Evergreen: The Adventure Begins

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***Evergreen: The Adventure Begins*** is a 2018 animated action fantasy film directed by Yoshi Himura and Michael Aleksanyan from a screenplay by Grant Hensley, Rowan Ballarini, and Jessi Hinatsu. It is based on the animated television series *Evergreen* and is the first installment in a film trilogy that retells and diverges from the series canon. Kendall Engrive, Mckenzie Becham, Jackie Buscarino, David Faustino, and David Spade reprise their roles from the series, joined by new characters voiced by Ron Perlman, P.J. Byrne, Scarlett Johansson, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Ludi Lin. In the film, sixteen-year-old Kennett Henderson learns to tap into his mystical powers to take down a new threat.

Following the success of the TV series, rumors of a possible film adaptation arose in early 2017. The movie and its sequel silently went into production in March, and was officially announced that July. The film held its world premiere at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival on May 10, 2018, and later went into general theatrical release on May 25, 2018.

*The Adventure Begins* received largely positive reviews from critics, fans, and audiences unfamiliar with the series, praised for its humor, animation, musical score, and action, though its story received criticism for being “predictable”. Despite this, the film exceeded expectations and became an unexpected commercial success, grossing over $636 million worldwide. It became the eleventh highest-grossing film of 2018 and the highest-ever grossing film based on an animated television series. The film was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 91st Academy Awards, the 76th Golden Globe Awards, and the 24th Critics' Choice Awards.

A sequel, *Evergreen: Fully Charged*, was released on May 10, 2019.

## Production

### **Development**

During an interview with IGN in January 2017, series co-creator Yoshi Himura revealed that VRVA Studios had approached him to develop a direct-to-digital film version of *Evergreen*, following its successful debut and growth. Around the same time, VRVA established its screenplay development department for producing theatrical animated films. The untitled *Evergreen* project was soon picked up as one of VRVA Motion Pictures' debut productions.

In March, Himura and other series co-creator Michael Aleksanyan announced that the film's script and story were being written, in addition to plans for an unspecified sequel. Announcements and other information about the film were withheld until July, when it was unveiled under the working title *Evergreen: The Movie* during VRVA's annual showcase at San Diego Comic-Con.

### **Writing**

The film’s script is credited to Grahame Holland from a story adaptation written by Meghan Ballerini and Katsarou Bristol. The newcomer writing crew utilized what they called an “adaptation bible”, featuring all of the major storylines that took place during the first season of the show. In an interview, Yoshi Himura noted that like the series, the movie is entirely script-driven in order to “tell a magnificent story”, but also features moments where character expressions, actions, and movements have prominent use in contributing to the plot. These various expressions were sketched on post-it notes, handed down to the storyboarders, and were eventually incorporated into some of the movie's scenes.