A Wizard's Tale

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A Wizard's Tale
A Wizard's Tale poster.jpg
Directed byAndrés Couturier
Written byJim Hecht
Based onHere Comes the Grump
by DePatie–Freleng Enterprises
Produced byJosé C. García de Letona
Fernando De Fuentes
Greg Gavanski
Bill Schultz
StarringToby Kebbell
Lily Collins
Ian McShane
Edited byJ. Martín Téllez Andrade
Music byJames Seymour Brett[1]
Production
companies
Ánima Estudios
Prime Focus World
GFM Animation
Grump Productions
Distributed byM2 Pictures (Italy)
Corazón Films (Mexico)
GFM Films
Blue Fox Entertainment (United States)
Release dates
  • March 1, 2018 (2018-03-01) (Italy)
  • July 26, 2018 (2018-07-26) (Mexico)
Running time
97 minutes
CountriesMexico
United Kingdom
LanguagesEnglish
Spanish
Box officeMX$22.9 million
(US$4.55 million)[2][3]

A Wizard's Tale (also known as Ahí Viene Cascarrabias in Mexico and Here Comes the Grump internationally) is a 2018 Mexican-British animated film based on the DePatie–Freleng animated series, Here Comes the Grump, which originally ran from 1969 to 1970 on NBC.[4][5]

Produced by Ánima Estudios, Prime Focus World, and GFM Animation, the film features the voices of Toby Kebbell, Lily Collins, and Ian McShane.[1] The Spanish version stars the voices of Camila Sodi and Mauricio Barrientos "El Diablito".[6]

It was first released in Italy on 1 March 2018.[7] The film was released on July 26, 2018 in Mexico and was a commercial failure.[8]

The film was released by Blue Fox Entertainment in the United States in limited format and VOD on 14 September 2018, released as A Wizard's Tale.[9]

Plot[]

In an alternate dimension, there existed a kingdom called Groovingham, where a young, famous wizard called The Grin visited it on his first day of duty to the king. The Grin had a spell to make people happy and granted it to the people of Groovingham who desired it, causing vibrant jubilation. However, the magic deprived the subjects of their morality, resulting in instant pandemonium. The Grin was unaware of his spell's repercussion until he reported to the king, whose elderly wizard reported the ongoing event to be chaos. Outraged, the king ordered his royals guards to arrest The Grin that led to a chase to the outskirts of Groovingham. Though the authorities cornered him on a cliff, The Grin escaped with his fiancé, Mary, in his blimp-like vehicle.

The Grin went into hiding after being nursed by Mary and adopted a baby dragon he named Dingo. Mary promised to return to The Grin as she departed in the blimp, but the authorities captured her, and the king ordered her banishment to Earth. The Grin was unaware that Mary was exiled from Groovingham and became an embittered pariah called the Grump.

On Earth, Mary owned an amusement park that was a semblance of her homeworld of Groovingham and had a grandson named Terry Dexter, whom she brought. During Terry's youth, his grandmother read him her bestselling story called "Here Comes the Grump," which summarizes the events before her banishment. Years later, Mary passed away, and Terry became the new owner of her amusement park but was failing under management that led to the amusement park facing near bankruptcy.

One night while Terry sorrowed himself, he found a hidden handle piece of his grandmother's blimp that she kept on display at the park. After reattaching the handle to the blimp, Terry tries to operate it that sends him to Groovingham, much to his astonishment. While Terry tries to return to Earth, the Grin-who was captured at some point for his purported crime-escapes from prison alongside his diminutive henchmen called the Grumpies and enacted vengeance upon the king. However, he instantly realized the king had died after spotting a statue built in his memorial. While feeling cheated out of revenge, the Grin discovers a poster of Princess Dawn's coronation and takes action against her instead.

While the natives of Groovingham waited outside the castle for the coronation, Princess Dawn was hesitant to take the throne due to her desire to marry a prince aroused by her naivety. However, the coronation was interrupted by the Grump mounted on his now fully-grown dragon, Dingo. In retribution against the sovereignty of Groovingham, the Grump casts his "gloom spell" upon everyone, converting it into a state of a great depression. Princess Dawn managed to escape the gloom by being hidden in a chamber beneath her bed by her servants while her pet, Bip, left Groovingham to seek help from an outsider.

As Terry was unable to pilot the blimp back to his homeworld, the blimp's handle piece was taken by Bip, prompting Terry to chase him into Groovingham. While there, Terry noticed the dismal ambiance in the kingdom and its inhabitants before pursuing Bip inside the castle. After Dawn emerged from hiding, she was elated to meet Terry as she believed him to be a prince and begged for his help to save her kingdom. Though Terry denied being a prince, he acquiesced so that he can return home. When his minions informed the Grump that Dawn had escaped the gloom, he returns to the castle where Terry recognizes him as the Grin from his grandmother's story. After being chased by the Grumpies through the castle's interior, Terry and Dawn reached the map room where they met a bird named G. P. Sparrow, who agreed to navigate them to the Oracle who knew to lift the Grin's curse. After exiting the castle, the people of Groovingham were resentful to Dawn due to the hex on them. Princess Dawn and Terry began their venture on the blimp and learned from the Oracle that they need a magical key from the Cave of Whispering Orchards to restore happiness in Groovingham, in which the Grump overheard and kidnapped Dawn. Though Terry saved Dawn by squeezing perfume into Dingo's nose, making him susceptible to sneezing, the blimp became punctured from chasing the Grump, rendering it unable to be airborne. They seek repairs at the Balloony Kingdom, where it is under siege by the Grump. As Terry and the balloon people fought back, Dawn caused Dingo to sneeze again with flowers, sending the Grump mounted on him flying away.

With repairs finished on the blimp, the Grump landed on a nearby branch protruding from a cliff and cast the gloom spell on Dawn before plummeting. While traveling to seek help from an alchemist to treat Dawn's condition, they were captured by the natives of the Christmasland Forests, alongside the Grump and his henchmen. Luckily, Terry freed themselves by convincing the natives that the Grump was Santa Claus. As the alchemist ran his diagnostics on Dawn, he explained to Terry that a kiss could break the curse afflicted upon her before sunset; otherwise, the spell would be permanent.

At daybreak, Terry was disturbed by Dawn in her apparent condition. As GP Sparrow urged him to hasten the kiss, Terry retorted at the bird with the exclamation "chop-chop" that had lifted the spell off Dawn without his knowledge before kissing her. However, Dawn's excitement over the kiss was short-lived since it did not fit her idea of a "happy ending." Terry admitted that he lacked feelings for Dawn since he knew her for a whole day and that he only wanted to return home, upsetting the princess who dismissed him while she stayed behind and waited for an actual prince.

Once Terry arrived at the Cave of Whispering Orchards, alongside Bip and G.P. Sparrow, the Orchards expelled him since they only allowed wizards inside. The Grump arrived and cast a sleep spell on Terry before proceeding to get the key. Bip returned to Dawn, who returned to Terry and awoken him with a kiss. As the Grump returned, he was empty-handed and accused Terry of taking the key. Terry denied his claims, but a key fell off him. He and Dawn tried to escape but lost consciousness after falling into a pit.

While incarcerated in Groovingham, Dawn asked Terry how he obtained the key. He hypothesized that he was a wizard himself and could perform magic by saying "chop-chop." After Bip freed them, Dawn and Terry confronted the Grump on the castle's rooftop, using the key to eliminate happiness. Dawn managed to subdue the Grumpies while Terry subdued the Grump but also damaging the key. Dawn implored Terry to leave on the blimp, but he decided to stay with her and face her people. Through their faith, they restored the key, and it alleviated the Grump's magic on Groovingham. The Grump was furious, but as the people confronted him, he retreated to his blimp and fought with Terry while heading to Earth. Upon visiting Mary's amusement park, the Grump became remorseful since he only wanted to make people happy. Terry convinced him that they still could and revealed that he was his grandfather.

Terry reopened Groovingland, where he introduced Dawn to his parents and employed the Grump and the other characters from Groovingham as attractions.

Voice cast[]

Development[]

The film was first announced when Variety reported on 17 September 2014 that a film adaptation of the Here Comes the Grump cartoon, produced by Ánima Estudios, is in development.[10] Development didn't start immediately after its announcement due to development of other projects.[11]

Production of the film was completed in 2017.

While the original series was only moderately successful in the United States, the show has gained popularity in Mexico.[11]

Character designs[]

The film's characters were designed by Craig Kellman, who has also designed characters for other animated films, such as Hotel Transylvania and Madagascar.[1]

Animation[]

The film's animation was created at Prime Focus World at its London and Mumbai facilities.[4] “Animation is well underway and[... o]ur artists are pushing the limits to put as much quality and humor into every last frame,” said Greg Gavanski, head of Prime Focus Animation.[4]

Mexican animation studio Ánima Estudios was in charge of the film's creative development and supervision, with the direction done by Andrés Couturier, the manager at Ánima.[4]

Casting[]

On 5 October 2017, British actors Toby Kebbell, Lily Collins, and Ian McShane have joined the film's lead English voice cast, with the casting done by Todd Resnick's The Voice Company studio in Los Angeles.[1]

Prime Focus's Greg Gavanski commented that he was "thrilled" with the casting. “We are thrilled to welcome Ian, Lily and Toby to the Grump team,” said Gavanski. “This hugely talented voice cast, alongside the beautiful animation delivered by the artists of Ánima [Estudios] and Prime Focus, has brought these fantastic characters to life in ways we couldn't have imagined. I couldn't have hoped for things to come together any better than this.”[1]

The casting has also marked a history for Ánima Estudios, to which producer and company COO José C. García de Letona has shared his excitement. “Having such amazing actors be part of our movie makes us feel even more excited about it," said Letona. "We are sure that the audiences will love McShane's grouchy character, Lily's adorable princess and Toby's cool hero.”[1]

Music[]

James Seymour Brett has composed the film's original score.[1]

Release[]

The film was released in the United States in limited locations and digital platforms on 14 September 2018.[9]

Box office[]

In Mexico, the film performed weakly at the box-office, opening at #6 and grossing $8.99 million pesos (est. $0.48 million USD).[12] In its second week, the film moved down to #8, grossing $4.26 million pesos (est. US$0.2 million) which brings a total of $18.44 million pesos (est. US$0.99 million).[13] It has earned $22.9 million pesos in total.[2]

In the United States, the film has grossed $1,626 in 10 theaters.[14]

The film has grossed a total of $4.55 million worldwide.[3]

Awards and nominations[]

Year Award Category Nominees Result
2018 15th Premios Canacine Mejor Película de Animación
(Best Animated Film) 		Ahí viene Cascarrabias Nominated[15]
2019 20th Golden Trailer Awards Best Foreign Animation Family Trailer Here Comes the Grump Nominated[16]
61st Ariel Awards Mejor largometraje animado
(Best Feature Animation) 		Andrés Couturier Nominated[17]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Grater, Tom (5 October 2017). "Lily Collins, Ian McShane, Toby Kebbell to voice 'Here Comes The Grump' (exclusive)". Screen Daily. Media Business Insight Limited. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Películas Animadas 2000 – 2018". Canacine. Canacine. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Here Comes the Grump". Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com. Retrieved 17 April 2018. Gross calculated. Total results not shown.
  4. ^ a b c d Wiseman, Andreas (6 November 2016). "AFM: First look at animation 'Here Comes The Grump'". ScreenDaily. Media Business Insight Limited. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  5. ^ "Ahí viene Cascarrabias: una película está en producción (in Spanish)". La Zona Cero. La Zona Cero. 15 November 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  6. ^ a b c Sánchez, Carmen (28 July 2018). "Con la voz de Camila Sodi llega a cartelera Ahí viene Cascarrabias". El Sol de Mexico. Organización Editorial Mexicana. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  7. ^ da Marlen Vazzoler, Scritto (31 January 2018). "È ARRIVATO IL BRONCIO – DAL 1 MARZO AL CINEMA, TRAILER ITALIANO". ScreenWEEK.it Blog. Screenweek.it BLOG. Retrieved 31 January 2018. In Italian.
  8. ^ "Cinemex on Twitter: "¡EXCLUSIVA! 1er póster de #CASCARRABIAS de @CorazonFilms, agosto de 2018 en Cinemex."". Twitter. Cinemex. Retrieved 1 January 2018. Published 1 December 2017. In Spanish.
  9. ^ a b Kay, Jeremy (1 August 2018). "Lily Collins animation 'A Wizard's Tale' lands at Blue Fox". ScreenDaily. Media Business Insight Limited. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  10. ^ de la Fuente, Anna Marie (September 17, 2014). "Anima Brings 'Top Cat Begins' to the Bigscreen". Variety. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  11. ^ a b "Anima anuncia cinta de Ahí Viene Cascarrabias". Cine3. Cine3. 5 December 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  12. ^ Gutiérrez, Vicente (30 July 2018). "Misión Imposible y su éxito mundial". El Economista. Periódico El Economista S.A. de C.V. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  13. ^ "Mexico Box Office, August 3-5, 2018 (Gross-to-date)". Box Office Mojo. Amazon, Inc. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  14. ^ "Cartoon Brew on Twitter: "The Mexican feature "A Wizard's Tale" opened in 10 U.S. theaters last weekend with a 3-day gross of $1,626. It made just $191 on Friday, or $19 per theater."". Twitter. Cartoon Brew. 17 September 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  15. ^ "Nominados Premios CANACINE 2018". Canacine. Canacine. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  16. ^ "GTA19 Nominees (2018)". Golden Trailer Award. Golden Trailers Award. Archived from the original on 18 February 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  17. ^ Magaña Arce, Arturo (23 April 2019). "Ariel 2019: Lista completa de nominados". Cine Premiere (in Spanish). g21 Comunicación Entertainment. Retrieved 1 May 2019.

External links[]

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