Partners in Crime (film)

Partners in Crime is a 2023 American 3D computer-animated action comedy film, produced by Paramount Animation and Rideback. The film is directed by Chris Sanders with screenplay by Kirk DeMicco and story by Mike Reiss.

The film features the voices of Bill Murray, George Clooney, Ann-Margret, Sylvester Stallone, John Goodman, Steve Martin and Jim Cummings. Its premise follows an undercover agency, called The Force, on a mission to stop en evil mastermind who they have tried to arrest for years. This entire film also pays homage to a few spy films such as James Bond.

The film will released in RealD 3D and Digital 3D on May 6, 2022, by Paramount Pictures.

Plot
Agent Thomas Tomson, a secret agent of the Force, has been sent on a mission to thwart arch-nemesis and billionaire Calvin Harrison. Unfortunately, his mission has failed by having been seen, which causes him to flee the building and fake his death in the process. As Harrison looks on the ground, he hopes no one else will stop his plan. Back at Headquarters, Tomson, alongside his rookie team members: weapons specialist Gerald Rick; weapon designer June Holoway; and intelligent superhacker Edward Pedro; are informed by the head director Dale LaDoah about their mission to stop Harrison from succeeding world domination and control. Their first mission is in Rio de Janeiro, where they must find on of his accomplices.

The team members split up. Ricky and Pétro find one of the accomplices at a bar and chase him down from the beach to the city, and fortunately catch him by Tomson setting a trap in the streets. Their suspect explains his plot on taking over the world by activating "impossible-to-find" transmission towers set around the world, not even can be detected on radar. Distraught, their only option is to disable the towers by the source: The Harrison Inc. building. Unfortunately, the Force has no information on its presence. Back at Headquarters, Tomson interrogates the man, who explains that he is working for him to help his family, then says that Harrison is creating and placing the towers around the world to get everyone to do his bidding via mind-control, followed by instructing them to go to London, England, where his comrades have further information about his plot.

There, the teams split up to look for one of the cronies, whereas Ricky bumps into a man wearing a trench coat and sunglasses, revealing one of the henchmen in disguise. The team pursues him, but he gets away in a helicopter, Ricky fortunately disarms the pilot by using one of his guns, tasering him. As the unconscious pilot is stunned, the man in pursuit jumps out of the chopper and heads into an alleyway, only to be caught in a dead end, followed by instructing the agents that Harrison's secret base is at a remote spot in Hawaii. On their way there, they hatch a plan on infiltrating the building with Pétro disabling the security systems, and with Rick and Holoway led by Tomson to confront Harrison.

Cast

 * Bill Murray as Agent Thomas Tomson; team leader of the Force.
 * Ann-Margret as Agent June Holloway; member of Tomson's team, weapon designer, and Tomson's love interest.
 * John Goodman as Calvin Harrison; an evil mastermind and archenemy of the Force.
 * Sylvester Stallone as Agent Gerald Rick; member of Tomson's team and weapons specialist.
 * George Clooney as Agent Edward Pedro; Tomson's team member and superhacker.
 * Steve Martin as Dale LaDoah; head director of the Force.
 * John Cleese as Kirk Richardson; an agent of the Force who later turns on them until the end.
 * Stephen Tobolowsky as the head member of the consul.
 * Emily Mortimer as Agent Jennifer Whill; agent in the recruiting department
 * Jim Cummings as Mel Franklin; TBA
 * Jim Ward as Agent Hal Thomas; agent in the training department.

Production
The film was supposed to be the third film in the On The Way franchise, and to have a sequel that focuses on the Force recruiting the Boys again to stop a mad scientist from destroying their country, which unfortunately then became a its own film. Afterwards, the film was changed from computer-animated to hand-drawn. The original cast was Benedict Cumberbatch, Kevin Hart, Anna Kendrick, Michael Peña, James Franco, Will Arnett, Seth Rogen, and Jonah Hill; before being replaced with respectively Bill Murray, Sylvester Stallone, Ann-Margret, George Clooney, John Goodman, John Cleese, Jim Cummings, and Jim Ward.

The film's animation is provided by Rough Draft Studios with additional vehicles animated by Rhythm & Hues.