True Love (film)

Theatrical release poster

***True Love*** is a 2002 American animated romantic comedy-drama film directed by Don Bluth and Bruce Berman and produced by Gary Goldman based on a screenplay by J. David Stem and David N. Weiss and a story by Chris Viscardi. The film stars the voices of Hugh Jackman as Alex and Olivia Colman as Mia, two college students who fall in love while studying abroad in Europe. They come from different backgrounds and have different aspirations in life, but they quickly realize that they have a deep connection and are meant to be together.

Production on *True Love* began in early 1998, with Don Bluth set to direct the film. Bruce Berman also came to direct the film with Bluth, and Gary Goldman served as producer. Production lasted from April 5, 1998 until November 7, 2001. The film was produced by 20th Century Fox Animation, Paramount Feature Animation, Kingdom Entertainment (in their film debut) and Regency Enterprises, with Sunwoo Entertainment and Rough Draft Studios providing animation services.

Premiering at the Kodak Theatre on February 8, 2002, *True Love* was released theatrically on February 14, 2002 by 20th Century Fox in the United States, and was followed by an international release on February 18, 2002 by Paramount Pictures. A commercial success, grossing $377.2 million worldwide on its budget of $27 million, *True Love* received overwhelmingly positive reviews, praising its animation, visual effects, voice cast (especially Jackman and Colman), musical score by Harry Gregson-Williams, and its romantic themes, often being praised as the best animated film of the decade. A sequel was planned, but was inevitably scrapped.

## Plot

In Act I, we open on the bustling streets of New York City, where we meet our protagonist, Mia, a driven and successful businesswoman in her late 20s. Despite her career success, she feels unfulfilled and lonely, longing for a meaningful connection with someone. One day, she stumbles upon a handsome musician, Alex, playing guitar in the park. They strike up a conversation, and there is an instant connection between them. They part ways, but they can't shake off the feeling that they've met someone special.

In Act II, Mia and Alex begin dating and fall deeply in love, but they soon realize that they have different expectations for their lives and relationship. Mia is focused on her career and sees her job as her top priority, while Alex dreams of a simple life on the road as a traveling musician. The tension between them grows, and they struggle to reconcile their different desires. Mia's family and friends don't help either, constantly questioning why she's wasting her time with a musician who seems to have no real ambition.

Amidst this struggle, Alex lands an opportunity to tour with a big-name artist. Despite the strain on their relationship, Mia supports him and agrees to go on the tour with him. As they travel across the country, Mia and Alex's relationship is tested, but they find that their love is strong enough to overcome their differences. They make compromises for each other and discover that true love is about supporting each other's dreams, no matter how different they may be.

Now in Act III, just when things seem to be going well, Alex is offered a permanent gig with the big-name artist and must leave Mia for an extended period. Mia is heartbroken but realizes that she must let Alex pursue his dreams, even if it means being apart from him. They keep in touch through phone calls, but the distance takes a toll on their relationship. Mia begins to question whether their love is strong enough to withstand the time apart.

In Act IV, Mia and Alex reunite after months apart and realize that they still have strong feelings for each other. They both make changes to their lives to accommodate the other's dreams, and they realize that love is about making sacrifices and putting the other person's needs before your own. In the end, they decide to move in together and continue to support each other's dreams.

In the epilogue, we see Mia and Alex years later, happily married with a child. Mia is now a successful entrepreneur with her own company, and Alex is a successful musician who tours the country with his band. They reflect on their journey and how their love has withstood the test of time and distance, proving that true love is possible if both people are willing to put in the work.

## Production

### Concept and development

The concept of *True Love* first came to light in 1996. Eric Goldberg, an avid animator at Walt Disney Animation Studios, had came up with the concept of the film by designing two characters; one was a young man in his early-mid 20s, close to 23, and a woman, who's in her mid 20s, close to 26. Originally pitched to Walt Disney Pictures, the idea was dropped by Disney CEO Michael Eisner. The reason for the dropping of this idea was that it "wouldn't make as much money and live up to the commercial success, unlike [Disney]'s current films".

Eric Goldberg, however, shifted the idea over to 20th Century Fox, after Disney cancelled the film. 20th Century Fox picked up the project and shifted it over to their animation division, 20th Century Fox Animation. In a 2000 interview with Eric Goldberg, he said that the story was to "focus on Alex and Mia, two people in their 20s who embark on a hardcore relationship when they first encounter each other". In the interview, he stated that Alex was a "guitar player", and Mia was an "aspiring businesswoman".

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### Pre-production, storyboarding and casting

The storyboarding began on April 5, 1998. Storyboard artists J. David Stem and David N. Weiss were hired to write the storyboard drafts. Around this time, the film entered its casting phase in production. After some recording tests, the team settled on Australian actor Hugh Jackman as the voice of Alex, and Olivia Colman as Mia.

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### Animation

For the animation, 20th Century Fox and Paramount Pictures sent the storyboards to Sunwoo Entertainment and Rough Draft Studios. TBA

### Post-production

Sound effects, mixing and composition was done at Skywalker Sound at Skywalker Ranch in Lucas Valley, Nicasio, California. The film's score was composed and recorded by British composer Harry Gregson-Williams at the Sony Scoring Stage at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, California.

## Soundtrack

The film's score was composed by Harry Gregson-Williams and was released through Varese Sarabande on February 14, 2002, coinciding with the film's release.

## Release

*True Love* had its premiere at the Kodak Theatre on February 8, 2002 and was theatrically released on February 14, 2002 by 20th Century Fox, and was followed by an international release on February 18, 2002 by Paramount Pictures. The film was rated PG by the Motion Picture Association of America for some mild crude humor, and some mild language.

## Reception

### Critical response

*True Love* received overwhelmingly positive reviews, with review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reporting an approval rating of 94% based on reviews from 105 critics, with an average rating of 8.4/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Wholesome, sweet, and charming in every angle, *True Love* is an inspiring love story, and marks it as a favorite for anyone on Valentines Day." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 86 out of 100 based on reviews from 17 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore assigned the film a rare average grade "A+" on its scale of A+ to F.

### Box office

*True Love* debuted with $31.6 million at the box office with an additional $6.8 million in Wednesday night previews, and peaked at #1 at the domestic box office. In its first weekend, the film made $58.7 million, and made $42.7 million in its first opening week, grossing below expectations of $45-50 million. The film's projections concluded on January 8, 2003 and made a total of $184.7 million domestically and $192.5 million overseas for a worldwide total of $377.2 million, becoming the ninth-highest-grossing film of 2002, behind *Ice Age*, and became the second-highest grossing animated film of 2002, behind Disney's *Lilo and Stitch*.

#### United States and Canada

In the United States and Canada, *True Love* opened on February 14, 2002 with *Gerry*. TBA

## Trivia

* This is Kingdom Entertainment's first film as a production company.