Farfetch

***Farfetch*** is a 2023 American animated action-adventure Western comedy film produced by Redman Films and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by Dane Martin from a screenplay by Martin and Will Finn and stars the voices of Will Arnett, Jo Koy, Owen Wilson and John Cena. Set during the American frontier era, the film revolves around an ex-bandit who is sent on a harrowing mission to deliver mail across the country to redeem himself while facing setbacks caused by his former allies.

*Farfetch* premiered at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival on February 17, 2023 and was released theatrically in the United States on March 3, 2023. The film received mixed reviews from critics and was a box-office bomb, grossing only $95.3 million against its $70 million budget and becoming the lowest-grossing Redman film.

A television series taking place after the events of the film is slated to premiere on Amazon Prime Video on February 9, 2024.

## Plot

In the East Coast town of Orville, ex-bandit Joe Ward attempts to appeal his sentence in court, only to be rejected by the judge, who instead offers him to serve the rest of his term by working for the Farfetch Express, a start-up mail service between Orville and the city of Los Corozos in the West Coast using only ponies. Joe reluctantly accepts the request and is sent to an inn to rest.

On the first day of the job, Joe is escorted to the main stables, where he meets Bongo, a quirky and wise-cracking pony. With Bongo’s guidance, the duo set off to Los Corozos. While passing by their first town on the route, Joe is ambushed by his former accomplices Randy Newton, Steve Simmons and Hunter Evans, who mock him for betraying them, bullies Bongo and steals most of the parcels. With Bongo wounded by the attack, Joe is left with no choice but to hitchhike.

The two then seek refuge at a nearby shady tavern in the middle of the desert, owned by a retired detective named Donovan. After Joe tells him about his situation, Donovan offers to help recover Bongo from his injuries for free and gives him some golden coins and a revolver for self-defense. After staying at a roadside inn, Joe continues his journey and has a conversation with Bongo, who reveals that he was separated from his herd after a group of drunk mobs attempted to kill them. Joe also confesses to Bongo that his arrest was a result of an act of betrayal by Randy and the rest of the gang during a heist.

With half of the route completed, the duo intend to stop at a lake for freshwater but end up in a canyon after being tricked by a hyena. Before they can eat them for their feast, Joe and Bongo escape from the canyon and Joe immediately blames Bongo for his incompetence. Hurt by his sudden hostility, the two split up and Joe decides to turn himself in and end the mission. However, when news of his former gang entering Los Corozos arrives, Joe has a change of heart and reconciles with Bongo.

Upon arriving at Los Corozos, they find Randy in an abandoned building, who trap them in with the manager of the Farfetch Express, Bruce Russell. The gang commit an act of arson, leaving Joe, Bongo and Bruce to die. Realising that he still has his revolver with him, he breaks free from his chains, shoots his ex-accomplices and picks up all of the mail they stole, before rescuing Bruce. In the aftermath, Joe is rewarded for his contributions to the Farfetch Express and settles in Los Corozos, while Randy and his gang are finally arrested for the rest of their lives.

## Voice cast

* Will Arnett as Joe Ward, an ex-bandit who is sent to deliver mail for the Farfetch Express to have his name cleared.
* Jo Koy as Bongo, a Shetland pony deployed for the Farfetch Express who Joe befriends.
* Owen Wilson as Randy Newton, the leader of Joe’s former bandit gang.
* Sam Rockwell as Steve Simmons, a member of Joe’s former bandit gang.
* Dwayne Johnson as Hunter Evans, a member of Joe’s former bandit gang.
* Bryan Cranston as Donovan, a retired detective who owns a tavern on the Farfetch Express’ route.
* John Cena as Bruce Russell, the manager of the Farfetch Express service.
* Tim Curry as the leader of a hyena pack
* Simon Pegg as the right hand man of the hyena pack
* Jamie Foxx as the judge of Orville’s court

## Production

In early 2018, shortly after the release of *Miao: The Movie*, Dane Martin came up with the concept of a Western film where a bandit tries to clear his name for the greater good, with partial inspiration from the Pony Express of the American frontier era. Work on the film began the following year in 2019, with Martin penning the script with Will Finn, who previously wrote the story for Walt Disney Animation Studios’ *Home on the Range* (2004). The film’s original title during production was *Farfetch’d*, but was retitled to simply *Farfetch* just prior to its announcement.

On July 18, 2021, Redman Films officially announced *Farfetch*, while confirming Mikros Image, who previously worked on *Athena*, to be the animation provider for the film. Upon the release of the first trailer in April 2022, Will Arnett and Jo Koy were confirmed to helm the main voice roles, while the rest of the cast was added in June.

### Music

*Main article: Farfetch/Soundtrack*

The film’s original score was composed by Alan Menken, who also previously worked on *Home on the Range*, and was released on February 24, 2023 by Interscope Records.

## Release

### Theatrical

*Farfetch* premiered at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival on February 17, 2023 and was released theatrically in the United States on March 3, 2023 by Paramount Pictures. It was initially scheduled to be released on April 7 upon its announcement, but was pushed forward to its final March release date in May 2022 to avoid competition with Illumination’s *The Super Mario Bros. Movie*.

Upon the release of the teaser trailer in 2022, the use of a revolver by the film’s protagonist Joe Ward gained controversy and backlash out of respect for the *Rust* shooting incident. Some theaters across the United States declined to screen the film, although most of them have since lifted their bans, while parents and users on Common Sense Media have questioned the film’s suitability for children. The incident also resulted in some countries increasing their ratings, including Singapore (PG-13).

### Marketing

The film’s teaser trailer was released on April 8, 2022, attached to screenings of *Sonic the Hedgehog 2*, receiving mixed reviews from critics. The first official trailer was released on July 1, 2022, followed by the second and final official trailer on December 9.

### Home media

*Farfetch* was released on digital on March 24, 2023, just three weeks after its theatrical release. The film was made available on DVD, Blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray by Paramount Home Entertainment on June 6, 2023.

## Reception

### Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 61% of 180 reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.5/10. The website’s critical consensus reads: “While it still has a long road ahead to achieve true status as a Western film, *Farfetch* is a fairly well plotted animated adventure departing from the average Wild West storyline.” Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 63 out of 100, based on 45 critics, indicating “mixed or average” reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale.

*More coming soon!*

## Transcripts

### Main

To view the main transcript of the film, click here.

### Trailers

To view the transcript for the trailers of the film, click here.