The Adventures Of Grapey

The Adventures Of Grapey is a 2004 American traditionally-animated comedy-drama-action-adventure film produced by Packson Animation Studios and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema. The film was directed by Percy K. R. Packson and executive-produced by Leni Octavia-Carols. It features voice work by Percy K. R. Packson, Kevin Hart, Frank Welker, Tina Fey, Natalie Portman and Ryan Reynolds.

The film was announced in 2000 by Percy K. R. Packson when he wanted to create a feature-length film for his animation studio, so he chose what he thought was an absurd plot and challenge himself to make it into an animated film. During an interview, he said the following: "So, what I was thinking, is that I take a very silly yet also simple idea, and expand it using all my potential, while make the main character - a grape - almost be an expansion of me."

The Adventures Of Grapey premiered at the 2004 Toronto International Film Festival on September 18, 2004 and was released in the United States on October 1, 2004. The film was a box office success, earning $645 million worldwide and received critical acclaim for its script, animation, creativity, ambition, characters, voice performances (particularly those of Percy K. R. Packson, Kevin Hart and Ryan Reynolds), plot and humor. It won the Best Animated Feature award at the 77th Academy Awards. It also spawned a franchise with various sequels and spin-offs.

Summary
In the city of Cuisity, there lives a... er.. grape named Grapey (Packson). He and his friends Smith Jr. (Hart) and Tinny (Welker) must beat the odds when a new villain, Ghost (Reynolds) threatens to destroy the city with his flame powers. Will they win the battle? Or are they out of time?

Cast

 * Percy K. P. Packson as Grapey, a purple grape and the kind but sometimes overdramatic protagonist of the film.
 * Kevin Hart as Smith Jr., a granny-smith apple and Grapey's wise-cracking best friend.
 * Frank Welker as Tinny, a gallium ball, half-citizen of Cuisity, and Smith Jr.'s adopted brother.
 * Tina Fey as Fetionne, a feta cheese and Grapey's crush.
 * Natalie Portman as Lychee Sweet, a lychee and Fetionne's best friend
 * Ryan Reynolds as Ghost, a ghost pepper and the main antagonist of the film.
 * TBA as Smith Sr., a granny-smith apple and Smith Jr.'s dad.
 * TBA as Pink Lady, a pink-lady apple and Smith Jr.'s mom.
 * TBA as Granny Smith, a granny-smith and Smith Jr.'s grandmother.
 * TBA as Brae Burn, a braeburn and Smith Jr.'s grandfather.
 * TBA

Production
The film was announced in 2000 by Percy K. R. Packson when he wanted to create a feature-length film for his animation studio, so he chose what he thought was an absurd plot and challenge himself to make it into an animated film. During an interview, he said the following: "So, what I was thinking, is that I take a very silly yet also simple idea, and expand it using all my potential, while make the main character - a grape - almost be an expansion of me."

Casting
On October 27, 2003, the film was announced to star Percy K. R. Packson, Kevin Hart and Frank Welker. On January 4, 2004, the film was announced to star Tina Fey and Natalie Portman. On March 31, 2004, the film was announced to star Ryan Reynolds.

Score
The film's score is composed by Michael Giacchino. The music of the film consists of instruments such as violin, piano, trumpet, saxophone, drums, and organ.

Soundtrack
The film doesn't feature many songs, and that is why the soundtrack is short compared to the score. However, the film does feature an original song during the final battle.

Release
The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 18, 2004 and released in the United States and United Kingdom on October 8, 2004, followed by release in Canada one week later on October 15, 2004.

Marketing
The film's teaser was released on February 15, 2004, along with the official trailer on June 26, 2004 and second official trailer on September 4, 2004.

Home media
The Adventures Of Grapey was released on VHS and DVD on February 22, 2005, and on Blu-Ray on March 27, 2010, by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.

The DVD and Blu-Ray release features a short film named "Smith Jr.'s Top Tips For Success".

Box office
The film was a box-office success, earning $645 million as opposed to its $90 million budget.

Critical response
The film received universal acclaim from critics. On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 97% based on 312 reviews, with an average rating of 9/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The Adventures Of Grapey brings a flavour-coated surprise honorary of many people's taste." Metacritic calculated a weighted average score of 90 out of 100, based on 72 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Sequels
Many sequels followed the film due to its critical and financial success, including The Adventures Of Grapey 2 in 2007, Adventures Of Grapey 3 in 2010, Adventures Of Grapey 4 in 2013, Grapey 5 in 2016 and G6 in 2019, all receiving universal acclaim like the first film.