Strike the Midnight Hour

Strike the Midnight Hour is a 2008 animated mystery action crime film directed by Akira Hamashi and co-produced and co-written by Garrett Fredrickson. It is Hamashi's first animated film since The Life of a Boy in 1984 and his first to be produced with Stateside involvement. The film's story is about a bartender (Jason Bateman), an aspiring singer (Avril Lavigne) and a part time technician (Simon Pegg), who all band together to stop a mysterious criminal they've all encountered at the midnight hour, unaware that he has far more sinister plans than what has been let on.
Originally developed as a live action film after the release of Segar, it was ultimately reworked into an animated feature after Garrett Fredrickson agreed to produce the film and partly due to Hamashi wanting to make a comeback in anime, though his official comeback wouldn't be until Kyoto Marty three months later. Fredrickson's production company, LIVE Entertainment, alongside Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum of Spyglass Entertainment, produced and financed the film, whilst the animation was done by J.C.Staff in Tokyo, Japan.
Strike the Midnight Hour premiered in Los Angeles on September 1, 2008 and was released by Touchstone Pictures on September 5 of that year. It was met with generally positive reviews for Hamashi's direction, the animation and the voice acting, with various critics considering it a welcome return for Hamashi in animated feature films. During its run, it made back $86.4 million against a budget of $20 million.
== Release ==
Strike the Midnight Hour had its world premiere at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles on September 1, 2008 and was released in the United States on September 5. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures released the film through the Touchstone Pictures label. It was then released in Japan on October 11, 2008.
=== Home media ===
Strike the Midnight Hour was released on DVD and Blu-ray formats by Buena Vista Home Entertainment on February 24, 2009. The DVD is available in separate anamorphic widescreen and Blu-ray editions, each with Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 tracks.
Category:2008
Category:2008 films
Category:2008 animated films
Category:American-Japanese
Category:Anime-influenced animation films
Category:Anime-influenced animation movies
Category:Anime-influenced animated films
Category:Anime-influenced animated movies
Category:Films directed by Akira Hamashi
Category:J.C.Staff
Category:Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures-distributed films
Category:Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures films
Category:Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Category:Touchstone Pictures
Category:Touchstone films
Category:Touchstone Pictures films
Category:Touchstone Pictures animated films
Category:LIVE Entertainment (Garrett Fredrickson)
Category:Spyglass Entertainment
Category:Spyglass Entertainment films
Category:Crime films
Category:Animated crime films
Category:Action films
Category:Animated action films