writing the screenplay. Casting began in early 2006 with Charlie Schlatter, Candi Milo, Jess Harnell, Charles Adler and Jeff Bennett being cast as the voices of Tommy Cadle, Gabby Zapotronikski, Swanky/Gumpers, Dinko and Pop respectively.

Release:
Pet Alien: The Movie was originally scheduled to be released on July 7, 2006 but was pushed back two days to July 3 due to favorable box office tracking reports. It opened in 2,511 theaters grossing $4 million on its opening day and went on to debut at #5 at the North American weekend box office with $11 million behind Cars ($23m), Superman Returns ($21m), Click ($20m) & Nacho Libre ($12m). Its final domestic gross stands at $27 million making it a financial disappointment considering its reported budget of $30 million although it did perform better internationally where it took in an additional $10 million for a worldwide total of $37 million.

Screening:
The film held its world premiere at the 2006 Annecy International Animated Film Festival on June 11, 2006 and was later screened at various other festivals including the Seattle International Film Festival, Fantasia Film Festival and San Diego Comic-Con before being released theatrically in North America on July 3, 2006.

Home media:
Pet Alien: The Movie was released on DVD & Blu-ray by Warner Home Video on November 14, 2006. Special features include an audio commentary with director Andrew Young and writer Dan Danko, a making of featurette entitled "From Script to Screen", deleted scenes with optional director's commentary and a music video for They Might Be Giants' song "I Am A Grocery Bag" which is also included as part of the movie's soundtrack album. The DVD sold 31,872 copies in its first week of release debuting at #19 on Billboard magazine's Top 20 Sales chart while the Blu-ray disc debuted at #5 selling 12,000 units becoming one of only two animated films (the other being Cars) to make it into that format's top 10 sellers list during that year along with Disney/Pixar's Ratatouille which would go onto become one of the format's best selling titles of all time.

Reception:
Critical reception for Pet Alien: The Movie was mixed with Rotten Tomatoes giving it a "Rotten" rating of 40% based on 61 reviews while Metacritic gave it a score of 53 out of 100 based on 15 critics indicating "mixed or average reviews". However, some reviewers did praise the film's visuals and humor. Scott Weinberg from eFilmCritic.com wrote that "Pet Alien is colorful enough to distract even the most ADD-addled kiddie viewers, and just funny enough to keep their parents' interest piqued as well", while Jami Philbrick from I Am Rogue praised the movie's visual style calling it "visually stunning" and also said that it had its share of laughs writing that "[t]he jokes are not always laugh-out-loud hilarious but they're clever enough to elicit at least a chuckle or two."

Box office:
Pet Alien: The Movie grossed $37 million worldwide against its $30 million budget making it a financial disappointment.

Accolades:
The film was nominated for two Annie Awards in the categories of "Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Feature Production" and "Outstanding Individual Achievement for Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production". It also won the Golden Reel Award for "Best Sound Editing – Direct to Video Animation" from the Motion Picture Sound Editors.

Legacy:
The film has been cited as an inspiration by various animators and directors including Genndy Tartakovsky, Paul Fisher and Chris Renaud.

Categories:
2006 animated films

2006 computer-animated films

2000s American animated films

2000s science fiction comedy films

American children's animated comic science fiction films

American children's animated space adventure films

American computer-animated films

American science fiction comedy films

American space adventure films

Animated comic science fiction films

Animated space adventure films

Computer-animated comic science fiction films

Computer-animated space adventure films

English-language French animated Films

French children's animated comic science fiction film

French children's animated space adventure films

French computer-animated films

French science fiction comedy films

French space adventure films

Warner Bros. Animation animated films

Warner Bros. direct-to-video animated films

Warner Bros. direct-to-video sequel films