Battu

Theatrical release poster

***Battu*** is a 2024 American animated musical comedy film directed by Matthew A. Cherry from a screenplay written by Cherry and Chaz Bottoms, and produced by Cartoon Network Studios, Blue Key Entertainment and Lion Forge Animation. It is a feature-length film adaptation of the short film *Battu: An Animated Musical* (2019), which was also written by Bottoms. The plot follows a young group of misfit dreamers who move to their own beat. The film stars the voice talents of Cameron J. Wright, Aria Brooks, Jamie Foxx, Uzo Aduba, Lidya Jewett, Shameik Moore, Benjamin Flores Jr., Diamond White, Riley B. Smith, Mila Kunis, John Krasinski and Eric Lange. It is the third Cartoon Network film to feature a Black lead character after *Class of 3000* (2005) and *Craig Before the Creek* (2023).

*Battu* was released theatrically in the United States on November 15, 2024, by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film received positive reviews from critics, which praised the animation, cast, score, and screenplay. The film was also commercially successful, grossing $62 million worldwide against a budget of $28 million. A television series based on the film was scheduled to debut on Cartoon Network, which would make it the fourth animated film from Cartoon Network Studios, after *Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi*, *Class of 3000* and *Knight School*, to serve as the basis for an animated series on the network.

## Plot

The film follows teenagers Otis and Jada — two gifted dancers in Chicago whose free-spirit and individuality often leave them as outsiders in the rigid world of mainstream dance. Together they find a home at a struggling hiplet (a style of dance combining hip-hop and ballet) studio and a family among the studio’s troupe of dancers and instructors.

## Voice cast

* Cameron J. Wright as Otis
	+ Darius Brantley Jr. as young Otis
* Aria Brooks as Jada
	+ Melody Hurd as young Jada
* Jamie Foxx as Homer Hans Bryant
* Uzo Aduba as Tracey
* Lidya Jewett as Roxy
* Shameik Moore as Benji
* Benjamin Flores Jr. as Gage
* Diamond White as Kayla
* Gabrielle Union as Leslie, Otis' mother
* Keegan-Michael Key as Bobby, Otis' father
* Riley B. Smith as Seth
* Mila Kunis as Brenda, Seth's mother
* John Krasinski as Rick, Seth's father
* Eric Lange as Colin Finkleberg
* Paul Adelstein as Ashler, the host of World's Got Talent
* Nicholas D'Agosto as Sanfield, one of the judges of World's Got Talent
* Wendy Schaal as Molly, one of the judges of World's Got Talent
* Omar Miller as Douglas, one of the judges of World's Got Talent

## Production

### Development

Regarding why they made the film, Matthew A. Cherry and Chaz Bottoms told interviewers that, "We always wanted to do a movie where gifted people in Chicago can prove themselves to the whole world with their talents and dance moves." The film is also based on *Battu: An Animated Musical*, a short film created by Bottoms in 2019.

In an interview with *The Guardian*, Bottoms commented on influences contributing to the film, "Having lived in Chicago for 4.5 years, I was so inspired by the art culture the city has to offer. It's incredibly tight knit and innovative. The city left a huge mark on me as an artist and the type of projects I want to produce." The voices in the film were set as Cameron J. Wright, Aria Brooks, Jamie Foxx, Uzo Aduba, Lidya Jewett, Shameik Moore, Benjamin Flores Jr., Diamond White, Riley B. Smith, Mila Kunis, John Krasinski and Eric Lange.

Cherry said the budget for the film was $28 million and estimated that an additional $10 million was spent on marketing.

### Animation

Animation services were provided by Snipple Animation Studios, Mercury Filmworks, Rough Draft Studios, Tonic DNA, Cartoon Network Studios, Nørlum, Lighthouse Studios, Golden Wolf, Mighty Animation, Dave Enterprises, Copa Studio, Synergy Animation Studios, Folimage, and Brilliant Pictures. The production team wanted the film to be mostly done through hand-drawn animation because they wanted the visuals to remain similar to the short film. The larger budget, time, and animators available to the filmmakers allowed the animation to be more detailed than in the short film, such as adding more light, texture, and shadows into several shots. Mercury Filmworks also worked with Cartoon Saloon to help with the animation, through Lighthouse Studios.

Tonic DNA, who were hired due to already working with Cartoon Network Studios on the animated film *Knight School*, was originally set to work only in musical numbers, before being assigned two additional sequences. Animators at Tonic DNA used both hand-drawn and cutout animation techniques for the film, with both being simulteousnly used in certain sequences, particularly the "Tap, Clap, Snap" musical number.

## Music

#### Soundtrack

 Released
 Length
 Label

The soundtrack takes inspiration from Chicago hiplet music, and several songs under various genres were written and produced. Matthew A. Cherry contributed to the soundtrack, as an executive producer with Kris Bowers. The album featured performances from the film's cast, Cameron J. Wright, Aria Brooks, Jamie Foxx, along with rapper-singer Shameik Moore (also featuring in the film's cast).

### Release

American singers Chris Brown and Lehla Samia performed a non-album single titled "Dancin' My Heart Out" for the film, which was played during the credits, and released as a part of the extended edition of Brown's eleventh studio album *11:11*. A music video of the song was also released on YouTube in October 3, 2024, and the full song released the following day.

*Battu: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack* was released in the United States by Cartoon Network on October 25, 2024, for digital download and by Geffen Records on November 8, 2024, in Audio CD format.

### Charts

 US Digital Albums (*Billboard*)
 US *Billboard* Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (*Billboard*)
 US *Billboard* Top Rap Albums (*Billboard*)
 US Kid Albums (*Billboard*)
 US Soundtracks (*Billboard*)

### Track listing

Original songs performed in the film include:

#### Score

 Released
 Recorded
 Genre
 Length
 Label

The film's score is composed by Kris Bowers. WaterTower Music released the original score album on November 15, 2024, coinciding with the film's theatrical release.

## Release

### Theatrical

The film's trailer was released on October 2, 2024. *Battu* was theatrically released on November 15, 2024 by Warner Bros. Pictures. This is the fourth Cartoon Network Studios feature film to be produced in the 2:35.1 aspect ratio, after *Billy & Mandy The Movie: The Quest of the Diamonds*, *Knight School* and *Mighty Magiswords: The First Movie*. The film was also made available on HBO Max 45 days after its theatrical release.

### Home media

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and Studio Distribution Services released *Battu* on digital on March 25, 2025, and on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on April 15. It was later released on Hulu on July 2.

## Reception

### Box office

Opening on November 15, 2024, in the United States, the film grossed over $62 million worldwide on a budget of $28 million.

In the United States, exit polling showed extensive diverse attraction across a variety of audiences; African Americans making up 37%, Caucasian 33%, Latino 24%, and Asian 10%, with a total of 49% being under the age of 17. *Battu* was initially projected to gross between $10 million and $17 million from 2,536 theaters in its opening weekend. It made $4 million on its first day, including $295,000 from Thursday night previews. It ended up opening to $9 million finishing 4th at the box office behind *Deadpool 3*, *Gladiator 2* and *Joker: Folie à Deux*. The film dropped 52% in its second weekend, making $5.1 million and falling to 8th.

Its biggest markets outside North America are China with $8.4 million, the United Kingdom with $6 million, Germany with $3.4 million, and Russia with $3.3 million.

### Critical reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a "Certified Fresh" rating of 91% based on the 120 reviews and an average rating of 7.4/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "*Battu* offers few surprises, but this attractively animated adventure is enlivened by the catchy songs contributed by Matthew A. Cherry and Chaz Bottoms." On Metacritic, it receives a score of 70 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gives the film an average grade of "A−" on its A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported 82% of audience members gave it a positive score, with 67% saying they would definitely recommend it.

## Other media

### Television series

Prior to *Battu*'s release, Blue Key Entertainment announced that a television series based on the film would debut on Cartoon Network, after the film's theatrical release. This would be the fifth animated film from Cartoon Network Studios to have a series spin-off, after *Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi*, *Class of 3000*, *The CN Movie* and *Knight School*, and the first animated film from Blue Key Entertainment to inspire a series spin-off from the film. The series' first season, consisting of 20 episodes, was completed between 2024 and early 2025.

### Video game

A tie-in video game titled *Battu: The Game* was released for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on September 6, 2024, and for Google Stadia on October 11, 2024.

## Trivia

* This is Cartoon Network's fifteenth 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, *Clarence's Big Break* and *A Foster's Movie: Imagination Desolation*, which were both released in 2021, *Billy & Mandy The Movie: The Quest of the Diamonds* and *The Amazing World of Gumball: The Movie*, which were both released in 2022, *OK K.O.! Let's Save the Universe*, *Adventure Time: The Kingdom of Ooo* and *Craig Before the Creek*, which were all released in 2023, and *Knight School*, *American Girl: Corinne Tan* and *Mighty Magiswords: The First Movie*, which were all released in this year.
* The film was made for 4 years in production.
* The soundtrack album also features new music by Chris Brown and Lehla Samia.
* Is the 4th animated film by Cartoon Network Studios to be a pilot to a TV show coming to Cartoon Network, in this case being Tales of Battu (2025). The other 3 had been Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi (2003), which preceded Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi (2004), Class of 3000 (2005), which preceded Class of 3000 (2006), and Knight School (2024), which preceded Back to Knight School (2025), respectively. It is also the second of the three to not have any characters voiced by Tom Kenny and Carlos Alazraqui, who'd been in both of those films.
* Chris Brown and Lehla Samia recorded the song "Dancin' My Heart Out" for the film.
* Benjamin Flores Jr.'s first Warner Bros.' animated feature film since Happy Feet Two (2011) (NOTE: *Happy Feet Two* was a live-action/animated hybrid film).
* Cartoon Network's first theatrical pilot to an upcoming TV series to not feature E.G. Daily, Scott Menville, Rodger Bumpass, Keith Ferguson, or Lex Lang, although Khary Payton, Grey Griffin, Fred Tatasciore, and Rick Zieff can be heard in the film.
* Mila Kunis' second Cartoon Network feature film after Codename: Kids Next Door: The Movie (2009).
* This is Eric Lange's (Colin Finkleberg) first animated film. Prior to this he was best known for his role as Erwin Sikowitz on the Nickelodeon series Victorious (2010) and its spin-off Sam & Cat (2013).
* The second theatrically released animated film of all time to confirm its MPAA age rating before the first trailer.
* Cartoon Network Studios' first film where a studio member is mentioned during the casting call of main cast members outside the credits, this applies to Matthew A. Cherry, the voice of the Competition Announcer himself.
* Riley B. Smith's second Cartoon Network movie role after The Amazing World of Gumball: The Movie (2022).
* Uzo Aduba (*Steven Universe*), Shameik Moore (*Incredible Crew*), Diamond White (*Close Enough*), Keegan-Michael Key (*Robot Chicken*, *Rick and Morty* and *Samurai Jack*), Riley B. Smith (*Clarence*), Ian Chen (*Summer Camp Island*) and Madigan Kacmar (*Batwheels*) have all starred in other Cartoon Network projects.
* Ike Barinholtz's second Warner Bros. animated film, after ''*The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part*" released 5 years prior.
* Kris Bowers' first score for a fully animated film.
* Shameik Moore's second Cartoon Network movie role after The CN Movie (2022).
* This is Cartoon Network Studios' fourth animated film film to be produced in the widescreen 2.35:1 "scope" aspect ratio, after Billy & Mandy The Movie: The Quest of the Diamonds (2022), Knight School (2024) and Mighty Magiswords: The First Movie (2024).

## Transcripts

### Trailer transcripts

*Main article: Battu/Trailer transcripts*