The Actors Movie (2016)

***The Actors Movie*** is an 2016 3D Marcanese-American computer animated comedy film produced by Actors 3D Entertainment and Actors Studio for Columbia Pictures, based on the videogames of the same name. The 18th feature film from Actors 3D, it was directed by Thurop Van Orman, produced by Clark Spencer, and written by Peter Ackerman & Jennifer Lee. The film features the voices of Jason Sudekis, Josh Gad, Kate McKinnon, Peter Dinklage, Charles Martinet, Erin Matthews, Roger Craig Smith, Bill Hader, Jen Taylor, and Richard Kind. The film was released on May 20, 2016 to positive reviews from critics and grossed $870 million, becoming one of the highest-grossing animated films based on a videogame of all time. A sequel was released in 2019 by Sony.

## Why It Rocks

1. Incredibly great animation with very fluid movements, as expected from Actors 3D and Anaya Animation. The film's backgrounds feature various pixelated objects such as the Eiffel Tower and the Big Ben that fully resemble 80s-90s arcade games.
2. Very likable, surprisingly good, and unforgettable characters such as the Actors (Joseph, Jake, & Jay), the Mario Bros, Pac-Man, Qbert, and Kirby.
3. Very funny and entertaining jokes that reference the *Actors* games, such as the one where Joseph & Jake tell the Parsleys about the game's three star ranking although it's four stars, Jake's constant running gag of losing his hat, and... **"Kolaches, *anyone?*"** The Xbox Jail joke is also hilarious (considering that Sony & Nintendo make better games than Microsoft due to them appealing most to family-friendly customers).
4. **Proper character development:** Joseph at first couldn't calm down his temper due to the videogame villains bullying him for joining the good guys, but after attending anger management class, he starts to realize that his friends aren't together as they used to and reunites them while also trying to manage his own anger management issues properly.
5. Great soundtrack composed by Heitor Pereira (who also composed the music score for the *Marco* movies), with good choice hit songs like Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" for the hilarious Rickroll scene, Oueen's "We Will Rock You" for the finale, and "I Will Survive" by Demi Lovato for the film's ending scene.
6. The idea of a movie about the Actors' origin story is fairly interesting and was well executed for the most part. Also, the idea of the Actors and their famous videogame friends teaming up against Hitler and the videogame villains a la World War II is actually somewhat excellent and interesting despite it being kind of bizarre (see BQ #2).
7. Just like Animacon's *Actors* movies, the film is essentially a love letter to the source material: not only throwing in subtle references that only the truest *Actors* fans would understand, but also staying true to the games' 1940s-themed atmosphere and faithfully following the source material, unlike other poorly-received video game movies.
8. Solid voice acting, especially from Jason Sudekis, Josh Gad, Kate McKinnon, Peter Dinklage, Bill Hader, and Richard Kind.
9. Excellent climax with the Actors & their friends battling Hitler & his army of arcade villains at the German Palace. The other action scenes are also very fun to watch, such as the one where the Actors and their friends fight Hitler's troops at the steel factory in London.
10. The film has plenty of emotional & heartwarming moments, like when Jake & Jay search for Joseph after the final battle, when Judge Brown apologizes Joseph for the water tower incident, and the Toads singing "Mighty Red Actor" in honor of Joseph for saving them. The Actors' backstory is both emotionally sad yet cute at the same time.
11. Surprising videogame cameos from the Mario characters, Pac-Man, Sonic The Hedgehog & Dr. Robotnik (aka Dr, Eggman), Little Mac, Kirby, Qbert, Ryu & Ken Masters from *Street Fighter*, Mega Man, Pikachu, Rayman, Jin and Heihachi Mishima from *Tekken,* Crash Bandicoot, and several others. There's even cameos of rejected videogame characters in the 1942 scene as well (to which the film pokes fun at, since they're considered as characters from bad games such as Atari's *E.T The Extraterrestrial* and *Superman 64*).
12. The film's themes of being yourself and not someone else, fighting back, having self-confidence, and how anger can lead to consequences with other people are very well handled for the most part.
13. Several references to arcade games from the 80s-90s as well as WWII to the point where it gets very appealing for both kids & adults, as well as historians, gamers, teens, and young adults. The film also has lots of hidden Easter eggs and references from other Actors 3D & Anaya Animation films and the *Actors* games.
14. Adolf Hitler makes for a decent main antagonist, since his plans of taking over videogame worlds for the sake of golden coins and reuniting the videogame villains for his army are well executed.
15. The sequel is also as good as this film, although if it somewhat falls short.
16. The introduction of the film is *really* hilarious, also the Columbia Pictures and Actors 3D logos are quite amusing to see and the pixelated Anaya Animation logo seems really cool.

## Bad Qualities

1. A few adult jokes, like in the scene where Jake tells the ladies to "get moving" and when Adolf Hitler gives his speech, he mutters "*cluck* those pathetic stick figures".
2. Despite the plot being highly original, it's somewhat confusing since videogames and World War II don't belong to the same decade: WWII happened in the early 1940s, and videogames were not introduced at the time until around the 1980s despite the *Actors* games taking place during WWII.
3. Some scenes in the film can get somewhat dark for a kids' film, such as the part where Jake gets hypnotized at the confectionary shop and when Hitler orders his troops to kill Joseph and his friends.
4. Some rather mean-spirited moments in the first half of the film, as Judge Brown blames Joseph for the water tower incident instead of Bowser and his army, and also the scene after that where the Actors get sent to the final destination.
5. The film uses some clichés, such as the "fake-out death" and "corrupt government official" tropes.

## Reception

### Box office

*The Actors Movie* was a box office success, grossing $870 million over its $90 million budget and becoming the highest-grossing Marcanese videogame based film of all time, until its 2019 sequel and Nintendo's *Super Smash Bros: The Movie* dethroned it from the box office spot.

### Critical reception

*The Actors Movie* received generally positive reviews from critics and audiences as well as *Actors* fans who commended its animation, voice acting, characters such as the Actors themselves, arcade game references, and action scenes but criticized its plot. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 96% based on 159 reviews and an average rating of 8.94/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Equally entertaining for both kids and parents old enough to catch the references, *The Actors Movie* retains enough charm with its joyful 80s nostalgia while also being a clever WWII crossover." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 83 out of 100 based on 27 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.

## Trivia

* This is the fourth entry in the *Actors* franchise and also the first one to be computer-animated.