Hello Kitty (2024 Film)

= Hello Kitty (2026 Film) = Hello Kitty is a 2024 American live-action/animated fantasy comedy film based on the Hello Kitty brand owned by Sanrio Company, Ltd. Produced by Warner Bros. Pictures, New Line Cinema, Lord Miller Productions, Sanrio Media & Pictures Entertainment, Village Roadshow Pictures, and StudioCanal, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures in North America, and by Sony Pictures Releasing International, StudioCanal, Toho, and Roadshow Films in other countries overseas. Directed by Leo Matsuda and Jennifer Coyle (in their theatrical feature directorial debuts), while produced by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, Beau Flynn, and Wendy Jacobson, and written by Lindsey Anderson Beer. The film stars the voices of Sarah Williams, Michelle Marie, Ryan Bartley, and basically almost every voice actor of the characters from the web-show “Hello Kitty & Friends Supercute Adventures. Alongside the voices of Woody Harrelson, Cameron Diaz, and Anya Taylor-Joy. While the main live-action cast consisted of Josh Hutcherson, Brooklyn Prince, Tobin Bell, Tara Strong, and Bruce Campbell.

The film’s story focuses on Hello Kitty and her friends, who one day accidentally open a portal to the real world via a magic spell book owned by Kuromi. After Hello Kitty and her friends travel to the portal, they end up in New York City in a studio apartments building, which they discover a guy named Bill, who is suffering from Bipolar Disorder and struggling to run his father’s bakery, which was passed onto him by his dad because his dad, Will, is under his care due to his age, all while struggling to take care of his only daughter, Jill, due to the lack of money. It is up to Hello Kitty and her friends to introduce themselves to Bill and help him and his family, the bakery business, and Bill’s health. The film explores the importance of friendship, companionship, family, and the benefits of teamwork, along with the understanding of mental health, and how it is okay to be different.

Development of the film began in 2009, where the film was set to be released in either late-2011 or early-2012 release, but then was delayed for an undated 2013 release, and was finally set to release on November 1 of 2014 by Sony Pictures Releasing. Hello Kitty would’ve been produced by Columbia and TriStar Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, Village Roadshow Pictures, and Original Film, and directed and written by both Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. Also unlike the Warner Bros. version, which was live-action and animated, Sony’s version would’ve been fully computer animated. However, due to creative differences with the directing duo, Sony Pictures, and Sanrio, Sanrio have decided to cancel the film and take away the film rights of the Hello Kitty & Friends franchise from Sony Pictures. Then in 2015, it was announced that New Line Cinema have acquired the rights to the franchise and have set the film for a 2019 release, but never came to fruition, instead in March of 2021, the directors were revealed, but with very scarce news. But in January of 2024, it was announced by Sanrio that the film was in its Post-Production stages and set to release on November 1, 2024. While also announcing that Phil Lord and Christopher Miller have returned for the film but as executive producers, not directors. Production of the film was secretly underway starting in late-2022, and wrapping up in mid-2023. With the voice and live-action cast being publicly announced in March of 2024. The animation for the film was animated by Sony Pictures Imageworks, DNEG Animation, and Blur Studio.

Hello Kitty premiered in Japan, Australia, London, and California on October 4, 11, 18, and 25 respectively. And then was released on November 1, 2024 (also the 50th anniversary of Hello Kitty) worldwide, to universal acclaim from critics and audiences alike. With humor, visual effects, vocal and acting performance, emotional weight, faithfulness to the source material, and appeal to both children and audiences receiving praise. Though, the use of product placement has been criticized. The film grossed 1.89 billion worldwide and broke numerous film world records. Such as having the 2nd biggest worldwide opening weekend for an animated film, becoming the highest-grossing film of 2024, the highest-grossing animated film of all time (overtaking “The Lion King” [2019]’s spot), and becoming the highest-grossing film produced by Warner Bros. Pictures, New Line Cinema, L.M Productions, Village Roadshow Pictures, and StudioCanal.

Plot
(TBA)

Voice Cast
Voice roles-


 * Sarah Williams as Hello Kitty and Pochi
 * Michelle Marie as My Melody and Chococat
 * Ryan Bartley as Pompompurin
 * Evette Wulk as Badtz-Maru
 * Jenny Yokobori as Kuromi and Cinammoroll
 * Georgie Kidder as Keroppi

Live-Action cast-


 * Josh Hutcherson as Bill, a single father who is suffering from Bipolar and financial troubles. He currently tries to run his fathers old bakery but struggles.
 * Brooklyn Prince as Jill, Bill’s 13 year old daughter who does pretty well at school and takes good care of her grandpa, Will, all while she tries to help her dad, Bill, with his issues.
 * Tobin Bell as Will, he is Bill’s father and Jill’s grandpa. He is currently using a wheelchair and needs to be taken care of by his son and granddaughter. He used to own a semi-successful bakery before he retired, which he gave ownership to his son.
 * Tara Strong as Jenny, a woman who is Bill’s only employee for his bakery business. She is really great friends with him and is always looking for ways for Bill to appreciate life more.
 * Bruce Campbell as Mr. Miller, the landlord of the studio apartment Bill and his family are renting. Miller always makes fun of Bill for his failures and his close-calls to paying rent. Despite the human characters and Hello Kitty referring to him as “Mr. Miller”, Hello Kitty’s friends refer to him as “Mr. Meanie” instead, due to his rudeness.

Additionally, Woody Harrelson and Cameron Diaz voice Hello Kitty’s dad and mom, respectively. While Anya Taylor-Joy voices Mimmy, Hello Kitty’s beloved sister.

Production
Development-

Development of the film began in late-2008, where Shintaro Tsuji (who was the president of Sanrio at the time) tried to shop out the Hello Kitty & Friends film rights to a major Hollywood studio. In 2009, the film rights were bought by Sony Pictures Entertainment, who were going to develop the film alongside Sony Pictures Animation, Columbia Pictures, TriStar Pictures, Village Roadshow Pictures, and Original Film. And released by Sony Pictures Releasing under its Columbia and Tristar Pictures label. If this film would’ve been made, it would’ve been the first SPA film to be released by TriStar Pictures and the second Sony Pictures film that would be released by both Columbia and TriStar Pictures (after Lords of Dogtown, another SPE film released by both in 2005). The film would’ve been directed and written by both Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. The film was set for a release for either late-2011 or early-2012. But then was delayed for an undated 2013 release. Finally, it was then delayed for a 2014 November release, which was also the year of Hello Kitty’s 40th Anniversary. But in 2012, the film was canceled. In 2015, it was announced that New Line Cinema, a film studio and operating unit of Warner Bros. Pictures, had bought the film rights and set the film for a 2019 release, however, it hasn’t come out. But in 2021, the directors, Leo Matsuda and Jennifer Coyle were announced. But there wasn’t enough news coverage for the entire world to know, so the news quickly faded to obscurity.

Reveal through an ARG-

In early January of 2024, the official Sanrio characters Twitter (or X) accounts started to post cryptic messages. When it was solved quickly, it was revealed to be a URL (which was 01101000-01101100-00101101-01100110-01101001-01101100-01101101.com, which the binary code translated to “hl-film”). On the site, there was a YouTube video in the middle of a hot pink-colored screen (albeit unlisted), the video shows Hello Kitty and her friends chasing Pompompurin, who stole their movie tickets. After catching up to him after a comedic, funny little chase, he gives up and gives the tickets back to them, while he also has one. After which, they all go inside a movie theater, while the text appears…

“Prepare for Hello Kitty & her friends to come to the big screen.

In Fall of 2024”

Then the screen faded to black, ending the video

After the realization, many fans of the Sanrio fandom have been getting excited for this film, while there were others who were skeptical about it, thinking that it would be a cash-grab. A week after the discovery, it was announced in the official Sanrio Twitter account that the film’s filming has been completed a while back and its post-production is near-finish. While set for a release date of November 1, 2024. Just in time for Hello Kitty’s 50th Year Anniversary. Alongside news that Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the original directors and writers of the original incarnation of the Hello Kitty film at Sony Pictures, are the executive producers for the Warner Bros. version. The news was met with massive excitement by fans and received huge news coverage, while most skeptics changed their mind on it being a cash-grab to a genuine great film. Since Phil and Chris made some great films in the past (ex. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, The Lego Movie, Both Spider-Verse films, 21/22 Jump Street). Though, there were still some skeptics. Since some thought that it was an aggressive campaign technique, the poor-quality of Phil’s and Chris’ last few films (such as Cocaine Bear and Strays) might be a bad sign, and the toxic workplace claims.

Release
Theatrical

Premieres:

The film was premiered 4 times (but technically 6 times) before its November 1, 2024 release. In the first week of October, the film premiered in all three of Sanrio’s theme parks, such as Sanrio Puroland, HarmonyLand, and Hello Kitty’s Shanghai Times, on October 4, which are all located in Japan, and the screening was funded by Toho.

In the second week, October 11, exactly a week after the Japanese premiere, the film premiered in the Sydney Opera House, located in Sydney, Australia. The screening was funded by Village Roadshow Limited.

On the third week, October 18, once again exactly a week after the Australian premiere, the film premiered in the BFI IMAX Theater located in the South Bank District of London. The reason for the film premiering in London was referencing the fact that Hello Kitty’s nationality is British. The screening was funded by Sony Pictures Entertainment U.K and Canal+ (the parent company of StudioCanal)

On the fourth and final week, October 25, again, a week after the British premiere, the film premiered in the Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, located in Burbank, California. The screening was funded by Warner Bros. Pictures.

Worldwide Release:

Hello Kitty was then released on November 1, 2024 (which is also her 50th birthday) worldwide.

International:

At first, international distribution outside of North America was originally held by Paramount Pictures. Even in Oceania countries, but not in Japan, since Toho already had the rights to the film’s distribution duties. But on July 15, 2024 Warner Bros. announced that the international distribution duties were taken by Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions after Paramount announced that they’re no longer going to distribute the film due to a company restructure. Paramount sold the rights for $250 Million to SPWA. The film would then be released by “Sony Pictures Releasing International” internationally, through their TriStar Pictures label. While also saying that the film was also sold to Village Roadshow Limited for $100 Million and that it would be released by Roadshow Films in Oceania, under its Village Roadshow Pictures label, with the release date being the same as the U.S one.

Home Media
Hello Kitty was released for digital download on December 25, 2024 by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, under its New Line Home Entertainment label in North America and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment internationally (Even in Japan and Oceania, despite SPRI not releasing the film in those countries), and was officially released in 4K Ultra-HD Blu-Ray, Blu-Ray, and DVD on January 30, 2025. This marks the first time ever, after over a decade, that New Line Home Entertainment have released a film on home media. While Warner Bros. Discovery announced that NLHE would start releasing New Line Cinema films on home media under WBHE, which marks the return of New Line Home Entertainment. With some early pre-orders starting on December 25. Physical home media were released by WBHE in North America and SPHE internationally (once again even in Japan and Oceania).

Also the film was available to stream on Max in North America starting on March 1, 2025, while it was released on Netflix internationally. Though, due to Disney signing a “pay two window” deal with Sony in April of 2021, the Hello Kitty film would be allowed to stream on Disney+, Hulu, and air on Disney’s linear television networks in countries outside of North America. Though this doesn’t take effect on Japan and Oceania countries, since SPRI didn’t release the film in those countries (despite the fact that they got the rights to release the film on physical home media in those countries), so the film is available to stream only on Netflix and watched through Broadcast syndication in Japan and Oceania.

Note from OP (NocturnalLabromorph)
I will be trying to constantly update this article in the near future, so consider this article in "W.I.P"