Freedom Planet (film)

"Even the small ones can do the big ones."

- Poster tagline

Freedom Planet (marketed and known in some countries as Freedom Planet: 次の物語 ) is a 2016 computer-animated science fantasy adventure film based on the 2014 video game of the same name by Sabrina DiDuro, who serves as an executive producer of the film. The film was directed by Greg Tiernan and produced by Dan Lin, Roy Lee, and Conrad Vernon, with a screenplay and original story by Matt Lieberman, Jared Stern, and Joe Ballarini. The film stars Dawn M. Bennett, Andi Sina, Aimee Smith, Ashlyn Selich, Sean Chiplock, P.M. Seymour, and Alejandro Saab, who reprise their roles from the game. It also stars newcomers John Hurt, Daniel Radcliffe, Claire Corlett, and Michelle Creber.

Talks of a feature-length film based on the video game were proposed in 2014, where script writer Matt Lieberman pitched a script to American video game designer Sabrina DiDuro, who accepted it. The film then began development when it was acquired by Lionsgate. The film’s animation was provided by Nitrogen Studios, while Tencent Pictures financed the film.

Freedom Planet was released theatrically in the United States by Lionsgate and Entertainment One in Canada. It was released in theaters in China, South Korea, and Japan on June 17, 2016, and then in the United States on July 1, 2016. The film received praise for its animation, performances, female representation, and faithfulness to the game, but also received criticism for its screenplay and some of its dark undertone. It grossed $140.1 million worldwide on a $35 million budget, making it a box-office success, along with being Lionsgate's highest-grossing feature-animated film to date. It was nominated for Annie Award for Best Animated Feature.

Synopsis
"An intergalactic warlord from distant outer space is making their way to the planet Avalice to steal a new artifact, and then eventually, destroy the planet from existence. The three kingdoms can't do anything to stop this state of emergency from happening. So the fate of the world will instead rest on three heroines, along with two newcomers and some of their former rivals, who'll have to head off into space to stop this catastrophe from happening, with some old friends reunited. But there is only one thing that stands out between all of them: Can they all at least set aside their differences and work together?"

-Lionsgate

Plot
After saving and stopping a runaway train from going over a broken bridge, Team Lilac, which consists of water dragon Sash Lilac, wildcat Carol Tea, and basset hound Milla Basset, celebrate their victory by seeing a panda named Neera Li at a bar in Shang Tu. They inform Neera that the situation has been taken care of, but are interrupted when they see a news broadcast that explains the rumors of an all-out invasion commanded by Lord Kuro coming to attack the planet Avalice. The owner of the bar closes the place, forcing the four to go back to their homes.

Later, at around midnight, Neera spots a black dot in the sky, and takes a closer look at the dot through a telescope, only to see that it is a spaceship. She then remembers the "rumors" about it, and calls Team Lilac immediately. Team Lilac arrives shortly, and find out that the ship is actually Lord Kuro's spaceship. They then devise a plan to prevent the attack from happening. One of them is hiring two red pandas named Lei and Ai. Lilac then finds out that Spade, a panda who is Team Lilac's rival, is helping them out for the mission, with Spade saying "this is only for one time."

To get to know them more, Lilac, Carol, and Milla visit Lei and Ai's house, which are inhabited by Lei's parents Mr. and Mrs. Ember, and May, Lei's playful little sister.

TBA.

Voice cast

 * Dawn M. Bennett as Sash Lilac, a water dragon and is the main protagonist of the film.
 * Andi Sina as Carol Tea, a wildcat and Lilac's best friend.
 * Aimee Smith as Milla Basset, a timid but friendly basset hound.
 * Ashlyn Selich as Neera Li, a panda who is mostly skeptical with Lilac and her friends.
 * Sean Chiplock as Spade, a panda who is usually rude with Lilac, but teams up with her for the space mission.
 * Chiplock also plays Spade's brother Dail, the Prince of Shuigang.
 * John Hurt as Lord Kuro, the main antagonist of the film, who is an alien overlord.
 * Daniel Radcliffe as Yoru, one of three assistants of Lord Kuro.
 * Ken Jeong as Hoshi, the second assistant of Lord Kuro.
 * Taika Waititi as Eirian, the third assistant of Lord Kuro.
 * Patrick M. Seymour as Torque, an alien whom Lilac, Carol, and Milla met in Freedom Planet (2014).
 * Alex Hirsch as Klaatu, a friend of Torque.
 * Alejandro Saab as Mayor Zao, the mayor of Shang Mu.
 * Michelle Creber as Ai Frost, a white/baby-blue fox and is the best friend of Lei. She lives with Lei in her house.
 * Claire Corlett as Lei Ember, a red panda and is the best friend of Ai. She has a phobia of space, but overcomes it.
 * Edwyn Tiong as the Royal Magister, the former ruler of Shang Tu.
 * Jason Lord as General Gong, the General of the Shang Tu army.
 * Xander Barrigas as Arktivus Brevon, the original antagonist of Freedom Planet (2014). He appears as a hologram.
 * Victoria Vitti as Syntax.
 * Madeleine Peters as May Ember, Lei's little sister.
 * Kirby Morrow as Mitt, an assistant of Mayor Zao.
 * Ian James Corlett as Mr. Ember, Lei's father.
 * Nicole Oliver as Mrs. Ember, Lei's mother.
 * Tara Strong as Lupa, a news reporter of the Tri-Kingdom Network.
 * Sandra Oh as Sam, a fox soldier.
 * Charlyne Yi as Marcy, a brown fox.
 * Roger Craig Smith as a bartender.
 * Ashly Burch as an alien citizen.
 * Vincent Tong as a fox.
 * John de Lancie as the Narrator.
 * Additional voices:
 * Ashleigh Ball
 * Craig Bartlett
 * Shannon Chan-Kent
 * Kazumi Evans
 * Andrew Francis
 * Andrea Libman
 * Yuri Lowenthal
 * Brent Miller
 * Peter New
 * Kelly Sheridan
 * Rebecca Shoichet
 * Tabitha St. Germain
 * Fred Tatasciore
 * Greg Tiernan
 * Conrad Vernon
 * Sam Vincent
 * Cathy Weseluck
 * Diamond White

Development
Prior to the release of the original Freedom Planet game in July 2014, writer Matt Lieberman pitched a spec script to American game developer Sabrina DiDuro, who was one of the developers of the game. She read the script and said that the idea of a film based on the game was possible, but said that its fate will depend on how successfully the game does. After the release of Freedom Planet, it was announced that DiDuro had always considered a feature film adaptation based on the game, but hadn't decided yet. In August 2014, DiDuro released on Twitter a snippet of what would be the script used for the film.

In October 15, 2014, it was announced that the film was greenlit and is in development, with the working title of the film being Planet 9, and it was announced that Lieberman, along with Jared Stern and Joe Ballarini, would write the script, while DiDuro would executive produce the film, and Dan Lin and Roy Lee serving as producers through their companies Lin Pictures and Vertigo Entertainment. Despite planning for a theatrical release, no distribution company had acquired the rights to distribute the film to theaters until next month.

On November 7, 2014, it was announced that Lionsgate had acquired the production rights to the film, with an unspecified release date of somewhere around mid 2016. It was also announced that Chinese-based film company Tencent Pictures will give financing, with director Tim Hill set to direct the film. But on January 26, 2015, Hill was no longer attached to the film.

Writing
According to Stern, it was said that the script would be a full adaptation of the game, meaning that it would've transfer all of the game's dialogue and action into the film. This was scrapped because audiences knew how the game's story was told, and that the studio did not want to retell the same story again. Although the film's plot may still use the original elements the game had, it'll be done in an entirely different manner.

Casting
On the same day as the film's announcement, it was announced by DiDuro that most of the cast from the game would reprise their roles for the film, with the additions of new cast members such as Daniel Radcliffe, John Hurt, and Taika Waititi. On October 24, it was announced that Michelle Creber and Claire Corlett joined the cast. Ken Jeong was cast to the film on November 6. On November 18, it was announced that the film will have a narrator, like in the game, with John de Lancie signing up for the role. Sandra Oh was confirmed to make a cameo appearance in the film.

According to producer Dan Lin, it was revealed that numerous actors had auditioned for the role of Lord Kuro before John Hurt got the role, which included: Robert De Niro, Liev Schreiber, and Keith David.

Animation
Also on the same day as the announcement, it was confirmed that the film's animation would be provided by Canadian animation company Nitrogen Studios, best known for their work on the British television series Thomas & Friends. When Hill left the film, co-founder and director of Nitrogen Greg Tiernan would replace him as director. Animation began in May 2015 and ended in November 2015. Unlike the game, the animation of the entire film was done through CGI animation, though the end credits and musical sequences would still maintain the original 2D animation.

The film finally wrapped production on March 8, 2016.

Music
On January 5, 2016, it was announced that composer Daniel Ingram was set to compose the score of the film. A few original songs were made for the film as well, which include: "Best Friends Forever", "All to Ourselves", and "I'm Sorry". American rock band Weezer also contributed an original song called "Just Light", which was released on May 16, 2016. Other songs such as "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" by Wham!, "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor, and "Livin' Thing" by Electric Light Orchestra appear in the film. The songs "Butterflies & Hurricanes" by Muse and "Baba O'Riley" by The Who, appear in some of the trailers and TV spots, but does not appear in the film itself.

Theatrical
Freedom Planet was originally scheduled to release on August 12, 2016. It was then delayed to September 16, 2016, but was delayed indefinitely. In October 2015, it was announced that the film’s release date was pushed up to July 1, 2016. It was released in East Asia three days later, before being released in the U.S. a week later.

Home media
Lionsgate Home Entertainment released the film on digital on August 9, 2016, and then on DVD and Blu-Ray on September 13, 2016. Bonus features in the Blu-Ray and 4K UHD formats include audio commentary, deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes footage, and the animated short A Night in Shining Armor. The film made its official American television premiere on Disney Channel on October 15, 2017.

Marketing
In December 2015, the film's teaser trailer was released online by the official Lionsgate YouTube channel. On February 7, 2016, the film's official trailer made its debut on the YouTube channel as well. The second trailer was then released on April 5, 2016. Meanwhile, its final official trailer was released on June 2, 2016.

Tokyopop collaboration
German-American entertainment company Tokyopop announced a collaboration with Lionsgate to develop a manga-style book to tie-in with the film, which follows the same plot as the film. It was released on July 25, three weeks after the film's release.

Promotional partners
Lionsgate spent over $40 million for advertisement purposes. Promotional partners included companies such as [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_Inc. Visa], Samsung, Toyota, and DirecTV.

Box office
In the United States and Canada, the film grossed $40.2 million and grossed $30 million worldwide, for a total of $70.2 million overall. In North America, the film was projected to gross $20-25 million from 3,055 theaters on its opening weekend. The film grossed $6.8 million on its first day, including $150,000 from Thursday night previews.

Critical reception
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 70% based on 287 reviews, with an average rating of 6.08/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Although it still has the amazing charm and adorable chemistry the game offered, Freedom Planet still sticks the unfortunate landing to talk about." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted score of 58 out of 100, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled on CinemaScore gave the film an "A-" on an "A+ to F" scale, while audiences on PostTrak gave the film an 80% positive score, with 67% saying they'd recommend it.

Possible sequel
A sequel had been in development since January 2017, but due to Cinesite's purchase of Nitrogen Studios on March 7, 2017, the company responsible for the animation of its predecessor, there was no indication of whether or not it had been halted or canceled, putting it on limbo.

Taglines

 * "Even the small ones can do the big ones." -Main tagline
 * "From the producers that brought you The Lego Movie and the studio that brought you Thomas & Friends." -Secondary tagline