Marco 4

*Marco 4* is a 2017 3D Marcanese-American computer animated action comedy film produced by Actors 3D Entertainment & Anaya Animation for Columbia Pictures & Universal Pictures. It is the fourth installment in the *Marco* franchise and the sequel to *Marco 3* (2015). The film is directed by Chris Melendari, produced by Lord & Miller, and written by Rob Greenburg. In the film, Marco & his remaining friends team up again to stop a new hip hop/rap obsessed supervillain from dominating the world. The original cast return (with the exception of Bill Hader, Mel Gibson, Danny DeVito, and Kristen Bell) along with Trey Parker, Tina Fey, David Spade, Rob Riggle, Michael Pena, and others. *Marco 4* was released to theaters June 30, 2017 and recieved mostly positive reviews from critics; and grossed over $2 billion, making it the 2nd highest-grossing Marcanese animated film of 2017.

## Marco 4

### Starring

Hugh JackmanWill Smith

Emma Stone

Pierre Coffin

Renee Zellweger

Jason Sudekis

Julia Sawalha

Trey Parker

Tina Fey

David Spade

Tony Hale

Rob Riggle

Michael Pena

John Cena

## Plot

On a news report by NBC, teenage rapper Edgar becomes an infamous supervillain after his show got cancelled and also falling off the Billboard 200. He blames Marco for all his own incidents, and Marco gets sent to jail. There he battles other criminals at the arena and wins, only to get locked up again. Marco daydreams about a girl he saw at high school, much to Anthony & Jonathan's wonder. He gets interrupted by Joaquin & Emiliano, whom help him & their friends escape. Marco goes home and his family convince him to attend a local county fair. He agrees, and they all drive to Tomball. When they head out home, Marco remembers the time he played the arcades at Main Event, where he got free pizza and played bowl without paying. The next day, Marco gets an envelope from the Houston Spy Association and goes there. He meets Ian, who takes him to his office, and sees the girl (who goes by Mikayla) and Josue, Ian's assistant. Ian sends Marco & Mikayla to track down Edgar at Lake Conroe. Marco gets on the boat and attempts to beat Edgar, but fails when Edgar knocks him out with his raptar. He sees his siblings & cousins, and they take him to the other side of the lake for a tour. When they see Edgar again, they go chase him to the lighthouse. Marco tries to break in the lighthouse, but again falls down the lake. Marco conveys his friends, but they all moved away. Meanwhile, Edgar goes to his fortress and plays billiards with his gang for money. After having a bad day, Marco heads out to see Mikayla at a local French restaurant near Lake Conroe and have an awkward dinner together. Later, Marco steps in the lighthouse and "Edgar's Gang" taunt him away. Marco begins to feel depressed, but his family reassure him and together go to Cranebrook Pool.

The day after, Marco sends Joaquin & Emiliano to spy on Edgar while he goes with Pepe to the store. He and Pepe meet Aileene after many years of not seeing her. They go to Iandonia and make a deal with Ian & Mikayla to stop Edgar. Marco & his siblings go home, and at midnight Ian warns Marco on the phone that Mikayla got kidnapped. Marco & his cousins disguise themselves as detectives and search her everywhere. They stumble upon an abandoned mansion and realize that Edgar kidnapped her and also that he's plotting to destroy Lake Conroe with a giant toy robot, much to Marco's horror. They immediately tell Ian what they saw, and go to Lake Conroe with Flying Van 5. At Edgar's fortress, Edgar & his henchmen plan to send a rocket to bombard Iandonia; so they prepare the ship and Mikayla desperately texts Marco. Marco & Ian go on Ian's superyacht to rescue her, but Edgar takes her away, leaving Marco & Ian stranded on the water. Fortunately, Marco's friends come to help them and they head there. Edgar distracts the townspeople with rap music, grew the toy robot, and began terrorizing the town. Marco & his friends weaken the robot, and Marco battles Edgar in a hip hop/rap dance fight all the way to the ship. Marco realizes that Mikayla & Aileene were attached to the huge rocket; then he ultimately defeats Edgar by taking the raptar and chaining him while he isn't looking. The ship explodes and Pepe stops his yacht. Marco gets Alieene out of the rocket but Mikayla is still clinged to it. Bryan sends her off, Marco throws a lifesaver and saves Mikayla. The rocket explodes at Edgar's new fortress, and Bryan jumps on the lake. Marco & his friends return the townspeople back to normal, and go see the sights of the lake. Marco & his friends say goodbye to Ian & his friends, and stay at Iandonia afterwards. At the end of the film, Joaquin & Emiliano's friends go on a cruise boat, and Marco & Aileene wave wishing them a 'good time out there'.

At the post-credits scene, Edgar (realizing he's in jail and that the former criminals escaped) urges his friends to help him, but they refuse to and Edgar tries to break the prison cell by himself but ultimately fails to do so.

## Cast

* Hugh Jackman as Marco
* Will Smith as Pepe
* Emma Stone as Isabela
* Pierre Coffin as Joaquin & Emiliano and the kids
* Renee Zellweger as Alieene & Marlene
* Mel Gibson as Kevin
* Jason Sudekis as Josue
* Julia Sawalha as Melissa
* Trey Parker as Edgar, a hip-hop/rap obsessed teen supervillain who's bent on world domination after falling off the Billboard 200 and getting his show canceled.
* David Spade as Ian, owner of Iandonia & Houston Spy Association, and one of Marco's companions.
* Tina Fey as Mikayla, Marco's other companion and temporary love interest.
* Rob Riggle as Bryan Chaggis, Edgar's sidekick.
* Michael Pena as Jonathan Nava, a teen entrepreneur who becomes friends with Marco.
* John Cena as Anthony, Jonathan's partner.
* Ed Helms as Bom Bin
* Tony Hale as Josue, Ian's Salvadorean assistant and another of Marco's companions; and Mr. Mime.
* Brianna Rei as Meleen
* Waylon Rivas as Jayson, a member of the "Edgar Gang".
* Danny DeVito as Derek
* Kristen Bell as Fabi
* Chloe Garcia-Moretz as Leah & Emily
* Abbi Jacobson as Sofia

Additional Voices

* Glori Amanda
* Edward Augustus-John
* Roswell Elene
* Elbis Maria Velasco
* Joaquin Alvarez
* Gabrielle Alvarez
* Aracel Soto
* Clei Vazque
* Steven Cooper
* Phillip Duke

## Production

Following the success of *Marco 3*, Actors 3D Entertainment began development of *Marco 4* on July 2016. Chris Melendari once again directed the film, Phil Lord & Christopher Miller again handled production, Rob Greenburg returned for the screenplay, and Louis Armand did the story. According to Melendari, the film was completed by April 2017.

### Casting

Hugh Jackman voiced Marco since Bill Hader didn't return to voice him due to the critical failure of *Food Wars*. On an interview with NBC, he stated that "*Food Wars* wasted voice talents, too". Trey Parker chose to voice Edgar later in 2017. Tina Fey, David Spade, Rob Riggle, Michael Pena, and a few others joined later.

### Marketing

Burger King promoted the film with 6 kids' meal toys of Marco, Pepe, Isabela, Joaquin & Emiliano, Edgar, and Aileene. Other companies that promoted the film were Sony, Nintendo, Lego, Samsung, Reebok, H-E-B, M&Ms, Pepsi, and others. Actors 3D also promoted posters parodying films from 2016.

* The official movie trailer was released on August 19, 2016 and was shown before *Kubo and the Two Strings, Storks, Moana, Sing, Monster Trucks, The Lego Batman Movie, Rock Dog, Beauty and the Beast, Power Rangers, The Boss Baby, Smurfs: The Lost Village, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul, Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie,* and *Cars 3.*

## Soundtrack

The soundtrack for *Marco 4* was released on June 21, 2017.

Also featured in the film are recordings of "Good Vibrations" by The Beach Boys, "La Macarena" by Los Del Rio, "Take On Me" by A-ha, and "Welcome To The Jungle" by Guns N' Roses.

## Release

*Marco 4* was released at the Universal CityWalk in Los Angeles on June 2, 2017. The film came to theaters June 30, 2017. It came to home video November 3, 2017 with 2 short films, the theatrically-released *Memories* and *Where In The World Is Alieene?*

*Marco 4* is rated PG by the MPAA for "action, mild language, mild rude humor, thematic elements, and few scary images"

## Reception

### Box Office

*Marco 4* grossed $2.24 billion worldwide over a budget of $270 million, making it the 2nd highest-grossing Marcanese animated film of 2017 (only behind *Josh Samuel 3*) and the highest-grossing *Marco* film until *Joaquin & Emiliano: The Movie* in 2018. The film was released along with *Despicable Me 3, The House, and Inconceivable,* finishing 2nd at the box office.

### Critical response

*Marco 4* recieved mostly positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 87%, based on 143 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "*Marco 4* keeps on entertaining audiences and fans of the franchise with more fantastic action scenes, more comical wit, and surprisingly amazing emotional depth" On Metacritic, the film has a score of 80 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews" Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, down from its predecessor's "A+". It also earned a 89% positive score, including a 4 out of 5 rating, from filmgoers on PostTrak, along with a 82% "definite recommend".

IGN gave the film a score of 8/10, saying "Just like the previous films, *Marco 4* appeals to kids and adults alike" Peter Deburge of *Variety* wrote, "*Marco 4* handles action scenes like never before in animation history, has lots of humorous moments, and it's also about 'overcoming the bad things in life with the good things'." Alonso Duralde of *TheWrap* gave the film a positive review, "Considering this one to be my favorite in the franchise so far, it deserves my approval" Jordan Mintzer for *The Hollywood Reporter* also gave it a positive review, "This clever, fast-paced animation feels more like a very cool ride on a speedy yacht. Just like the film's new nemesis steals the show, the film wins our hearts" Peter Travers of *Rolling Stone* gave the film three out of four stars, "An action-packed, entertaining movie of its own, *Marco 4* still keeps the franchise's winning streak afloat--with 'Believer' and 'Freedom' included" Leah Greenblatt of *Entertainment Weekly* gave the film a 'B+', saying, "Jackman's lovable character does it once again, and this time Joaquin & Emiliano REALLY take the cakes" Richard Roeper of the *Chicago Sun-Times* found the film "amazing for the 'buds', with suspense, comedy, action...and heartfelt moments along the way" The *Chicago Tribune's* Michael Philips called the film "a worthy (and astounding) eye-pleaser that you don't want to miss" Lara Murphy from *Movies & More* gave the film 4.5 out of 5 stars, "This was WAY better than what I've expected...it's like if Actors 3D really loves this franchise and still puts the sufficient love & care into it" *The Gulfton Post's* Nathan Doyle appraised the new characters, animation, action scenes, and humor "*Marco 4* is an addictingly exciting movie, with a new set of likable characters and wacky, rollickin' humor" Cary Darling of the *Houston Chronicle* gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, "*Marco 4* is yet another 'good time roller' with lots of euphoria and thrill that you might want to jump out of your seat and say 'Woohoo yeah!' like Ian." Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEbert.com gave the film three and a half out of four stars, "This is pure awesome. It's the ultimate example of 'great action-packed entertainment'."

## Controversy

Countries such as Lithuania and Uruguay banned the film due to a couple of scenes where Edgar drinks his signature EM-Drinks, which are energy drinks similar to Energizers and Monsters. Several supporters of the film protested that "the film had nothing about drugs, smoking, or any of that content" and that "it's a film aimed at families" When *Marco 4* won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2017, some people consider it to be a mistake over Viacom's *Mr. Robot* and *Paperboy,* since the latter two recieved universal acclaim. Jimmy Kimmel confirmed that "it's the critics' opinion" and that "it was hard to choose the winner" As of September 2017, the Motion Picture Association of America debated on whether allowing *Marco 5* to be released to theaters or not, "We saw that the fourth film sparked some controversy...so we still don't know if we can ban the next *Marco* sequel. As of today, the future of another *Marco* sequel is uncertain."

## Sequel

Director Chris Melendari confirmed on September 2017 that a fifth *Marco* film is in development. It will also be the final *Marco* film. On March 2021, Paramount Pictures won a bidding match against Warner Bros. & Lionsgate to help Sony distribute the upcoming *Marco* film, under the new name *Marco 5: Epilogue.* The film is set to be released theatrically & on Anaya+ March 4, 2022.