Mutafukaz (2017 Film)

The ***2017 Mutafukaz film*** (Japanese: **ムタフカズ**, English: **M★F★K★Z**) is a feature length movie adaptation of the **Mutafukaz** comic series. The film is a French-Japanese co-production between **Ankama Animations** and **Studio 4°C**, directed by **Shōjirō Nishimi** and **Guillaume "RUN" Renard**.

## Production

The idea of adapting **Mutafukaz** into an animated film began on April 20th, 2009, when representatives from **Ankama** visited **Studio 4\*C** to discuss a potential animated adaptation of **Dofus**. **Studio 4\*C** president **Eiko Tanaka** felt that **Mutafukaz** was much closer stylistically to their previous work (e.g. **Tekkonkinkreet**) than **Dofus**, and asked if they could work on adapting it instead. **RUN** was contacted shortly after and accepted.

The film's English dub was produced by the prolific anime dubbing studio, **NYAV Post**, and distributed by **GKIDS**. The ADR team consisted of **Amanda C. Miller** as scriptwriter (previously writing dubs for **Lastman** and **Lu Over The Wall**), **Michael Sinterniklass** as ADR director, with **Stephanie Sheh** as assistant ADR director and casting director. The cast included star talent, such as rappers **Vince Staples** and **RZA**, as well as actors **Danny Trejo**, **Dascha Polanco** and **Giancarlo Esposito**.

## Release

**Mutafukaz** had its world premiere on June 13th, 2017 at the **Annecy International Animation Film Festival**. The film was released in France on May 23rd, 2018.

**Parco** released the film in Japan on October 12th, 2018.

**GKIDS** released the English dub of the film in a limited theatrical run in the U.S. and Canada on October 11th and October 16th, 2018.

**Peppermint Anime GmbH** released a dub for screening in German cinemas on October 25th and October 28th, 2018.

**Media3 Estudio** premiered the Spanish dub of the film on April 25th, 2019.

On May 24th, 2021, the film was made available on **Netflix France**. It can only be watched with the original French audio track.

## Deviations from Source Material

**This section contains spoilers for the entirety of both the Mutafukaz film and the Mutafukaz comic.**

* Various character designs receive minor changes (for more information, see the **Appearance** section on each character's individual page).
* When **Vinz** tells **Angelino** to see a doctor, he refuses, saying that all they do is "*make you pay for bad news*". In the original comic, **Angelino** agrees and goes to get checked. The doctor turns out to be a Macho spy, and reports to his superiors that Lino's powers are awakening. It's unclear how the Machos learn this information in the film adaptation.
* **Pipo** and his restaurant are completely redesigned.
* **Willy** accompanies the two protagonists on their way to **Pipo's** and is later present during the alley fight. In the original comic, **Lino** meets up with **Vinz** after returning from the doctor, with **Willy** being absent from the aforementioned scenes.
* The choreography of the fight between **Angelino** and **Agent Crocodile** is changed slightly.
* The choreography of the fight between **Angelino** and **Section Z-7** is changed slightly.
* **Agent Crocodile** is added to scenes, accompanying **Bruce** before and after the **Z-7** apartment raid.
* **Popeye** is renamed to **Shakespeare**. His style of speech is changed to include Shakespearean quotes.

## Trivia

* With the release of the "***Mutafukaz Intégrale***" comic (a hardcover, compiled edition of volumes 1 through 5), a number of minor changes were retroactively added from **the film**. This includes a new page depicting the scene where **Vinz** loses his temper and rants about **Willy**, as well as a speech bubble with **Popeye's** triumphant line, *"he who lives by the sword dies by the sword"*.
* The film's Japanese dub makes significant changes to the pace and content of dialogue. Certain exchanges are shortened, with some jokes being cut entirely. In other places, dialogue is added; **Section Z-7** receives several new lines as well as more emotive vocalizations, such as grunts and heavy breathing. Some scenes have been changed to include **Angelino's** internal monologue and even narration.
* Leading up to its theatrical release in Japan, the film ran a short cross-promotion campaign with Japanese clothing brand **XLARGE**. Briefly, black and white colored *"**Vinz** Tees"* and *"**Angelino** Hoodies"* were available for purchase from the **XLARGE** site, for ￥6,500 and ￥13,000 respectively.
* One of the first promotional teasers for the **Mutafukaz film** introduced the hashtag *"#MachoConfirmed"*. This was used by **RUN** and fans of the comics to humorously imply that various mundane, everyday structures, appliances and even plants were actually created by the **Macho** conspiracy. The hashtag is also used more generally in any posts discussing the film.

## References

1. ↑ https://podcast.ausha.co/firstprintfra/mutafucast-ch8
2. ↑ https://sneakerhack.com/archives/54417
3. ↑ https://youtu.be/WngjMUpBalQ
4. ↑ https://twitter.com/CWalquan/status/612663850316509184
5. ↑ https://twitter.com/realMutafukaz/status/1271390681806917632
6. ↑ https://twitter.com/Mutafukaz/status/626016961227526144