Greenuts

***Greenuts*** is a 1993 Irish-American computer-animated comedy film based on the original 1990 short film of the same name, produced by Paramount Feature Animation and Mala Miles Productions and distributed by Paramount Pictures. Directed by Jake Sharratt, *Greenuts* was the first feature-length computer-animated film. The film features the voices of David Spade, Neil Patrick Harris, John Cleese, Jodi Benson, Seth Green, Christopher Lee, Max Casella and Miles as BallCone.

*Greenuts* originated in a poem written by Jake Sharratt in 1984. However, Chris Jones convinced him to make a film based on the short film in 1990, and the film was put quickly into active development by Sharratt after the rights were bought by the studio in April 14, 1991.

The film was released in theaters on November 19, 1993 in the United States and Canada and on December 8, 1993 in the United Kingdom. The film was re-released in 3D on June 8, 2013. The film was met with positive reviews, and grossed over $183 million worldwide, against a budget of $59 million. *Greenuts* was followed by two sequels, *Greenuts 2* in 1997 and *Greenuts 3: The New Groove* in 2007. A fourth film, titled *Greenuts: A New Beginning*, was released on November 26, 2015.

## Cast

*Main article: List of Greenuts characters*
* David Spade as Cube Greenut, a grey cube
* Neil Patrick Harris as Blockhead, a cube-shaped shape figure
* Mala Miles as Benny Greenut, known as BallCone
* John Cleese as Mr. Cube, a British cube and Cube's uncle with a mustache, a top hat, as well as a monocle over his left eye
* Jodi Benson as Sally Greenut, a human caretaker of the shapes and Tommy's wife
* Seth Green as Tommy Greenut, a human and Sally's husband
* Christopher Plummer as King Frankie, the king of Shape Gardens
* Max Casella as Edwin, a tot
* Kelsey Grammer as The Evil Camera, a living security camera with a computer voice who hates shapes
* Jack Angel as Benny Greenut (singing)
* Gregg Berger as Wade
* Lori Alan as Sattie
* Rob Huebel as Nio
* Tony Jay as Narrator

## Production

In July 10, 1984, as director Jake Sharratt's upbringing in New York was associated with the feeling of solitude, the filmmaker was largely fascinated by holidays during his childhood. Sharratt wrote a three-page poem titled *Greenuts*. The poem caught Mala Miles' attention and his animation studio decided to make it into a movie. After buying the rights to the film, Sharratt quickly put the film in active development in April 1, 1991.

On May 2, 1991, Sharratt and Miles announced the beginning of the production on Mala Miles Productions' first CGI animated film, *Greenuts*.

### Music

*Main article: Greenuts: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack*
The film score was composed by John Powell.

## Release

### Marketing

On November 5, 1993, McDonald's began promotions for the film, giving out a selection of nine exclusive Candy Caddies based on the *Greenuts* characters, in Happy Meal orders. M&M's released packages of the characters and came with a code for the *Greenuts* video game. This was to support the film's VHS release.

### Books

In September 1993, ten books related to the movie were published: *Greenuts: The Junior Novel*, *Meet the Greenuts*, *Greenuts: The Original Storybook*, *The Revenge of the Evil Camera*, *Little Shape, Big Shape*, *Friends in Need*, *The Art of Greenuts*, *Greenuts (Look & Find)*, *Greenuts: Game Book* and *Greenuts: Coloring & Activity Book*.

### Video game

*Main article: Greenuts (video game)*
A video game based on the film, was released in North America and Europe on November 28, 1993 for Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Genesis, Sega Game Gear, Sega Master System, Game Boy, Amiga, and Sega CD. The game was published by Acclaim Entertainment.

### Home media

The film was released on August 3, 1994 on VHS and LaserDisc. The release included a short film, titled *Shoe*. A DVD release was followed on August 19, 1998, together with *Greenuts 2*, as well as other Paramount DVDs. It contained no special features. *Greenuts* was re-released on November 12, 2003. The release included an audio commentary by Sharratt and Miles, a 28-minute making-of documentary, a gallery of concept art, storyboards, test footage and deleted scenes. Sharratt's *Greenuts* (1990), *Ball* (1991) and *Shoe* (1994) were also included.

On July 17, 2013, Paramount Home Entertainment released the film on Blu-ray to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the *Greenuts* franchise. The release is a 3-disc combo pack including a Blu-ray 3D disc, Blu-ray Disc and a DVD that includes both a DVD and digital copy of the film.

## Reception

### Critical repetition

Ever since its original 1993 release, *Greenuts* has received generally positive reviews from critics; Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives a score of 77% based on 463 reviews, with an average score of 8.3/40.

### Box office

The film made $46,312,454 on its opening weekend debuting at #1. It made $76,387,405 domestically and $106,869,731 elsewhere for a worldwide total of $183,257,136 worldwide. It became the 18th highest grossing film behind *Jurassic Park*. It was Paramount's highest grossing release, before being beaten by *Beavis and Butt-Head Do America* in 1996, and one year later by *Titanic*.

### Awards

*Main article: Greenuts/Awards*
*Greenuts* received 28 nominations including an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature Film.

## Sequels and spin-offs

*Main article: Greenuts (franchise)*
*Greenuts* had two sequels including *Greenuts 2* and *Greenuts 3: The New Groove*. A fourth film, *Greenuts: A New Beginning* was released on November 26, 2014. There were also one holiday special called *Greenuts: A Very Special Christmas*, and a television series called *Greenuts* which ran from 1994 to 1999.