Pecola: The Movie

Pecola: The Movie is a 2002 Canadian-Japanese animated film based on the children's television series Pecola. It was released in Japan on July 13, 2002 and in Canada on September 7, 2002. The film follows Pecola as he tries to help his friends and family in Cube Town, but often ends up causing more trouble than he intends. Along the way, Pecola learns important lessons about friendship, responsibility, and growing up.

Pecola: The Movie was directed by Naomi Iwata and written by Naomi Iwata and Yuko Shimizu. The film's voice cast includes Tomoko Kaneda, Junko Hori, Ryōtarō Okiayu, and Kotono Mitsuishi.

Plot
The film begins with Pecola playing with his friends in Cube Town. However, their fun is interrupted when a large ship arrives in the town's harbor. The ship is revealed to be a cruise ship full of tourists from Cubic City. The tourists begin to explore the town and take pictures of the locals.

Pecola and his friends are curious about the tourists and decide to follow them. They eventually end up at the art museum, where they meet Hillary, the curator. Hillary shows the group around the museum and tells them about the different paintings on display.

Pecola and his friends are impressed by the paintings, but they are not allowed to touch them. As they leave the museum, Pecola accidentally knocks over a statue of the town's founder. Hillary scolds Pecola and tells him to be more careful.

Pecola and his friends are upset by Hillary's scolding, so they decide to play a prank on her. They put a fish in her office, but the fish ends up getting loose and causing a mess. Hillary is angry at Pecola and his friends, but she forgives them after they apologize.

Later, Pecola and his friends meet Gazelle, a vain gazelle who is dating Hillary. Gazelle shows off his new car to Pecola and his friends, but he accidentally drives it into a ditch. Pecola and his friends help Gazelle get his car out of the ditch, but Gazelle's car is damaged in the process.

Gazelle is angry at Pecola and his friends, but he forgives them after they apologize. He then asks Pecola to help him fix his car. Pecola agrees, and he and Gazelle become friends.

One day, Hillary tells Pecola and his friends that the Cubic City tourists are coming back to Cube Town. She asks Pecola to be a tour guide, and he agrees.

Pecola gives the tourists a tour of Cube Town, but he accidentally leads them into a dangerous part of town. The tourists are scared, but Pecola manages to get them back to safety.

After the tour, Hillary tells Pecola that he did a good job. She then asks him to help her with the art museum's grand opening. Pecola agrees, and he and his friends begin to prepare for the event.

However, on the day of the grand opening, Pecola's friends are nowhere to be found. Pecola is forced to give the tour by himself, but he gets lost and ends up in the Rookery Mountains.

Pecola is lost and scared, but he is eventually found by his grandfather, Pecolius. Pecolius tells Pecola that he is proud of him and gives him a compass. Pecola then uses the compass to find his way back to Cube Town.

When Pecola returns to town, he finds that the grand opening has already started. He tries to sneak into the museum, but he is caught by Hillary. She scolds Pecola and tells him to leave.

Pecola is upset, but he is cheered up by his friends. They tell him that they are proud of him and that they will always be his friends.

The film ends with Pecola and his friends playing together in Cube Town.

Characters
Pecola is the main character of the film. He is a curious and hyperactive penguin who tries to help the people of Cube Town but often wreaks havoc instead. Pecola is an orphaned penguin who lives with Pecolius, his grandfather.

Coco is another penguin. She is more down to earth than Pecola, and is sometimes frustrated by his antics. She loves to sing; unfortunately, she is terrible at it.

Little Chu/Chewy is a mouse who is the grandson of the great inventor Dr. Chu, and a budding inventor in his own right. He is Pecola's best friend and often unwilling ally in different escapades. He often complains of having a funny feeling in his stomach just before things get out of hand.

Dr. Chu is a mouse who is Little Chu's grandfather. He is Cube Town's greatest inventor and he often invents gadgets that help others on the island. His inventions are often used by Pecola and Chewy in their adventures. He is also friends with Pecola's grandfather, Pecolias. He owns two vehicles one is a submarine and also an airplane called the Mad Mouse which sits on top his laboratory. He also likes to collect comics.

Mr. Saruyama is a monkey who runs a fruit stand in town. He is often the target of Pecola's pranks, often leading to his melons falling over, which is a running gag in the show. He also runs the town's newspaper, the "Town Crier". He also cries a lot.

Gao/Rory is a lion who is Cube Town's postman. He is determined and dedicated to his job, he has never missed a day of work which won him the postman of the year award in, though he did get sick in during this episode it was revealed when he was younger he wasn't as good at delivering the post, but learned from his mistakes and created rules to help him with his job.

Pug/Mr. Puggalski is a dog who owns a grocery store. He is a descendant of the personal chef of the former king of Cube Town. He is also said to be the world's greatest hide and seek player (hide and go sleep) though when nobody could find him he was sick at home and still won.

Dr. Hornbender is an old goat astrologist who lives and works at the observatory. His greatest dream is the discovery of new planets, constellations, and aliens. Along with getting a shooting star named after him.

Rabi/Robbie is a nervous rabbit who likes video games.

Mayor Papazoni is an elephant. The mayor who makes long and boring speeches. Papazoni travels in a helicopter that he pilots himself. He hides in secret tunnels under the city and at a Mayoral Retreat to work on his speeches, undisturbed by residents and their questions. Constantly refers to the citizens of Cube Town as "voters". His voice is an imitation of veteran newsman Walter Cronkite.

Steam / Stim / Steamer is a cat train mechanic and engineer. Chewy, Pecola, and Rudy are smitten with her, which is the cause of tensions and arguments among the three. Her train, The Cactus, is intended eventually to provide a direct link with Cubic City via a tunnel being constructed under the Rookery Mountains. She often stops her work on the engine to play soccer with Pecola and his friends.

Aunty Yorkshire is a pig who does the laundry for the town and is often one of the few adults tolerant of Pecola's shenanigans. Whenever Pecolius is away she's the one to often babysit Pecola. She also has a son who lives in Cubic City and often says Pecola reminds her of him.

Mr. and Mrs. Banard/Bernard are two beagles. They run the town's bakery, though Mr. Bernard often falls asleep on the job and is credited by others for his wife's work.

Jabatt and Bashatt are two tortoises. They are Cube Town's firemen, although there are never fires in Cube Town. Despite this, they often help out around town, and they often provide comic relief when they bump into each other.

Officer Kumada is a bear. He helps keep the Cube Town safe with his many rules and observations.

Mr. Lonely is a wolf. He is a poet who is actually found writing and reciting sad poetry. He also once rapped. In Coco's concert but is unable to write poetry when in a happy mood.

Gazelle is a vain gazelle who is Hillary's boyfriend. He dreams of being a modern artist. He owns a convertible that he lovingly maintains and often drives about in Cube Town. He also owns a jet ski. In addition to art he loves to collect belt buckles.

Srally/Hillary is a giraffe who is Gazelle's girlfriend. She owns Cube Town Art Museum and is very fashionable. She is also picky about her weight, which is a running gag in the show.

Miss Lucky is a blue cat who reports for Cube Town News. She also helped Pecola make a movie.

Golagola/Gola Gola is a friendly sea creature who saved Pecola from drowning. At first, the town feared him, but they came to accept him. He has helped with different beach activities and is often seen playing with Pecola and his friends at the beach.

Tsunekichi/Rudy is Pecola's fox friend whose catchphrases are "I knew that" and "I was going to say/ask that". He is prone to bragging and showing off his latest toys, not sharing and declaring he is the best at whatever activity he is engaged in.

Cori is a squirrel that runs Cori's Cafe as chef and waitperson.

Bongo is a very strong and athletic gorilla who is kind, but is often clumsy as either bumps into something or breaks something though apologizes for it with a trademark "Sorry". In it was revealed he collects model cars.

Pecolius is a penguin. Pecola's grandfather who bears a resemblance to Indiana Jones because of his adventures in the name of science and archeology. He appreciates Pecola's unique personality, but at times reminds him to stay out of trouble.

Robo-Pecola is a robot version of Pecola who was built by Dr. Chu to teach Pecola better manners as revealed in his debut in. Though his various glitches lead him to cause more trouble than the real Pecola.

Alligetao/Al Agator is a mysterious alligator. He is seen sneaking around Cube Town, taking pictures.

Brock the Block is a badger who is a reporter in Cubic City who hosts and interviewed the show "Big City Life" where he interviews successful people in Cubic City.

Soundtrack
The Pecola: The Movie Soundtrack is the official soundtrack album for the 2002 Canadian-Japanese animated film Pecola: The Movie. It was released on September 3, 2002, by Sony Music Entertainment. The album features songs from the film performed by various artists, including Avril Lavigne, Barenaked Ladies, and Our Lady Peace.

Animation
The animation for Pecola: The Movie was provided by Japanese studio Studio 4°C.

Trailers
The first trailer for Pecola: The Movie was released on May 17, 2002.

Production
Pecola: The Movie was produced by Canadian studio Nelvana and Japanese studio Studio 4°C. The film was directed by Yukio Aoshima, with the screenplay written by Naomi Iwata and Tetsuro Amino.

Development
Pecola: The Movie was first announced in March 2001, with Yukio Aoshima attached as director.

Casting
The voice cast for Pecola: The Movie includes Tom Kenny, Tara Strong, and Jim Cummings.

Release
Pecola: The Movie was released in Japan on July 13, 2002, and in Canada on September 7, 2002.

Reception
Pecola: The Movie received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 50% approval rating, based on 10 reviews with an average rating of 5.3/10.

Box office
Pecola: The Movie grossed $1.1 million in Canada and $5.4 million in Japan.

Pecola: The Movie is available on DVD and Blu-ray.