Calvin and Hobbes: The Movie (2018 Animated Film)

Calvin and Hobbes: The Movie is a 2018 traditionally animated film directed by Steven Spielberg. It follows Calvin and Hobbes as they go on a cross-country quest to stop Calvin's Duplicates, Moe, and his mad scientist father from taking over the world.

Cast

 * Tom Kenny as Calvin/Duplicates/Spaceman Spiff/Stupendous Man/Tracer Bullet/Various
 * Owen Wilson as Hobbes
 * Tom Everett Scott as Calvin's Dad
 * Scarlett Johansson as Calvin's Mom
 * Jennifer Lawrence as Susie
 * Frank Welker as Moe
 * Tim Curry as the Concierge
 * Tom Cruise as FBI Agent Cooper
 * Kevin James as Cop 1
 * Arnold Schwartzenegger as Cop 2
 * Mike Pollock as Dr. Scientist

Plot
On a nice sunny day in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. Calvin (Tom Kenny) and Hobbes (Owen Wilson) go through their morning routine, before Calvin suggests taking a wagon ride. Hobbes reluctantly agrees, as Calvin is known for his horrendous wagon riding skills. However, as Calvin and Hobbes leave the garage open, five worms sneak into the garage, only to nearly be ran over by Calvin's Dad (Tom Everett Scott) backing the car out of the garage on his way to work. Unfazed, the worms sneak into the house unnoticed, and make their way up to Calvin's room, where they find the transmogrifier, and transmogrify themselves, revealing to being Calvin's old duplicates. Duplicate 2 vows to finally plot revenge on Calvin, and then seek world dominance as well. Duplicate 4 points out that they won't be able to do it alone, and decide to go searching for an assistant.

Meanwhile, Calvin and Hobbes are recklessly riding the wagon through the woods, nearly causing several accidents along the way, before seeing a sign for a bridge. Interested, Calvin (much to the dismay of Hobbes) goes in the direction of where the bridge is, only to fall down a cliff and crash. Calvin and Hobbes then look to see the school bully, Moe (Frank Welker) laughing at their misfortune, revealing he was the one that planted the sign to get back at Calvin for being a victim of a prank Calvin pulled on the last day of school. Calvin swears revenge on Moe, but Moe simply laughs and says to Calvin that he is "too wimpy" to get revenge against Moe. The duplicates witness this and all agree that Moe is"the one to help them in their plan. The duplicates follow Moe back to his house, with Moe completely oblivious that he is being followed by anyone. After Moe walks back inside his house, the duplicates knock on his door and Moe responds. Upon seeing the duplicates, Moe thinks he had too much coffee in his cereal, but the duplicates explain that they were duplicates created by Calvin, and got turned into worms by him, and finally were able to transmogrify themselves back into their original form, and want to seek the ultimate revenge on him and take over the world, and want Moe's help, promising to make him famous. Intrigued by this, Moe lets the duplicates in, and takes them down to the basement, which is actually a laboratory, and meet Moe's mad scientist father, Dr. Murdoch Zenith Scientist (Mike Pollock). The name causes the duplicates to burst out laughing, much to Dr. Scientist's annoyance. After explaining their plan, Dr. Scientist tells the Duplicates that he is more than willing to help, as he himself has had several failed attempts to take over the world himself, and believes the extra help will make his latest plan a success.

The film then cuts back to Calvin and Hobbes, who are plotting a G.R.O.S.S. water balloon attack on Calvin's next door neighbor Susie Derkins (Jennifer Lawrence). Susie easily sees through Calvin's trap, and tricks Calvin, causing Calvin to be onslaughted by the water balloons. Annoyed, Calvin and Hobbes go inside to watch TV, only for their show to be interrupted by a breaking news report, on how five exact look-a-like twins and a burly boy with a black t-shirt are wreaking havoc in the city, stating that they are going to take over the world and are out for a person named Calvin. Calvin and Hobbes are shocked by hearing this, and are even more shocked when Moe walks in front of one of the cameras in the city stating "We're Coming for You Twinky!" Refusing to let Moe and his duplicates try and take over the world (as well as stating that he wants to take over the world himself) Calvin decides to go after them. Hobbes is reluctant to join Calvin, but agrees to after Calvin promises him tuna for afterwards. Calvin grab's a bunch of objects from his room that will "assist" them (Stupendous Man costume, toboggan, comic books, cardboard box, etc). Hobbes points out that they won't be able to fit all the stuff in the wagon, though Calvin uses the cardboard box as a bottomless storage unit, or a BSE for short, and is able to shrink it the size of case to hold a ring in. Calvin and Hobbes venture off into the city on their wagon, and see Duplicate Number 2 wreaking havoc with a construction vehicle that has a wrecking ball on it, swinging it uncontrollably and destroying buildings left and right. Calvin's father hears the noise from his office, and simply believes the chaos is being caused by a drunk driver. Duplicate Number 2 notices Calvin and Hobbes, and then begins to drive the vehicle toward Calvin and Hobbes at an extremely fast rate. Calvin and Hobbes decide to get out before Duplicate Number 2 gets to them and kills them both. Calvin and Hobbes rush through the city streets on the wagon with Duplicate Number 2 in close in pursuit. Eventually, Calvin and Hobbes cause Duplicate Number 2 to crash into a fountain, and get away before Duplicate Number 2 can even get out.

Meanwhile, Duplicates 3 and 5 are watching a movie at a movie theater, when Calvin and Hobbes find them. They then get into a big fight, and the Duplicates escape, and hop on an Amtrak train headed to Chicago, with Calvin and Hobbes hitching on the same train in an empty sleeper car. Duplicates 3 and 5 storm tho the front of the train, and kick the engineer out of the front, and have the train run at dangerously high speeds. Calvin and Hobbes hear the engineer calling out that the train has been hijacked, and they storm to the front and fight the two duplicates again, until they cause the train to speed off the tracks at a curve on the outskirts of Chicago. Duplicates 3 and 5 briefly escape, but Calvin and Hobbes catch up with them, and fight again, and their fight eventually sprawls out to Wrigley Field, where a game between the Chicago Cubs and Detroit Tigers is going on, and cause havoc on the field, before it sprawls back out into the city, where the Duplicates steal the box and fly off with it. Outraged, Calvin and Hobbes attempt to find a quick way to catch them, only to see the Ferrari used in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and decide to use it in the chase, despite Hobbes' objections. The two give pursuit, to the Duplicates, with the chase eventually reaching Las Vegas, where they fight yet again, but the Duplicates escape, but leave Calvin's box with the two. Realizing its getting late, Calvin and Hobbes decide to use the duplicator to give the two enough money to find a hotel to stay at for the night, as they begin to look for a hotel.

Meanwhile, Calvin's Dad comes home from work, and learns from Calvin's Mom (Scarlett Johansson) that Calvin is nowhere to be seen, having looked all over the place. With no other options, they decide to call the police. After an extensive search by the police, they believe that their only hope is to call in FBI Agent Cooper (Tom Cruise) who is well-known for cracking missing child cases. After some investigating, Cooper receives a call from a front office member of the Chicago Cubs, saying they saw a kid that looked like Calvin, and Cooper heads to Chicago to see if the footage will be able to help him.

Back in Las Vegas, Calvin and Hobbes find a hotel that suits their tastes, the Viva Town Luxury Hotel, and check in to one of the most expensive rooms in the hotel. However, the Concierge (Tim Curry) is suspicious of the two, especially since Calvin is only six. Not that long after, he sees a news report about Calvin being missing, and calls up Cooper, who thinks the eveidence by the Cubs was made up, as the footage has Calvin fighting with the duplicates, and informs Cooper that Calvin checked into the hotel, and Cooper vows to take the next flight out to Vegas. Calvin and Hobbes meanwhile, are enjoying their luxury treatment, partying in their room all night long with a plentiful amount of foods and drinks they got from room service. The next morning, they turn on the TV to see a news alert about a spiky-haired kid robbing four casinos in Vegas. Calvin and Hobbes realize its Duplicate 4, and try to think of a way to escape, but before they can put a plan in action. Two cops (Kevin James and Arnold Schwartzenegger) come to the hotel after receiving a tip, and are led up to Calvin's room by the Concierge. However, Calvin and Hobbes barely manage to escape the cops, and they are chased by the cops through three casinos, before they run into Duplicate 4, who steals the Ferrari. Calvin and Hobbes use the box to chase after Duplicate 4, while the cops chase after the three of them, though Duplicate 4 crashes their car into a ditch.

While flying through the air, Calvin and Hobbes realize that the air is becoming chilly, only to realize they are now in a very snowy place. They find Duplicate 4 refueling at a remote gas station, and attack him. Duplicate 4 then summons the Snow Goons to attack Calvin and Hobbes, but Calvin and Hobbes manage to defeat them and Dupicate 4, who accidentally reveals that Moe and Duplicate 6 are hiding out a secret military base, and Calvin and Hobbes leave when the two cops arrive, and arrest Duplicate 4. In an interrogation room, Cooper arrives, believing that he has found Calvin, though Duplicate 4 continues to insist that he is a duplicate of Calvin. Still doubting, Cooper remembers how Calvin's parents say he is never without Hobbes, and asks where Hobbes is at. Duplicate 4 however, doesn't recognize the name, but remembers that Hobbes was a tiger, that he nor the other duplicates never really knew the name to, and forgot as well, and accidentally mentions that Calvin and Hobbes are heading toward a secret military base. Cooper, being an FBI agent, is actually aware of the base, and decides to see if Calvin is there.

While flying, Calvin and Hobbes get shot down, right into the military base. They decide to explore, only to fall down a trap door into a dungeon-like area with a dangerously rapid sewer system. Dr. Scientist appears and reveals himself to Calvin and Hobbes, only to be laughed at because of his name. Annoyed, Dr. Scientist reveals his plan, and gets into his mini-tank to try and knock Calvin and Hobbes into the sewers, but after a hard-thought battle, the tank ends up in the sewers, and Dr. Scientist flees, with Calvin and Hobbes chasing after, only to end up in an arena on top of lava, where Moe and Duplicate 6 are. The four fight each other, with Calvin and Hobbes coming out on top, much to the shock of Moe, who has always been able to beat up Calvin with ease in the past. Calvin begins to go on a speech how he's better than Moe, when Duplicates 2, 3, and 5 launch one of Dr. Scientist's prototype laser guns at Calvin, thinking it will kill him, but much to the shock of the Duplicates and Moe, Calvin's alter egos, Spaceman Spiff, Stupendous Man, and Tracer Bullet, have come to life. Dr. Scientist re-appears and launches a smoke-screen, which allows the villains to escape, while the heroes chase after them. They go outside, only to see a gigantic space fortress take off. With some quick thinking, Calvin and Hobbes chase after the fortress in the box, while Stupendous Man flies and Spaceman Spiff and Tracer Bullet fly in Spiff's spacecraft.

Meanwhile, Cooper arrives on the scene as the heroes are taking off, and manages to grab onto Spiff's spacecraft, holding on to dear life as they go into space, and crash onto Dr. Scientist's space fortress. Cooper approaches Calvin and explains to him what's going on, but Calvin has Spaceman Spiff shoot at him as he believes that Cooper was an agent sent by Dr. Scientist to eliminate Calvin, causing Cooper to flee.

After some searching, the heroes bust into a large room, which takes up a bulk of the fortress, where a gigantic robot, being controlled by the villains, appears, named Mechalopnica. The heroes fight for a long time, until Calvin and Hobbes sneak into the robot, and take out the Duplicates one by one, and reach the top where Moe and Dr. Scientist are. While they fight, Moe throws Calvin out of the robot, but Calvin manages to catch on to a wire, and climbs into what turns out to be the control center, and Calvin quickly shuts power to the robot off, causing the robot to crash down, which causes the space fortress to crash down as well. The fortress crashes down in the middle of nowhere, and Hobbes and the alter egos realize Calvin is missing. Hobbes begins to break down in tears, believing Calvin was killed, only for Calvin to pop out from the wreckage completely uninjured, much to the heroes' relief. The alter egos tell Calvin and Hobbes that while they enjoyed helping them, they need to go elsewhere because they don't want to be harassed by the paparazzi for their actions, but promise to meet up with Calvin and Hobbes in the future. After they leave, Cooper emerges from the wreckage, and begs for Calvin to believe him, especially after he has informed every government agency about the whole mess, and are on their way as they speak. Realizing that he is on their side, Calvin decides to believe him, and explains the whole thing to Cooper. Eventually, the government agencies arrive, and arrest the Duplicates, Moe, and Dr. Scientist, who all tell Calvin and Hobbes they'll be back to kill him, to which Calvin and Hobbes laugh at. Calvin is also reunited with their parents, who, while still confused on everything that happened, are proud of his actions, and are glad he's safe, and Calvin's Dad also is impressed since he believes Calvin built a lot of character from his adventure (much to Calvin's annoyance). While all of this is going on however, another Duplicate of Calvin, though his shirt being plain red, notices from afar all of this, and plots to steal all the wreckage once everyone leaves.

Calvin and Hobbes are celebrated as heroes around the world, as they are given several parades, awards, and honors for their efforts. One night, when Calvin is giving a speech back home in Chagrin Falls, Hobbes rides the wagon with a sign that says that tigers should be made the national animal of the United States thanks to him being a hero, but loses control and accidentally hits Calvin, sending him into a pond. After he gets out and lays on the ground groaning, Hobbes asks Calvin if he's OK, to which Calvin responds, "Shut up and go get me some medical attention you furball." The film ends, and the credits roll.

Production and Release
At the start of 2017, 20th Century Fox announced that they planned on releasing an animated Calvin and Hobbes movie in the Summer of 2018, with Steven Spielberg directing. In an interview, Bill Watterson admitted that he had originally rejected 20th Century Fox's pitch to make a Calvin and Hobbes movie, though after a series of meeting with executives, he agreed for the film to be made, with the agreement that Watterson had full creative control and all decisions made had to be approved by Watterson himself.

Early reports suggested that 20th Century Fox had reached out to Tom Kenny and Matthew Broderick to voice Calvin and Hobbes respectively. Kenny confirmed he was in talks with producers to voice Calvin, while Broderick denied claims that he had been offered the role of Hobbes. The Hollywood Reporter and Entertainment reported that Will Smith and Jim Carey had been offered the role of Hobbes. Smith denied being reached out to, while Carey confirmed he had been asked to audition for the role, but declined due to other conflicts. On May 1st, reports began circulating that Owen Wilson had signed on to voice Hobbes. These reports were confirmed on May 8th, when it was announced that Calvin and Hobbes would be voiced by Tom Kenny and Owen Wilson. On June 12th, it was announced that Kevin James and Arnold Schwarzenegger had signed on to play two cops that would be chasing Calvin and Hobbes during a portion of the film. Mike Pollock signed on two days later to voice the main antagonist of the film, a new villain being named Dr. Scientist. The rest of the cast was announced on June 30th.

The first teaser trailer was released on November 18th, 2017 to commemorate the 32nd anniversary of the comic strip's original release in newspapers. On January 5th, 2018, it was announced the film would be released on June 22nd, 2018, and that film's score would be composed by Henry Jackman, and that "Weird Al" Yankovic would be creating an original song for the film.

The film was released into theaters worldwide on said date, and was an instant success, grossing $64 million on opening weekend, and went on to become the 7th highest-grossing animated film of all time. The film holds a 95% certified "fresh" rating saying, "Bill Watterson's famed comic strip makes the jump from the funny pages to the big screen flawlessly. This hilarious adventure about a boy and his stuffed tiger is something that anyone will enjoy, even fans of the original comic strip." The film would go on to be nominated for and win the 2018 Oscar for Best Animated Film.

Following the success of the film, a television adaption was green-lit, simply entitled Calvin and Hobbes, and premiered on Nickelodeon on July 5th, 2019.

Soundtrack
The score for the film was composed by Henry Jackman

Sequel
In an interview following the film's release, Bill Watterson revealed a sequel was in the works, slated for a 2020 release. Watterson said that all of the main cast agreed to reprise their roles in a sequel. Steven Speilburg announced he would return to direct as well, and Henry Jackman would again compose the soundtrack for the sequel. A teser trailer released on September 16th, 2019 revealed the title as being simply, "Calvin and Hobbes 2" though the official trailer released on December 21st, 2019 gave it the official title of Calvin and Hobbes 2: World Tour. The sequel released on May 31st, 2020.