Toon Party

Toon Party is a 2016 American 3D computer-animated fantasy crossover comedy film produced by Frenzy Animation for 20th Century Fox. It was directed by John Stevenson and Rob Minkoff from a screenplay by Kiel Murray, Nicholas Stoller, Brad Copeland, Jon Vitti, and Mike Reiss. and a story by Peter Ramsey, and stars the voices of Jesse McCartney, Amy Poehler, Seth Rogen, Mandy Moore, Bill Hader, Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad, Danny McBride, Patton Oswalt, Katie Crown, Keegan-Michael Key, Dan Castellaneta, Nancy Cartwright, Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, and Grant Palmer.

Toon Party premiered at the Regency Village Theater on November 23, 2016 and was released in the United States on December 9, 2016 by 20th Century Fox. It received mostly positive reviews from critics, who praised its animation, score, vocal performances, and humor. The film grossed $590.9 million on its $90 million budget at the worldwide box office.

It launched a expanded franchise, with a television series premiering in 2017 and a sequel scheduled for release in 2019.

## Cast

* Jesse McCartney as Nathan
	+ Max Charles as a young Nathan
* Amy Poehler as Joy
* Bill Hader as Leonard / King Mudbeard
* Mandy Moore as Kate Anderson
* Grant Palmer as Lincoln Loud
* Seth Rogen as Matthew
* Dan Castellaneta as Homer Simpson
* Nancy Cartwright as Bart Simpson
* Yeardley Smith as Lisa Simpson
* Jason Sudeikis as Red
* Josh Gad as Chuck
* Danny McBride as Bomb
* Maya Rudolph as Matilda
* Kate McKinnon (uncredited) as Stella
* Chris Pratt as Emmet Brickowski
* Elizabeth Banks as Lucy / Wyldstyle
* Alison Brie as Princess Unikitty
* Andy Samberg as Junior
* Katie Crown as Tulip
* Tony Hale (uncredited) as Ross
* Keegan-Michael Key as Alpha / Judge Peckinpah
* Stephen Kramer Glickman (uncredited) as Pigeon Toady
* Jordan Peele as Beta
* Patton Oswalt (uncredited) as Steve Smiley

### Additional voices

* Stephen Kramer Glickman
* Carlos Alazraqui
* Rob Minkoff
* Jim Ward
* David Cowgill
* Debi Derryberry
* Yuri Lowenthal
* Terri Douglas
* Nicholas Stoller
* Barbara Goodson
* John Stevenson
* Catherine Cavadini
* June Christopher
* Nicholas Guest
* John Venzon
* Phil LaMarr
* Mona Marshall
* Aaron Fors
* Scott Menville
* Lynwood Robinson
* Max Mittelman
* Laraine Newman
* Bryce Papenbrook
* Ash Brannon
* Tara Strong
* Fred Tatasciore

## Release

Toon Party premiered at the Regency Village Theater on November 23, 2016 and was released the film in the United States in RealD 3D, IMAX 3D, and Dolby Cinema on December 9, 2016, in the United Kingdom on January 27, 2017 and in Australia on December 15, 2016. The film was released two months later in China on February 25, 2017.

Toon Party was initially scheduled for release on November 4, 2016, but in July 2015, It was moved forward to December 16, 2016 to avoid competition with DreamWorks Animation's *Trolls*. But in August 2016, Toon Party was pushed back a week back to December 9, 2016 to avoid competition with Lucasfilm's Rogue One.

The film's theatrical release is preceded by Alien Pet, a Alaina Gleen short directed by Thalia Ward.

### Marketing

* The official teaser trailer was released on January 27, 2016 and was shown before *Kung Fu Panda 3*, *Zootopia*, *The Jungle Book*, and *The Angry Birds Movie*.

* The official theatrical trailer was released on June 13, 2016 and was shown before *Finding Dory*, *The BFG*, *The Secret Life of Pets*, *Ghostbusters*, *Ice Age: Collision Course*, and *Kubo and the Two Strings*.

* The second theatrical trailer was released on September 6, 2016 and was shown before *Imagimals*, *Storks*, *Crystal: Coming of Darkness*, *Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life*, *Trolls*, and *Moana.*
* TV spots aired between November and December of 2016.

A huge amount of merchandise was made for Toon Party, such as toys and figurines. Fox teamed up with several major companies to promote the film, including Burger King, who included 7 toys in their kids meals featuring the main characters, and Lego sets based on the film were sold. A website was opened up so fans could make Toon versions of themselves, and later, put that in the film's official trailer. The artwork book *The Art of Toon Party* was published on November 29, 2016 by authors Sharon Gosling and Adam Newell with a foreword by the directors and shows the artwork that went into the making of the film, with storyboards, research photographs, and character sketches.

## Home media

Toon Party was released on Digital HD on March 17, 2017, and on Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, and DVD on March 28, 2017 by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. The release included a short film, titled How to Become a Toon.

## Production

The film was first announced in March 2013, John Stevenson and Nicholas Stoller was hired by the studio to create and write Toon Party, while *S.M.A.R.T: Family of Spies* director Rob Minkoff was attached to direct the film. More coming soon!

### Animation

Sony Pictures Imageworks and Fox Animation Studios worked together on the film's animation, which began production in the summer of 2014. The character designs were based around the traditional Fox Animation style, eschewing the traditional Sony Pictures Imageworks house style.

## Reception

### Box office

*Toon Party* grossed $243.2 million in the United States and Canada and $344.5 in other countries for a worldwide total of $587.7 million, against a budget of $90 million.

#### North America

In the United States and Canada, Toon Party was released alongside Office Christmas Party and the expansions of Miss Sloane and Nocturnal Animals and pre-release tracking suggested the film would open to $45–55 million from 3,603 theaters in its opening weekend. It played in 2,950 3D theaters, 321 IMAX theaters, and 317 premium large format screens. It earned $2.6 million from Thursday previews. Buoyed by good word of mouth, it earned $20.6 million on its opening day, breaking the record for the biggest opening day for a solely produced Frenzy Animation film at the time. In its opening weekend, it scored a $70.2 million, which was the biggest non-Fox Animation/Blue Sky opening since *The Simpsons Movie* back in 2007. In its second weekend the film made $34.4 million, finishing second behind newcomer Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

In its third weekend the film made $29.5 million (including $23.3 million over the five-day Christmas frame), finishing third. The film finished its theatrical run on May 18, 2017, after playing in theaters for a total of 160 days with an domestic gross of $243.2 million.

### Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 90% based on 191 reviews; the average rating is 7.1/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Even if the plot rehashes some elements from earlier animated films, dazzling and colorful visuals, well-known songs, laugh-a-minute gags, and an strong all-star voice cast make Toon Party an engaging film that will satisfy both children and adults." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 56 out of 100 based on 35 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.

## Spin-offs

### Television special

A holiday special based on the film was aired on Fox on Wednesday, November 21, 2018.