Foodfight!: It’s About Time

"It’s about time for the next food fight!"

- The film’s tagline.

Foodfight!: It’s About Time is a 2023 American computer-animated science-fiction adventure comedy film directed by Lawrence Kasanoff and Michael Bay. It is the sequel to the universally-panned 2012 animated film Foodfight!, also directed by Kasanoff. The film is produced by Kasanoff and Bay, and written by Kasanoff and Bay, from a story by Bay. The film stars solely Kasanoff as all characters.

Despite the failure of the original film in 2012, Kasanoff has been trying to work on a sequel for 10 years since the first film’s release. In 2022 he finished the script, and went back to Lionsgate to begin production. However, the film’s existence and script was soon leaked by a mysterious YouTuber under the name of “MaxiMayhem” in November 22, and it was soon talked about by every news outlet in the world, with all citing how bad it is. As a result, none of the crew or cast members from the first film wanted to return for the sequel. Saddened, Kasanoff was approached by Michael Bay, who offered his help for the film and make sure it gets released. The script was almost entirely re-written by Bay, who added various explosions in the film, delaying production yet still keeping a planned May 2023 release date. The script was finally “re-polished and truly finished” just hours before it’s theatrical release, with the animation, voice acting, and editing being rushed and completed in 29 minutes.

Upon release, the film was universally panned by critics and audiences, getting even worse reviews than the first film, criticizing it’s even worse animation, script, characters, characterization, voice acting, humor, tone, story, plot, dialogue, errors, pop-culture references, opening scene, ending, and Bay’s noticeable meddling. It was also the biggest box-office bomb in history, grossing only $29 dollars. The film was so bad, that Kasanoff was never seen again. An extended version of the film (later revealed to be a director’s cut), titled Foodfight!: It’s About Time: The Dextended Cut, received a limited theatrical release on July 2023, gaining even worse reception. The cut was later removed from circulation after the Raspberry Awards incident.

Synopsis
After the events of the first film, Dex and Sunshine are a couple. However, the Ikes’ world will soon be threatened by the biggest menace Marketropolis has even seen: a human time-traveler bounty hunter known as Megan, who wants to go back in time to prevent the creation of Marketropolis and erase the events of the first film, all using hundreds of explosions. Now, Dex must lead every Ike in the world to go in a race across time to prevent Megan from destroying their existence.

Plot
Twelve years after the events of the first film, Megan, a human and former costumer of Marketropolis, decides to crash in into the store and invade the Ikes' world. Megan causes mass destruction, and lots of Ikes are killed. Soon, Dex Dogtective and Sunshine Goodness, now married, arrive and fight Megan by physically attacking her, in a fight that lasts 40 minutes. Half into the fight, Lady X, the villain from the first film, escapes from prison and ressurects his henchman Lietunant X, before going to a warehouse to plan her return.

After the fight between Dex and Sunshine against Megan ends, Megan reveals that she was the old woman customer from the first film that had a baby in the cart and noticed Dex and Daredevil Dan running around in the store out of their world, a discovery that drove her so crazy that she reported it to the store's owner Mr. Leonard, something he did not believe and made him ban Megan from ever going to the store. So now she wants revenge against the Ikes by traveling in time back to 1997 before Marketropolis was opened and destroy the store with explosions prior to the opening, in order to prevent the Ikes' existence. Megan grabs a time machine created by Dr. Si Nostrix and uses it to travel to 1997, though Dex, Dan, Sunshine, and nearly all the other Ikes (except Dan's girlfriend Sweetcakes) follow her with another time machine. However, Lady X also secretly goes inside.

While in the Ikes' time machine, they talk for 20 minutes. Then, Lady X and Leutinant X show up and try to kill the Ikes, but Sunshine defeats them just like in the first film, kicking them away from the machine and into the temporal vortex, presumably killing them for good. Soon the Ikes arrive in 1997, before the Grand Opening of the store. Megan leaves hundreds of bombs in the store, all with a countdown of 5 minutes, but the Ikes fight back against Megan with lots of food for 4 minutes straight, all with the same shot being repeated over and over. After that time, the bombs are about to explode and the heroes begin losing, but the 1997 Ikes soon are born and help in the fight. Megan kills 1997 Dan, but 2023 Dan then knocks her unconscious. 10 seconds into the bombs' explosion, Megan says "I am...inevitable" before the countdown reaches 0. However, the bombs do not explode. Then, Megan discovers Dex with the disconnected bombs, saying "and I...am...Dex", before throwing the bomb at Megan, killing her.

The Ikes win, though Dex begins to die. However, he turns out to be alright. The Ikes then travel back to the present, where they celebrate by dancing the Macarena. The next day, Elon Musk decides to buy the store.

In a post-credits scene, Lady X is revealed to be alive and stuck in 2012 at the first film’s ending, where she tries to kill 2012 Sunshine, but Dwayne Johnson shows up and kills her with his great face.

Voice Cast

 * Lawrence Kasanoff as Dex Dogtective
 * Lawrence Kasanoff as Daredevil Dan
 * Lawrence Kasanoff as Sunshine Goodness
 * Lawrence Kasanoff as Megan
 * Lawrence Kasanoff as Lady X
 * Lawrence Kasanoff as Lieutenant X
 * Lawrence Kasanoff as Dr. Si Nustrix
 * Lawrence Kasanoff as Cheasel T. Weasel (only character to have his voice actor retained)
 * Lawrence Kasanoff as Vlad Chocol
 * Lawrence Kasanoff as Maximillus Moose
 * Lawrence Kasanoff as Polar Penguin
 * Lawrence Kasanoff as Mr. Leonard
 * Lawrence Kasanoff as Charlie Tuna
 * Lawrence Kasanoff as Mr. Clean
 * Lawrence Kasanoff as Mrs. Butterworth
 * Lawrence Kasanoff as Twinkleton
 * Lawrence Kasanoff as Dr. Simis
 * Lawrence Kasanoff as Chester Cheetah

Ten-year long writing
In 2012, Foodfight! was released. It was universally panned by critics and audiences, with some deeming it one of the worst films ever made. However, Kasanoff still had hopes for a sequel, saying, “no matter the disaster the film ended up being to the world, a sequel was always the plan all along. And now it will be even better than planned. If people didn’t like the story about food fights, then the sequel’s story will be a science-fiction time travel adventure. If people didn’t like the humor, then the sequel’s humor will be pure pop-culture references non-stop. If people didn’t like the movie, the sequel overall will be different. They will like it. It’s something special.”

Kasanoff began work on the script prior to the film’s US release on May 2013, alone this time in comparison to the first film which he mainly made with Threshold Entertainment employee Joshua Wexler. The film’s existence was kept a massive secret to the world. He took ten years to make the film as perfect as possible, wanting to fix every mistake the original had and also “expand on the Ikes’ adventures and the consequences of the first film”. However, truth is that he made one edit on the script every 10 months, so he didn’t really use that much time that is 10 years. Finally, in 2022, the script was finished, and he went to Lionsgate to pitch the project. He hoped to get the rest of the crew and voice cast members back for the film had the pitch be successful.

Mass leak
On November 22, 2022, an unidentified YouTuber under the name of “MaxiMayhem” uploaded a video that stated the film’s existence and its entire script. The video was uploaded just a few hours after a successful pitch meeting for the film took place. Soon the video went viral, gathering 329 million views in just 24 hours. People and news outlets began commenting on how bad the film looks. Other people began sending death threats at Lionsgate to not produce the film. As a result, none of the cast members or rest of the crew decided to return. Also, the budget was slashed to $250,000, putting the film in danger of being cancelled entirely.

Bay’s arrival
On November 28, action film director Michael Bay approached a saddened Kasanoff at his house. Bay told him how he loved the first film and wanted to ensure the film doesn’t get cancelled, saying, “every studio and girl loves me”. Kasanoff agreed his offer and the film continued pre-production the following day.

Changes
Bay wanted to make multiple rewrites to Kasanoff's script in order to "surprise" the audience into seeing something that wasn't all that accurate to the leaked script. Most of Bay's changes were rather just cuts to many scenes in the script (later featured in The Dextended Cut). The most significant scene Bay altered was the ending, which the final film has it being shorter and with a lighter tone. Also, Bay added tons of explosions in the script in nearly every scene, most especifically including the final battle.

According to Kasanoff, Bay did not really understand the concept of time travel, resulting in many errors in the rules of the concept established in the film, occuring during the rewriting process.

Production and Post-Production
Despite the emergency rewrites in the script and deadline, Lionsgate and Bay refused to delay the film. However, to make audiences wait, a teaser trailer was released on April 1st, with it composed entirely of footage from the first film due to the animation process not beginning at all at the time. 7 hours before 12:00: AM of May 7, the script finally finished it's rewrites. Because of the urging deadline from Lionsgate to send the film to 2,000 theaters across the world, the animation, voice recording, music, and editing process was rushed, crunched, yet accomplished all at once in the timespan of 29 minutes. Bay animated the film, despite having no experience in doing so, while Kasanoff voiced every single character in the film while Bay was animating. Kasanoff had to do the lines of multiple characters at once in order to finish it all quickly. After finishing recording the character lines, Kasanoff recorded the music himself also, with him making tons of farting and growling noises. Multiple tracks from the first film were also reused for the soundtrack. Bay edited the film himself in 3 minutes. With the movie finished, they sent the hard drive to Lionsgate for them to send it to the theaters across the world.

Box Office
The film opened in theaters in May 7, 2023 (ten years after the first film’s American release on DVD) on 240p and 5FPS. The film was the biggest box-office bomb in history.

In the film’s 69-day long theatrical run, there were only 3 attendees in total: the YouTuber who leaked the film’s original script, revealed to be named Josh, and his two friends. However, they did not actually watch the movie; they left during the trailer time and went to watch |Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 instead.

In the end, Josh and his friends’ ticket money was estimated to be $29, making Foodfight!: It’s About Time the lowest-grossing movie of all time, grossing a dollar less than Zyzzyx Road. The film was also an estimated loss of $249,971 for the studio. Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer said, “My biggest regret of all time is by far letting Foodfight! and Foodfight!: It’s About Time happen in the first place. If I could ever go back in time (like in the film), I would destroy Kasanoff before he made the concept in 1997”.

Critical Response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film scores a rating of -1%, with 999999 reviews, surpassing Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever as the worst-rated film on the site. The critical consensus says, “Not only is Foodfight!: It's About Time the worst thing reality has brought, but it also proves why it's about time for Kasanoff to give up”. Metacritic have the film a weighted average score of 0 out of 100, indicating “Multiversal Dislike”, the first film of all time to score such ratings. CinemaScore gave the film an average rating of "Z-" on an A+ to F scale, the worst rated film on the site.

Tomson Supretalchukaquitamunach from Screen Rant gave the film zero stars, writing that there was no way "the film was possibly carefully crafted and eventually worth the wait for all these eleven years. Movies that have taken over a decade in making, such as Avatar: The Way of Water, now the highest-grossing film of all time, are really really great films. However, with Foodfight!: It's About Time, I have just lost all hope. Hollywood is dead now. I'm quitting my job as movie critic. I'm done. There's no possible way a movie worst than this one will ever be possible, unless Kasanoff becomes a complete psycopath." Reed Faker wrote, "the animation is even worse, the frame rate is terrible, the story is even more convoluted, the dialogue is cringe-worthy, the new villain is insufferable, the humor is awful...every single thing about Foodfight!: It's About Time is pain from beginning to end. Shaun McInvented from IGN noted the film's poor script, saying, "it's no secret that Foodfight!: It's About Time 's production was just straight-up ruined. The script starts off with a fight scene that lasts over 30 minutes. In fact, those minutes are literally the half of the movie. So it's only the second half which tries to promise it's rather exciting time travel story, but it goes off so unbelievably terrible and muddled with filler, poor characters, explosions--unexpected for co-director Michael Bay--and mocking scenes that it makes you like the first film somehow".

However, Imnota Reel-Persone from The Fake Reviewer gave a positive review, writing, "Foodfight!: It's About Time actually has a more compelling story that also makes far more sense, such as when Megan kills 1997 Dan before being defeated by present Dan. The ending where the supermarket is bought by Elon Musk is actually very emotional, and so is the journey that Dan takes about letting Sweetcakes go. Also liked the part where Dex says, "it's foodfightin' time" and foodfighted all over. Truly one of the movies of all time".

The film was mainly criticized for the ending, which showed the Ikes successfully defeating Megan. It was hated by everyone due to them considering Megan’s motives to erase the events of the first film as sympathetic due to how bad it was to begin with. The film was so bad, that audiences considered Kasanoff’s original script as better than the final film. Screen Rant placed it #1 on the list of the worst movies ever made, saying that it was, “worse than the worse of everything”, calling it, “a mess that will never ever be better than anything. I prefer hearing Norm the polar bear farting for 8 hours than watching the unbelievably padded 99 minutes of this garbage”.

Shortly after the film’s home media release, Josh and his friends were arrested for 5 years for leaking the film and also for breaking the screen in the theater room, all before he could try to do the second Sony Hack. At prison, he did manage to do the hack, and leaked not only a Sony Pictures Animation film titled Animaland, but also finally found the stolen long-lost early animation files from the first Foodfight!, but decided to just keep it a secret from the world.

Accolades
At the 44th Golden Raspberry Awards, held on March 2024, Foodfight!: It’s About Time was nominated on the categories Worst Picture, Worst Director, Worst Actor, Worst Actress, Worst Supporting Actor, Worst Supporting Actress, Worst Screenplay, Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel, and Worst Screen Combo. The film won all of these categories. It was also awarded a new award, "Worstest Picture", the first film of all time to have it.

At the ceremony, Kasanoff and Bay came to receive the awards. Since they were the only people to work on the film, every award was given to them, with Kasanoff receiving all actor-related awards. When Worstest Picture came in, Bay was so tired of walking to the stage that he became crazy and began seeing hallucinations, and began trying to eat the trophy thinking it was a real raspberry. The audience got shocked at this and began booing him. Bay then stopped trying to eat the trophy and apologized for his behavior. However, a member of the audience was heard laughing at Kasanoff, angering him and making him go berserk, throwing the trophies to the ground and destroying them and beginning to burn the place. Many people died, and Kasanoff said, “I will have my revenge!”, before escaping. The following morning, the police was unable to find Kasanoff, presuming him “lost for now”.

Foodfight!: It’s About Time: The Dextended Cut
In the end of the film’s theatrical run, it was announced that an extended cut for the film, titled Foodfight!: It’s About Time: The Dextended Cut, would have a one-day limited theatrical release on July 17, 2023, before releasing on Netflix the following day alongside the original cut. The Dextended Cut includes 40 additional minutes of scenes, raising the runtime to 139 minutes. The budget was slightly raised for the Dextended Cut, with a budget of now $250,001. Some of the added scenes and also changes include:


 * 10 more minutes of the fight scene between Dex and Sunshine that begins in the beginning of the film, with the added minutes consisting mostly of a reused shot being played over and over, alongside a scene with Dan and Sweetcakes together and also Lady X and Lieutenant X talking.
 * 5 more minutes of the Ikes talking in the Time Machine while on the road to 1997.
 * 10 minutes of a scene where the Ikes accidentally land on dinosaur times while on the road to 1997. They meet the Ike ancestors, who are disappointed for their present state and try to destroy them, but Dan stops them by singing Despacito, causing the ancestors to give up. The Time Machine is then fixed and the film goes on with the scene of the Ikes fighting Lady X inside the machine.
 * The explosions in the final battle are replaced with several candles to cause a fire to burn Marketropolis down.
 * The film’s original ending is included in this cut, which has Dex actually dying and a funeral taking place in the present day, where the Ikes cry for 3 minutes straight. The scene lasts 5 total minutes.
 * The film’s mid-credits scene is much longer, lasting 10 minutes. The scene has a full fight between Lady X and Dwayne Johnson, which ends with Dwayne Johnson winning and killing her with his great face like in the normal cut, however now before Lady X dies, Dwayne Johnson is about to show his muscles, only for a Rick Roll to occur.

The Dextended Cut received an even worse reception as the original cut, with many criticizing the even more worse animation, new ending, filler, and added humor. The new ending was also lamented for it’s overly dark and depressing tone, with Dex dying and the Ikes heavily mourning him.

The Dextended Cut did not gross any money in it’s limited one-day theatrical release, resulting into an even more massive financial disaster for Lionsgate. The Netflix release was also a massive flop, with no people streaming the cut nor the original release. Kasanoff later explained that The Dextended Cut served as a “director’s cut” for the film, showcasing his intended vision before Bay’s meddling, which explains the removal of the final battle’s explosions. The release of The Dextended Cut is also supposedly due to a Twitter movement with #ReleaseTheKasanoffCut trending on Twitter with 2 users. On April 2024, following the incident at the Raspberry Awards and Kasanoff’s disappearance, The Dextended Cut was removed from circulation due to it being Kasanoff’s entire vision. The only person who has a copy of the cut is Josh, who pirated it while it was on Netflix using an extremely private internet so that the platform would confuse the cut’s viewership ratings.