Upside Down

***Upside Down*** is an 2021 Marcanese American computer-animated science-fiction comedy film produced by Imageworks Entertainment for Warner Bros. Pictures, DreamWorks, and 20th Century Studios. Based on the 2013 picture book *My World Turned Upside Down* by Adam Reece, the film was directed by Tim Johnson, produced by Mike White & Tom McGrath, and written by Jimmy Hayward; starring Bill Hader, Scarlett Johansson, Alec Baldwin, Zac Efron, Elsie Fisher, Ben Mendelsohn, Steve Buscemi, Jennifer Coolidge, Ariana Greenblatt, Jim Parsons, Jimmy Kimmel, Lisa Kudrow, and Amy Sedaris. The film centers on Fred (Bill Hader) and the Michelle family as together they must turn their world back to its normal position before President Burns (Ben Mendelsohn) destroys all of humanity. The film was theatrically released on August 6, 2013 and streamed on Peacock and HBO Max the same day, and received generally unfavorable reviews from critics while grossing $183 million over its $50 million budget.

## Plot

The Michelle family is probably the weirdest family anyone could ever have, and their crazy misadventures on Earth with their perfect neighbors isn't really that easy and comforting, since their world gets turned upside down every single time. That is, until one day, the whole world literally turns upside down as the egoistical and ruthless President Burns decides it's time to wipe out all of humanity by sending them into space cubes and eradicating them with his latest invention: the Human Exterminator. Now, it's up to the very awkward Michelle family to save them from the president's evil schemes and return their flipped-down world with its axis back to normal.

## Bad Qualities

1. While the premise of "what if the world literally turned upside down?" might be somewhat interesting, this film didn't handle it very well thanks to its mediocre execution of said premise like *Planet 01.*
2. Several dated and unnecessary pop culture references that could get obnoxious to the point where pop culture references in animated films have been done to death by this point, starting with *Marco.* Among the most infamous references being Nathan's "floss and shoot" dance, the scene in which Ted plays the Metro by T-Mobile theme song after his parents leave home while "Baby Shark (Pinkfong version)" plays on, and Ted & Nathan's several references to Elvis Presley and *The Boss Baby.*
3. Aside from its many pop culture references, the film also has lots of shameless product placement such as Mentos, MetroPCS (which by the way, is dated since it's now called Metro by T-Mobile), Pepsi, Orbit, Nike, Amazon Prime, Netflix, YouTube, HBO Max, Reese's Peanut Butter, AirHeads, Instagram, Calvin Klein, Jack In The Box, McDonald's, Apple's Air Pods, and ironically, Disney+.
4. The humor's hit-or-miss for the most part, with some of the film's jokes consisting of toilet humor, poor slapstick gags, and even unnecessary meme humor (which was one of the few problems with *Actors 2*, although that film did it somewhat better). Some examples of mediocre attempts at comedy include the "Kids Symphony" scene in which Ted's friends drink too much Pepsi soda with Mentos resulting in some being *completely* blown up and others burping continually, the constant gag in which President Burns gets burned for shouting out his own name, and the infamous scene where Ted & Nathan pinch each other in the chests.
5. While the Michelle family might be likeable (maybe except for Ted), the other characters aren't likeable or even memorable:
	* Ted's friends are obvious cardboard copies of Joaquin & Emiliano and the kids from the *Marco* movies, as they are little kids serving as comic reliefs who accompany our main character most of the time. They are unfunny, annoying, and some have cringeworthy voices with obnoxious sounds; they also constantly provide some of the film's toilet humor and poor slapstick gags, including one scene in which they ***urinate*** the Parsons' swimming pool for *about 15 seconds,* which almost rips off *Dorm & The Invincibles.*
	* The Paisleys are the film's stereotypical "perfect family" whom are very narcissistic, self-centered, and only care about the latest trends and popularity. They are also obsessed with money and fashion, and they even sometimes mistreat the Michelles for being such an awkward family, which degrades their overall likeness throughout this film.
	* On the other side of the coin, the Parsons aren't as unlikable as the Paisleys, but they are basically stereotypical nerds who think of themselves as highly intelligent when in fact they aren't, especially Jed Parsons (the Parsons' father) since his main excuse for being too smart is the fact that he attended Harvard University in his college years.
	* The school bullies, those being Shady, Mutt, and Jeff, are pointless and naughty comic reliefs who provide some of the film's most atrocious and juvenile humor, like their constant gag of beating up Nathan just because he has candy hence why the girls call him "Candy Boy", when they think of themselves as "Naughty Boys" when they get around girls (which actually has to do with fratboy culture), and the scene where they throw off their "shame party" on Nathan and his friends with painted mud, coming off as very shallow and mean-spirited.
	* The other characters come out as either indifferent or very rude to the Michelles, among them Principal Mutz, the Charleys, George & Laura, and Joe Simpleton (who's also very selfish, narcissistic, and sometimes too clingy towards others).
6. Speaking of President Burns, he is nothing more but the film's generic "evil government official" whose reasons for wiping out all of humanity from Earth are incredibly nonsensical and lame, despite them being somewhat understandable since humanity has rejected him as a human being, because he is also a human being but with no redeeming qualities for being inhumane.
7. Some laughable scenes such as when Barkles (the Michelle's pet puppy) sniffs Ted's butt and the scene where Fred gets electrocuted while fixing the kitchen lightbulb after Ted accidentally makes a farting noise with his toy poodle.