Top Cat Begins

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Top Cat Begins
File:Top Cat Begins Poster.jpg
Directed by Andrés Couturier[1]
Produced by Fernando de Fuentes
Jose C. Garcia de Letona
Screenplay by James Krieg[1]
Doug Langdale[1]
Jorge Ramírez-Suárez[1]
Based on Top Cat
by William Hanna
Joseph Barbera
Starring Raúl Anaya
Mauricio Pérez
Jesús Guzmán
Gerardo Alonso
Mario Filio
Octavio Rojas
Music by Leoncio Lara Bon[1]
Edited by Patrick Danse
Production
company
Ánima Estudios[2]
Discreet Arts Production[1]
Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures (International; except USA)[2][3]
Kaleidoscope Film Distribution (UK co-distributor)
Release dates
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  • October 30, 2015 (2015-10-30) (Mexico)[4]
  • May 27, 2016 (2016-05-27) (United Kingdom)[3]
Running time
 90 minutes[5]
Country India
Mexico[1]
Language English
Spanish
Budget $8 million[6]
Box office $3.9 million[7]

Top Cat Begins (also known in Spanish as Don Gato: El Inicio de la Pandilla, literally Top Cat: The Start of the Gang) is an Indian-Mexican[1] computer-animated comedy film, produced by Ánima Estudios and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures in Mexico.[2] Based on the animated television series, Top Cat, made by Hanna-Barbera, this film will be a prequel to both the series and the movie, taking place before Top Cat met his gang.[6]

The film premiered in Mexican theaters on October 30, 2015. The film was later released in the United Kingdom on May 27, 2016, distributed by Kaleidoscope Film Distribution and Warner Bros. UK.[3][8][9] The film has received generally negative reviews.

Plot

The film is an origin story, explaining how Top Cat met Benny and how he created his gang.[2]

Cast

Character Spanish voice actor English voice actor
Top Cat Raúl Anaya Jason Harris Katz
Benny Mauricio Pérez Chris Edgerly
Choo-Choo Jesús Guzmán Jason Harris Katz
Brain Jesús Guzmán Jason Harris Katz
Fancy-Fancy Gerardo Alonso Matthew Piazzi
Spook Mario Filio Benjamin Diskin
Officer Dibble Octavio Rojas Bill Lobley

Production

Variety reported that the film's producer, José C. García de Letona, is working on a sequel.[10] He said that the sequel will be "slightly more edgy and contemporary".[11] Fernando De Fuentes, chairman of Anima Estudios, also explained that film is "the most ambitious project in our studio’s history."[2]

Animation

Unlike the previous film, which was animated in 2D Adobe flash, the film was animated entirely in computer-generated imagery, according to producer Jose Garcia de Letona.[2] Animation production is handled by Discreet Arts Productions in India.[1]

Writing

The film's screenplay is written by James Krieg,[1] (known for writing the Scooby-Doo television shows), Doug Langdale,[1] and Jorge Ramírez-Suárez.[1]

Casting

For the English version, Jason Harris Katz, the voice of Top Cat and other characters from the first film, has announced via his Twitter that he will reprise his role as the same character.[12] It was also announced that voice actors, Chris Edgerly, Bill Lobley, Hope Levy, and David Hoffman, have also joined the English cast.[8]

Release

The film's Mexican release trailer premiered on July 1 2015,[13][14] followed by second trailer, released on September 14, 2015.[15]

The film was released on October 30, 2015 in Mexico, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures Mexico and confirmed to release in the rest of Latin America.[citation needed]

The film is followed by a United Kingdom release on May 27, 2016, distributed by Kaleidoscope Film Distribution and Warner Bros. Pictures UK.[3][8] “We are very excited to be working with Ánima Estudios, [by] bringing this latest chapter of Top Cat to a worldwide audience., said Spencer Pollard, CEO of KFD.[8] "As a leading global animation brand, we’re looking forward to T.C. and his friends hitting [the] screens everywhere in 2016.”[8] The film's UK release and English-language trailer was released on March 8, 2016.[16]

Box office

On its opening weekend in Mexico, the film debuted at #3 behind Goosebumps and Crimson Peak, earning $18,138,843 pesos ($1,092,066 USD),[17][18][19] performing weaker than its predecessor.

Reception

The film has received mixed critical reception, with negative critics criticizing the animation, directing, pacing, and writing, but praising the film's dubbing and attempt to revive the original show's characters. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 20%, based on 5 reviews, with an average rating of 3.2/10.[20][21][22]

Carlos Del Río of Cine Premiere gave this film a 1 star rating, saying that the film has "[c]heated again. [The] Top Cat film fails to approach the spirit and humor of the TV series."[23] Eddie Harrison, writing in The List, gave the film 3/5 stars, saying, "The feline favourite returns for a likeably familiar, knockabout animation. As with JJ Abrams’ first Star Trek movie, there’s a reasonable amount of fun in seeing how the iconic characters originally met each other...director Andrés Couturier’s film wisely scales things down as it attempts to get back to the comedic values of its source material."[24]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ [1]
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Mexican animator adds English - Entertainment News, Animation, Media - Variety Variety. December 1, 2012. James Young
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Top Cat Begins UK TRAILER 1 (2016) Youtube
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/top_cat_begins/
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. (in Spanish)
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. (in Spanish)
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. (in Spanish)
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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