Crystal: The Rise of Darkness

***Crystal: The Rise of Darkness*** is a 2019 American computer-animated fantasy musical adventure film produced by 20th Century Fox Animation. It is the sequel to *Crystal: The Lost Realms* (2015) and the fourth and final installment in the *Crystal* franchise. Written and directed by Phil Anderson from a screenplay by Phillip Melton and David Lindsay-Abaire and a story by Mike Minchin and Drew Cohen, the film stars the voices of Selena Gomez, Jesse Eisenberg, Jonah Hill, John Cleese, Emily Blunt, J. K. Simmons, Kristin Chenoweth, and Josh Brolin, along with new additions including Idina Menzel, David Harbour, Brie Larson, Keanu Reeves, Dwayne Johnson, and Margot Robbie.

*Crystal: The Rise of Darkness* premiered in Los Angeles on September 1, 2019, and was released in the United States on September 13, 2019 in RealD 3D, Dolby Cinema, and IMAX formats, by 20th Century Fox. The film received positive reviews from critics, who cited the animation, musical score, voice acting, songs, characters, emotional weight of the story and conclusion. It grossed over $1 billion worldwide, becoming the eighth highest-grossing film of 2019 and the fourth highest-grossing animated film of that year, At the 92nd Academy Awards, the film received a nomination for Best Original Song.

## Voice cast

* Selena Gomez as Crystal
* Jesse Eisenberg
* Jonah Hill
* John Cleese
* Emily Blunt
* Josh Brolin
* Idina Menzel
* Dwayne Johnson
* J. K. Simmons
* Kristin Chenoweth
* David Harbour
* Brie Larson
* Keanu Reeves
* Margot Robbie

### Additional Voices

* Kirk Baily
* Rajia Baroudi
* Susan Boyajian
* Rebecca Davis
* Johnny Gidcomb
* Jean Gilpin
* Nicholas Guest
* Sean Kenin
* Arif Kinchen
* Jennie Kwan
* Susan Leslie
* Cullen McCarthy
* Edward Mendez
* Scott Menville
* David Michie
* Kamali Minter
* Sariann Monaco
* Joey Naber
* Jonathan Nichols
* Juan Pacheco
* Jessica Pennington
* Michelle Ruff
* Nick Shakoour
* Alyson Stoner
* Daisy Tormé
* Dean Wein
* Diamond White
* Debra Wilson
* David Zyler

## Production

### Music

*Main article: Crystal: The Rise of Darkness/Soundtrack*
Alan Menken and Marc Shaiman returned from the previous film to write 5 new songs for the final film, while Menken returned to compose the film's score. The soundtrack was officially released on September 6, a week before the movie's theatrical release.

## Release

*Crystal: The Rise of Darkness* held its world premiere at Los Angeles on September 1, 2019, and was widely released in the United States on September 13, 2019, by 20th Century Fox. It was previously set for July 26, 2019.

The film was accompanied in theaters by the 7-minute animated short *Sunnie's Lovely Date*, featuring the characters from Frenzy Animation's *Sunnie*.

On August 22, 2019, Disney and 20th Century Fox announced it would hold one-day advanced previews for the film in 400 theatres in the United States and were held two days later.

### Marketing

Fox released the first teaser trailer for the film on December 12, 2018. The second trailer (and official trailer) of the film was released on March 24, 2019. The third and final trailer was released on July 17, 2019.

Promotional partners for the film include General Mills, Fandango, Funko, and McDonald's.

### Home media

*Crystal: The Rise of Darkness* was released by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment on Digital HD and 4K on November 26, 2019, followed by an Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD released on December 3.

## Reception

### Box office

As of January 11, 2020, *Crystal: The Rise of Darkness* has grossed $455.2 million in the United States and Canada, and $636.3 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $1.091 billion.

In the United States and Canada, *Crystal: The Rise of Darkness* was released alongside *Hustlers* and *The Goldfinch*, and was projected to gross $110–125 million from 4,345 theaters, playing in 2,310 3D theatres, 310 IMAX theatres, 730 premium large format screens, and 200 D-Box/4D enhanced theatres in its opening weekend. On its first day, the film grossed $60.1 million (including $10.2 million made from Thursday night previews). It went on to open to $145.2 million, finishing first at box office with the biggest opening weekend in the Crystal franchise. In its second weekend, the film made $65.4 million, finishing first once again.

### Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 84% based on 221 reviews, and an average rating of 7.11/10. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 76 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it an average 4.5 out of 5 stars, with 73% saying they would recommend it.

## 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.

**Upcoming:** *The Pixelators: Supercharged* (2023)