Kate & Chris: Back in Action

*Kate & Chris: Back in Action* (released as *Kate & Chris 2* in some markets) is a 2018 American 3D computer-animated science fiction buddy action-comedy film produced by Fox Animation Studios for 20th Century Fox. It was written and directed by Nicholas Stoller and co-directed by Gary Trousdale and from a screenplay by Robert L. Baird and Brad Copeland and a story by Eric Stern and Danelle Davenport, and is the sequel to 2007's Kate & Chris. Mandy Moore, Jack Black, Justin Long, Zooey Deschanel, Maya Rudolph, Steve Buscemi, and Will Ferrell reprised their roles from the previous installment while new cast members include Leslie Jones, Bobby Cannavale, Tom Holland (replacing Elijah Wood), Ellie Kemper, Jenny Slate, Zach Woods, Kevin Hart, John C. Reilly, and Nick Offerman. The film focuses on Kate Anderson, as she tries to rescue her friends in another dimension and while dealing with an advanced weapon that threatens the entire world.

*Kate & Chris: Back in Action* premiered on February 14, 2018 in Los Angeles, and was released in theaters in RealD 3D and select IMAX theaters on March 2, 2018. It received mixed reviews, with many critics highlighting its animation, vocal performances, and an improvement over its predecessor. The film grossed $361 million worldwide against its $160 million budget, making it the tenth highest-grossing film from Fox Animation Studios. *Kate & Chris: Back in Action w*as nominated at the 76th Golden Globe Awards and 91st Academy Awards, both for Best Animated Feature Film.

An animated series, titled Kate & Chris Adventures, premiered on Fox Family on November 17, 2018.

## Cast

* Mandy Moore as Kate Anderson, a smart, trustworthy, funny, and clever 18-year old girl
* Will Ferrell as Professor Dum-Dum
* Tom Holland as Chris McCallister, a sarcastic, wise-cracking, arrogant, and somewhat bossy 17-year-old boy.
* Jack Black as TBA
* Justin Long as Chuck Stevens, a intelligent 15-year old boy.
* Maya Rudolph as Mary Anderson, Kate's mother
* Steve Buscemi as Mr. Watson, the principal of Eastview High School.
* Allison Janney as TBA
* Zooey Deschanel as Eva Clark, a friend of Kate

## Music

On June 16, 2017, it had been confirmed that John Powell would be returning to compose the score for the film.

Most of the soundtrack comes from old songs from the 70s, 80s, 90s, and modern times. This was because Eric Stern is so fascinated with nostalgia that he wanted this film to be unique as well.

## Release

*Kate & Chris: Back in Action* premiered on March 26, 2018 at the Regency Village Theater in Los Angeles, and was released on April 6, 2018 by in 3D, RealD 3D, IMAX 3D, and Dolby Cinema and was released in the United Kingdom on April 20, 2018.

Kate & Chris: Back in Action was originally scheduled for a September 29, 2017 release. However, in October 2015, Fox announced that *Alaina Gleen: Imaginary Vacation* would be released on that date, and would instead be released on December 20, 2017. In September 2016, Fox pushed back the release date to March 30, 2018. In August 2017, the film was moved up by a week to April 6, 2018 to avoid competition with Warner Bros' Ready Player One.

### Marketing

* The first teaser for the film was released on May 28, 2017 and was later attached to *Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie*, *Cars 3*, *Despicable Me 3*, *Alaina Gleen: Imaginary Vacation*, and *The Emoji Movie*.

* The first theatrical trailer was released on September 20, 2017 and was shown before *The Lego Ninjago Movie*, *My Little Pony: The Movie*, *Sunnie*, *Coco*, and *Lix*.

* The second and final theatrical trailer was released on December 12, 2017, and was shown before *Star Wars: The Last Jedi*, *Ferdinand*, *Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle*, *The Greatest Showman*, *Paddington 2*, *Peter Rabbit*, *Black Panther*, and *Early Man.*

Fox partnered with McDonald's to release eight Happy Meal toy versions of the film's characters upon its release. Diadora released a line of clothing featuring the characters from the movie. Merchandise was also produced for the film, including Kellogg's, Funko, Lego, and others.

### Home media

Kate & Chris: Back in Action was released on Digital HD and Movies Anywhere on June 15, 2018, and was released on DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray on July 3, 2018. The 3D Blu-ray of this film was released in select international markets (including the UK).

## Reception

### Critical reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 74% based on 128 reviews and an average rating of 7.2/10. The website's consensus reads: "*Kate & Chris: Back in Action* is silly enough for young kids, but boasts enough surprising smarts to engage parents along the way, with heart and humor to spare." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 62 out of 100 based on 17 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave it a 78% overall positive score and an 68% "definite recommend".

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