American Girl: Corinne Tan

Release poster

***American Girl: Corinne Tan*** is a 2024 American comedy film directed by Greta Gerwig, and written by Adele Lim and Noah Baumbach. Produced by Cartoon Network Studios, Mattel Films, Broken Road Productions, and Color Force, the film is based on the *Corinne Tan* stories by Wendy Wan-Long Shang. The film stars Miya and Kai Cech as Corinne and Gwynn Tan and also features the supporting ensemble cast of Michelle Krusiec, Jason Cermak, Will Brisbin, Darby Camp, Charlie Shotwell, Trinitee Stokes, Azrael Araujo, and Jason W. Wong. The film focuses on the American Girl character Corinne Tan who lives in Aspen, Colorado during her parents’ recent divorce.

It is the first film in the *American Girl* film series to have a theatrical release since *Kit Kittredge: An American Girl* (2008). *American Girl: Corinne Tan* was theatrically released in the United States on May 10, 2024, by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film received praise for the cast's performances, Gerwig's direction, sense of nostalgia, and message, with criticism mostly being directed towards its screenplay and pacing. Regardless of the film's mixed reviews, it had grossed $68.4 million on a $29 million budget.

## Premise

The film follows 13-year-old ski enthusiast Corrine, who is still navigating her parents’ recent divorce while her 10-year-old sister Gwynn, mom Judy, dad and stepdad Arne have adjusted to their new roles in this blended family. She discovers a new purpose when she challenges herself to train a rambunctious puppy named Flurry to become a search-and-rescue dog.

## Cast

* Miya Cech as Corinne Tan, a 13-year-old Chinese-American girl living in a townhouse in Aspen, Colorado and the main protagonist of the film.
* Kai Cech as Gwynn Tan, a 10-year-old Chinese-American girl and the deuteragonist of the film.
* Michelle Krusiec as Judy Fang, Corinne and Gwynn's mother and the tritagonist of the film.
* Jason Cermak as Arne Karlsson, Corinne and Gwynn's stepfather.
* Will Brisbin as Bryce, a boy in Corinne's class.
* Darby Camp as Cassidy, Corinne's best friend.
* Charlie Shotwell as Fletcher, a boy in Corinne's class.
* Trinitee Stokes as Jenna, a girl in Corinne's class who likes to ski.
* Azrael Araujo as Riggs, a boy in Corinne's class.
* Jason W. Wong as David Tan, Corinne and Gwynn's father.
* Parker Bates as Zack, the main antagonist of the film. He is racist towards Corinne.
* Elisha Cuthbert as Pamela, Scott's mother.
* Nathaniel Arcand as Douglas, Scott's father.

Additionally, Curtis Smith and Jacob Nahachick portray Robin and Freddie, Corinne's classmates at the children's school. Brady Ryan, Spencer Fitzgerald and Griffin McIntyre portray Granger, Harold and Walter, Corinne's classmates at the children's school. Xavier Patterson portrays a snowboarding kid. Michael Daisher appears as Jagged-Hair Boy, a white boy who has jagged bangs that hang over his face like icicles. Ithaca Kremer appears as Kelsey, a girl in Corinne's class who likes to ski. Kennedi Clements portrays Emmeline Daniels, a girl at the children's school. Jaida Grace and Hattie Kragten appear as Lulu and Allyson, Corinne's classmates at the children's school. Kia Wentiio, Marko Vujicic, Logan Pierce, Natalie Lisinska and Jessica Garcie appear as Brynleigh, Royce, an ice skating kid, Mrs. Lomond, and Coach Margot, respectively. Tyler Labine portrays Kurt, the man working at the shelter when Corinne comes to look at dogs.

Valentina Herrera, Finlay Wojtak and Olivia Furman appear as Kallie, Scott, and Penny, Corinne's classmates at the children's school. Emilie Skorokhodov and Riley Kearns appear as a sledding kid and a candy boy, respectively. Georgia Acken portrays a skier, while Winslow Fegley appears as Mark, Corinne's classmate at the children's school. David MacInnis and Elysia Rotaru portray TV Newscaster Hal and News Reporter Mary, while Beau McHattie appears as a snowboarding kid, respectively. Yuvraj Kalsi, Beatrice Kitsos, Rryla McIntosh and Bud Klasky appear as Ishaan, Genevieve, Lydia, and an audience member. Albert Nicholas portrays Trey, while Cole Arnholtz appears as a ski patroller.

## Production

### Development

Development on a film based on American Girl’s 2022 Girl of the Year, Corinne Tan, began in April 2022, when it was announced that Mattel had signed a partnership to develop the project with Warner Bros. Pictures and Cartoon Network Studios, and with Greta Gerwig hired to direct and Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson producing through the Color Force banner they created the next month. Todd Garner's Broken Road Productions partnered with Jacobson to finance and produce *American Girl: Corinne Tan*. They expected it to be a feature film, rather than a Cartoon Network Original Movie.

### Casting

By May 2022, Miya and Kai Cech were cast to star in the film. Michelle Krusiec, Jason Cermak, Will Brisbin, Darby Camp, Charlie Shotwell, Trinitee Stokes, Azrael Araujo, and Jason W. Wong joined the cast in June. Parker Bates, Elisha Cuthbert, and Nathaniel Arcand were confirmed to be joining the cast.

### Filming

Principal photography began on June 6, 2022, with Stephen F. Windon serving as cinematographer. Though the film is set in Aspen, Colorado, it was primarily shot in Calgary, Banff and Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada. Filming wrapped on August 10, 2022.

### Post-production

The visual effects were provided by Atomic Arts and Cinesite. They were supervised by Brooke Lyndon-Stanford, Justin Cornish, and Ben White, as well as Mike Wassel and Kelvin McIlwain as the Production Supervisors, with help from Static Chair Productions, Imaginary Forces, Base FX, Technicolor's Mr. X and Moving Picture Company (MPC), Soho VFX, Rise FX, Territory Studio and Mammal Studios.

## Soundtrack

The film’s score was composed by Nathan Wang. On March 20, 2024, it was confirmed that X Ambassadors lead singer Sam Harris had provided an original song, titled "Back Home Again". It was written by Ricky Reed, Sam Harris, Earwulf and Tom Peyton; Ricky Reed and Earwulf are the producers, while Adam Levin serves as the executive producer. The track was officially released on April 19, and sent to Italian radio on May 31, 2024.

Another song, titled "Free Up Your Mind", was announced on April 17, 2024, as well as the official release on April 23, co-written by ilham (who performs the track) and Jace Jennings, who additionally serves as producer.

Original songs performed for the film include:

## Release

### Theatrical and streaming

The film premiered on May 5, 2024, in Hollywood. It was theatrically released in the United States on May 10, 2024, by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film was also available to stream on HBO Max in the United States 45 days after it released in theaters.

### Home media

The film was available for rent on July 23, 2024, while Warner Bros. Home Entertainment released it on DVD, Blu-ray, and digital on August 13, 2024.

## Reception

### Box office

*American Girl: Corinne Tan* grossed $15 million in the United States and Canada, and $24.8 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $68.4 million against a production budget of $29 million.

### Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 48% based on 120 reviews, with an average rating of 5.2/10. Metacritic gave the film a weighted average score of 42 out of 100, based on 39 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported 78% of audience members gave it a positive score, with 59% saying they would definitely recommend it.

## Gallery

*Main article: American Girl: Corinne Tan/Gallery*
## Trivia

* This is Cartoon Network's twelfth 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*, which was released in this year.
* The first theatrically released live-action movie to be based on a doll line ever since Barbie (2023).
* Will Brisbin was actually 17 years old at the time of filming for this movie.
* Azrael Araujo's debut.
* This also serves as the first time Xavier Patterson starred in a feature-length film in general and from Cartoon Network. Prior to *American Girl: Corinne Tan*, he has done voice work in *Summer Camp Island*.
* This is the second of two films to star Will Brisbin, the first being *PAW Patrol: The Movie*, released in 2021.
* The characters, Corinne and Gwynn, who play sisters in the movie, are actually real life sisters Miya Cech and Kai Cech.
* The film is set in Aspen, Colorado, but nothing mentioned in the movie is geographically accurate. A majority of it was filmed in Alberta, Canada.
* Sab Shimono (*Jackie Chan Adventures*, *Samurai Jack*, *Justice League Unlimited*, *Legion of Super Heroes*, *Ben 10: Race Against Time* and *The Boondocks*) and Xavier Patterson (*Summer Camp Island*) have both starred in other Cartoon Network projects.
* Before the teaser trailer was released, Deadline reported that the film will be rated PG by the MPA.

## Transcripts

### Main Transcript

*Main article: American Girl: Corinne Tan/Transcript*
### Trailer transcripts

*Main article: American Girl: Corinne Tan/Trailer transcripts*
## Credits

*Main article: American Girl: Corinne Tan/Credits*