Sonny is a 2012 American 3D computer-animated science-fantasy comedy film produced by Warner Animation Group and Village Roadshow Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, with animation services provided by Sony Pictures Imageworks. Based on the video game series of the same name by Midway Games, it was directed by Rob Letterman and Ash Brannon, from a screenplay by Letterman, Brannon, Nicholas Stoller, Gleen Ficarra and John Requa, and features the ensemble voice cast of Elijah Wood, Mandy Moore, Ryan Reynolds, Wallace Shawn, Jack Black, Jack McBrayer, Steve Buscemi, Sarah Silverman, Maya Rudolph, and Michael Clarke Duncan. In the film, when a space creature lands on Earth after being chased by other aliens, Sonny Terrell, a unlikely teenager, must return him to his natural home with the help of his sister Celeste, while a mad scientist and an leading alien threaten to capture him and use him in order to take over the world.
Development for an animated adaption to Sonny were dated all the way to 2002 when Sonny creator Ryan Coleman was interesting about making an computer-animated film after the box office successes of DreamWorks Animation's Shrek and Disney/Pixar's Monsters, Inc.. Its development continued through 2004 and 2006 with Sonny Group's animation department handling production and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquiring the United States distribution rights before dropping them in 2007. It was later re-announced in August 2009 after Warner Bros. purchased most of the assets of Midway Games (including Sonny Group and the Sonny franchise) with a 2012 release.
Sonny premiered at the Regency Village Theater on March 24, 2012, and was released in the United States on April 4, 2012, as it was produced to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the video game series as well as the first game. It received mixed reviews from critics, who praised its animation, humor and its vocal performances, but criticized the predictable story and writing. However, it was a box office success, grossing over $378 million worldwide against its budget of $60 million. It was followed by two sequel, Sonny 2 (2015) and Sonny: The New Journey (2020).
Plot[]
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Cast[]
- Elijah Wood as Sonny Terrell, a fun, carefree and adventure-loving teenage boy.
- Mandy Moore as Celeste Terrell, a smart, trustworthy, funny, and clever sister who is Sonny's sister.
- Ryan Reynolds as Raul, a comical, magical, shape-shifting, wise-cracking space creature who tries to blend in.
- Wallace Shawn as Professor Nitpick, a mad scientist who wants to capture Raul and use him for his projects
- Zac Efron as Leland Sellers, Nitpick loyal assistant who reveal to be a dark magical person who is the son of Queen Ruby.
- Sarah Silverman as Danica Wavy, Celeste's best friend.
- Michael Clarke Duncan as Chief Rooker
- Jack Black as Glob
- Jack McBrayer as Blobby
- Maya Rudolph as Kendra Terrell, Sonny and Celeste's loving overprotective yet supportive mother who cares so much about her children.
- Steve Buscemi as Mr. Wilkerson, the principal of Midview High School.
More coming soon!
Many of the video game series' voice actors, especially Yuri Lowenthal (the current voice of Sonny in the video games), all have cameos in the film under "additional voices".
Additional voices[]
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Production[]
Development[]
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Writing[]
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Casting[]
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Animation[]
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Soundtrack[]
- Main article: Sonny (film)/Soundtrack
The film's score was composed by Mychael Danna and Jeff Danna, and its soundtrack was released on March 26, 2012 by WaterTower Music.
Release[]
Sonny was initially scheduled to be released on November 18, 2011 was theatrically released in the United States on April 4, 2012 by Warner Bros. Pictures in RealD 3D and IMAX 3D. It was originally scheduled for general release on April 27, but the film was moved up to April 4. The theatrical release of the film was preceded by a Looney Tunes short film titled Way Out Hare featuring Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam, in the first CG or 3-D depiction of these specific characters. The short was also featured as a special feature on the Sonny DVD and Blu-ray. The film was released in Australia by Roadshow Films.
Marketing[]
The film's teaser trailer was released on July 6, 2011, and was attached into Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 a week later and later shown on the DVD prints of Tom and Jerry and the Wizard of Oz and Scooby-Doo! Legend of the Phantosaur the following months. The film's official trailer was released on November 15, 2011, and was attached into Happy Feet Two three days later, followed by the final trailer on February 7, 2012 which was attached into Journey 2: The Mysterious Island in theaters.
Tie-ins with McDonald's, Kraft Foods, Airheads, Fisher-Price, Ziploc, Ad Council, and Best Buy, were used to promote the film. A balloon themed after Sonny Terrell and Raul debuted at the 2011 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Publishers Dalmatian Press and Ape Entertainment released books tied to the film.
Home media[]
Sonny was released on DVD, Blu-ray 3D, and Blu-ray by Warner Home Video on August 21, 2012. Extras include audio commentary, behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted scenes, and short promotional clips. In addition with Way Our Hare, the release included a new short film titled Rual's Space Ride.
Reception[]
Box office[]
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Critical response[]
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Sonny holds an approval rating of 61% based on 149 reviews, with an average rating of 6.2/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Sonny seems cute, loveable and funny enough as it was trying entertaining enough for younger audiences and some hardcore fans of the games, but its colorful creativity of the video game series gets lost with the zany Hollywood production values". Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 56 out of 100 based on 24 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale.
Accolades[]
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Sequels[]
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Transcripts[]
Main[]
To see the main transcript of the film, click here.
Trailers[]
To see the transcript for the trailers of the film, click here.