A Foster's Movie: Imagination Desolation

Theatrical release poster

***A Foster's Movie: Imagination Desolation***1 is a 2021 American flash-animated adventure comedy film based on the 2004 Cartoon Network original series *Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends* created by Craig McCracken, produced by Cartoon Network Studios and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. Directed by McCracken and produced by Lauren Faust, McCracken's wife and co-developer of the show, the film stars the voices of Sean Marquette, Keith Ferguson, Tara Strong, Grey Griffin, Phil LaMarr, Tom Kenny, Candi Milo and Tom Kane (in his final film role) reprising their roles from the series, with Jim Parsons and Billy Eichner as new characters featured in the film, and introducing Sasha A. Cohen in his film debut as World. Mark Mothersbaugh, who composed the score for *The Lego Movie*, composed the film's score. The plot follows Mac and Bloo returning to World's world-in-the-box to save it after it has been taken over by Mac's brother Terrence.

It is the second Cartoon Network feature film to be based on on McCracken's work after *The Powerpuff Girls Movie* in 2002. The film premiered on September 19, 2021 at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, and was released theatrically in the United States on September 24, 2021, along with a one-month simultaneous streaming release on HBO Max in commemoration to the series' 17th anniversary. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and was a box office success, grossing​ $102 million worldwide on a $34 million budget.

## Plot

Merely two years later, Bloo has developed some kindness since his first time at Foster's. While doing the daily chores with Mac tagging along, Terrance arrives to pummel Mac and Bloo. Thankfully, their friends come save them at the last moment.

## Cast

* Sean Marquette as Mac, a bright 9-year-old boy and creator of his imaginary friend, Bloo.
* Keith Ferguson as Bloo, an anthropomorphic blue colored dome cylinder and Mac's imaginary friend and best friend. In the film, the writers had to make him polite and friendly as he was in the pilot "House of Bloos" to make up for his egotistical and selfish personality in the following episodes.
* Tara Strong as Terrence, Mac's antagonistic brother.
* Sasha A. Cohen as World, an imaginary friend with a face that can possess any inanimate object. He was previously voiced by Max Burkholder in his debut appearance *Destination: Imagination*.
* Jim Parsons as Frankie's imaginary friend.
* Billy Eichner as Sour Green, Terrence's squire and imaginary friend.
* Marsai Martin as Alexis, Mac's secondary best friend.
* Neil Patrick Harris as Presley K. Blanford, Carl's dad.
* Asher Blinkoff as Carl, a new kid in school who is Presley's son and met Mac and befriends with him.
* Grey Griffin as Frankie Foster, granddaughter of Madame Foster and caregiver at Foster's.
* Phil LaMarr as Wilt, a tall and red-colored imaginary friend with a a crooked eye-stalk and one arm that was created by Jordan Michaels.
* Tom Kenny as Eduardo, a purple Latin American monster-type imaginary friend created by Nina Valerosa.
* Candi Milo as:
	+ Coco, a chicken-like bird with a palm-tree face that can lay plastic eggs that was found in the South Pacific by two scientists Adam and Douglas.
	+ Madame Foster, the founder of Foster's, creator of Mr. Herriman, and grandmother of Frankie.
* Tom Kane as Mr. Herriman, an anthropomorphic lop ear rabbit whose the imaginary friend of Madame Foster.
* Dana Heath as Goo. She was previously voiced by Grey Griffin in her debut appearance *Go Goo Go*.

## Production

Talks about making *Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends* into a feature film existed since the ending of the series. Series creator Craig McCracken recently said that he would stick to television due to the politics of *The Powerpuff Girls Movie*'s production. However, since years have passed, McCracken had decided that he and the story team would start from scratch, and make a poppy, colorful kids film. It was thought up by McCracken, and he pitched it to Cartoon Network, marking his return to the network.

McCracken, creator of *The Powerpuff Girls* and *Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends*, was chosen to direct the film. The writing crew consists of Charlie Bean, Lauren Faust and Meghan McCarthy (showrunner of *My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic*), as well as *Rugrats* show-writers David N. Weiss and J. David Stem.

### Casting

Jim Parsons was cast as Frankie's imaginary friend; while Billy Eichner voiced Sour Green, Terrence's squire and imaginary friend. For the role of World, more than 1,200 people auditioned before the 13-year-old trans actor Sasha A. Cohen got the role. Neil Patrick Harris was cast as Presley K. Blanford, Carl's dad; while Asher Blinkoff voiced Carl, Presley's son. Marsai Martin was confirmed an addition to the cast, voicing Alexis, Mac's secondary best friend.

This marks Tom Kane's final acting credit in a feature film, due to a forced retirement in the wake of his stroke in November 2020.

### Music

On May 11, 2021, Mark Mothersbaugh signed on to compose the film's score.

## Soundtrack

 Released
 Length
 Label

On September 7, 2021, it was announced *A Foster's Movie: Imagination Desolation (Original Soundtrack)* would be released on September 17, 2021, including the original song "Can You Imagine" by Madcon, featuring PARTYNEXTDOOR and D.R.A.M.. The soundtrack also includes other songs by various artists, including Best Coast, Khalid, Fifth Harmony, Michael Bolton, Sabrina Carpenter, BTS, Enrique Iglesias, Uncle Kracker, Austin Mahone, Zac Barnett of American Authors, Taylor Swift and Charlie Puth.

1. "Everything Has Changed" – Best Coast
2. "See It To Believe It" – Khalid
3. "Turn the Night Up" – Enrique Iglesias
4. "This is How We Roll" – Fifth Harmony
5. "Move On Up" – Pharrell Williams
6. "Ultimate" – BTS
7. "Get Ready" – Lauv and Becky G
8. "Welcome to My World" – James Maslow
9. "Always Right" – Sabrina Carpenter
10. "I Feel So Intimidated" – Rihanna, HRVY and Nick Jonas
11. "Happy" – Uncle Kracker
12. "Nothing Good" – PUBLIC
13. "Go Time for Us" – The Driver Era
14. "I Wanna Hear You Say It" – Michael Bolton
15. "Can You Imagine" – Madcon featuring PARTYNEXTDOOR and D.R.A.M.
16. "My Superstar" – Austin Mahone
17. "Free As a Boy" – Zac Barnett
18. "That's Life" – Taylor Swift
19. "Never Let Go" – Charlie Puth

## Release

### Theatrical and streaming

*A Foster's Movie: Imagination Desolation* premiered on September 19, 2021 at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, and was released in the United States on September 24, 2021, by Warner Bros. Pictures, in theaters and for a month streaming on HBO Max. The film's theatrical release was preceded by *The Road Trip*, a *Dexter's Laboratory* short.

### Marketing

In late summer 2021, American fast food chain Burger King announced that they will be the official partner of the film.

### Home media

*A Foster's Movie: Imagination Desolation* was released on Digital on December 7, 2021 and on DVD and Blu-ray on December 28, by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.

## Reception

### Box office

The film started its opening weekend at $10 million; making back its budget, then grossed $36.2 million during October, followed by $50 million the next in November. On its final month in theaters, it had grossed $102 million.

### Critical response

Review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 90% approval rating based on the 118 reviews and its average rating is 6.15/10 on IMDb. The critical consensus reads, "What *A Foster's Movie: Imagination Desolation* doesn't lack in its sense of nostalgia, it makes up for in charm and cleverness". Metacritic assigns the film a score of 69 out of 100, based on 46 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". CinemaScore gives the film a "B+" on its A+ to F scale.

## Notes

1. Alternatively titled *Imaginary Desolation: A Foster's Movie* and simply called *Imaginary Desolation*.

## Gallery

*Main article: A Foster's Movie: Imagination Desolation/Gallery*
## Trivia

* This is the first ever feature film of the series.
* This is the first animated *Foster's Home* movie to hit theaters.
	+ This is also the first ever *Foster's Home* movie in general to hit theaters. The previous *Foster's Home* films (*House of Bloo's*, *Good Wilt Hunting* and *Destination: Imagination*) were all made-for-T.V. releases.
* This is Cartoon Network's fifth original movie to be released theatrically, after *The Powerpuff Girls Movie*, which was released in 2002, *Regular Show: The Movie*, which was released in 2015, *Teen Titans Go! To the Movies*, which was released in 2018, and *Clarence's Big Break* which was released in this year.
* For the role of World, over 1200 young actors auditioned from all over the USA and Canada, before 13-year-old trans actor Sasha A. Cohen got the part.
* The tenth Warner Bros.' animated film to be released in September, after The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie (1979), Daffy Duck's Quackbusters (1988), Corpse Bride (2005), Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi 2 (2006), Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (2010), Storks (2016), The Lego Ninjago Movie (2017), Smallfoot (2018) and Ben 10: The Movie (2020).
* This is Dana Heath's (Goo) first animated film. Prior to this, she is best known for her role as Mika on the Nickelodeon series Henry Danger (2014) and its spin-off Danger Force (2020).
* This film marks the first on-screen appearance of Mac and Terrence's mother.
* Tom Kane's final voice acting role in a feature film. He was forced to retire after suffering a stroke in 2020.
* In theaters, a *Dexter's Laboratory* short entitled *The Road Trip* was shown prior to the film.

## Transcripts

### Main

To see the main transcript of the film, click here.

### Trailers

To see the transcript for the trailers of the film, click here.

## Credits

*Main article: A Foster's Movie: Imagination Desolation/Credits*