El Americano: The Movie
El Americano: The Movie | |
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Directed by |
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Screenplay by |
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Story by |
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Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Ricardo de la Rosa |
Edited by | Grecia Villar |
Music by | |
Distributed by |
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Release dates | |
Running time | 87 minutes |
Countries | Mexico United States |
Languages | Spanish English |
Budget | $4 million[7] [8] |
El Americano: The Movie (also known as Americano
The first major animated co-production between studios in Mexico and the United States,[9][16] it is also the first international and CG production for Animex, as well it being its fourth film.[12][15][16] FilmSharks International announced that they have acquired the film's international rights.[16]
The film was released in
Premise
Cuco is a Mexican boy parrot that would rather imitate the crazy stunts of his TV super-parrot hero, El Americano than help with his chores at the family bird circus. Yet when a gang of bully birds threatens his ringmaster father and takes over the circus, Cuco sets off on a hilarious and full of Mexican ads journey to Hollywood to enlist his hero in his fight, only to discover the true hero within himself.
Cast
- English cast[7]
- Rico Rodriguez[18] as Cuco
- Kate del Castillo[18] as Rayito*
- Cheech Marin[18] as Martin
- Gabriel Iglesias[18] as Garza García
- Lisa Kudrow[18] as Lucille Van Starr*
- Edward James Olmos[18] as Gayo "El Jefe"*
- Grecia Villar[19] as Paquito*
- Paul Rodriguez[18] as Divino*
- Argelia Atilano[18] as Lori*
- Ricardo Sanchez[18] as Vovo*
- Erik Estrada[18] as Ponch Wingstall*
- Adal Ramones[18] as Trueno*
- Don Cheto[18] as Dovo*
- Héctor Suárez[18] as Eddie Navarro*
- Pierre Angelo as El Mexicano*
- Spanish cast
- Aleks Syntek[20] as Cuco
- Gabriel Villar[21] as Martin
- Mino D'Blanc[22] as Garza García
^* Those cast members have also voiced their respective characters in the Spanish-language version.[7]
Production
Development
Production began in January 2011 when director/writer and Animex founder, Ricardo Arnaiz, became interested in doing an American co-production after the box-office disappointment of Nikté at his home country,[7] knowing that U.S.-produced films do better at the Mexican film market.[7] The idea of the film's plot was brought up when he visited the United States and met producer Gerry Cardoso, who brought up the idea of birds, traveling from Spain to Mexico.[7] Arnaiz insisted to change the setting to the United States.[7] “I said it would be great to make them go from Mexico to the United States, so we started from that,” said Arnaiz.[7] “We were very careful to be respectful of both countries. We wanted to tell a story about how borders are just a line on a map and when you are honest and you do things the right way there are a lot of possibilities out there for everybody.”[7] Bringing the project to the United States was one of the biggest challenges in the film's development.[5]
He later met actor Edward James Olmos, when he found that Olmos was "a hit" and a fan of La leyenda de la Nahuala.[7][23] After reading the script, Olmos agreed to join the film's production team and voice cast.[10] “We’re delighted to be working with Edward James Olmos and his production company here in the US. It's a story we have been working on for the last three years and we feel we have a really strong team in place to execute this film scheduled in 2013.”[24]
"At the opening of the FICM to present the progress of this project is important because Animex [was] born in Puebla 13 years ago, and is the fourth film and will for many more, with El Americano, we ventured to the U.S. and we want to impact [a] Hollywood film [...]" |
— Ricardo Arnaiz, director and co-writer of Americano[25] |
On 26 September 2013, the film was presented at
Animation
The visual effects and animation production were done by Boxel Studio in
Later, after being impressed by Boxel Studios' works, Arnaiz has decided to partner with the studio, which primarily focuses on animation for
Casting
The film features a distinctive ensemble voice cast, primarily consisting of famous
On 17 April 2013, actress Lisa Kudrow has joined the voice cast as Lucille in both English and Spanish versions.[30][31] She is the only non-Hispanic cast member.[30]
Music
The film's original score was composed by
The soundtrack features 12 original songs written and composed by various Latin artists, and three score pieces composed by Leoncio Lara Bon.[3] The album features the song "Hasta el Cielo Alcanzar" (film's main song) written and performed by six-time Latin GRAMMY nominated Aleks Syntek. The album also contains songs by La Arrolladora Banda Limón, Los Tucanes de Tijuana, 3Ball Mty. featuring Don Cheto, Amanditita, Duelo, Horacio Palencia and many more. The Soundtrack is produced by Gerry Cardoso, Ricardo Arnaiz and Tomas Rubio.
Release and reception
Premiere and theatrical
The film premiered at the
It had an advanced screening at the 22nd Annual San Diego Film Festival on 14 March 2015.
As of 2016, the film had been distributed in many countries throughout
The film has faced numerous delays before its release; the film was originally intended for release September 2013 release, then a Summer 2014 release, and then a Summer 2015 release.[36][44] In Mexico, the film was released on January 22, 2016 in Digital 3D and 2D theaters.[5]
Originally planned for a theatrical release to open at about 1,200 theaters across the United States distributed by
Immigration impact
The film focuses on immigration, in which protagonist Cuco and his friends travel to the Mexico–United States border.[47] Edward James Olmos, the film's executive producer and voice of Gayo, found this film a perfect opportunity for thousands of Mexican children for them to know their roots.[47] "There are successful films that are very strong, but it goes straight to the hearts of children," said Olmos during a press conference in Mexico City, promoting the film.[47] "The policy of this film is beautiful! Ricardo Arnaiz is homered as ever! As Erik Estrada's character [said] in the film: 'You could fly nonstop, but they came here [to America]. What fun!'"[47] Olmos also hoped that this film could revisit the ongoing illegal immigration epidemic in the United States, and reform then-President Barack Obama to legalize millions of undocumented immigrants in the country.[47]
Rating in Mexico controversy
Upon its theatrical release in
Box office
Although the film was projected to open at #2 place at the Mexican box office. the film however, as an independently released film, it is considered a moderate box-office success, releasing in only 129 locations, and topping other independent releases, such as
Critical response
The film has received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film received a 40% approval rating based on 5 reviews, with an average score of 2/10.[53]
Future
Director Ricardo Arnaiz has expressed plans for a sequel, with the support of executive producer Edward James Olmos.[54] However, they want the proceeding film to be successful and reach 200 copies by the film's second week in theaters.[54] There has not been any further information regarding a planned sequel.
References
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- ^ a b c d Milligan, Mercedes (19 April 2017). "'Americano' Flies Home with Lionsgate on June 13". Animation Magazine. Animation Magazine. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
- ^ a b "Leoncio Lara Bon". Twitter. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
- ^ Cardoso, Gerry. "Anahuac Films". California Film Foundation. California Film Foundation. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Estrenan primera animación coproducida entre México y EU". IMCINE. Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografía. 15 January 2016. Archived from the original on 26 January 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
- ^ a b c Hopewell, John (11 February 2017). "Berlinale: Lionsgate's Grindstone Takes North America on 'El Americano' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Penske Business Media, LLC. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v McLean, Tom (21 February 2015). "Hometown Hero". Animation Magazine. Animation Magazine. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
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- ^ a b "Olmos Productions and Animex Join Forces on "El Americano: The Movie"". cartoonbrew.com. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
- ^ a b PRESENTAN “EL AMERICANO THE MOVIE” EN EL FESTIVAL INTERNACIONAL DE CINE DE MORELIA October 26, 2013
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- ^ a b "Presentan "El Americano: The Movie", coproducción México-EUA | Diario Rotativo". Diario Rotativo. 26 September 2013. Archived from the original on 17 October 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
- ^ Presentan “El Americano: The Movie”, coproducción México-EUA - Yahoo TV Archived 2013-12-06 at the Wayback Machine. Yahoo! TV. September 26, 2013
- ^ "El Americano Features Impressive Latino Cast - Latin Gossip". latingossip.com. Archived from the original on 22 March 2016. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
- ^ a b Seigh, Steve (1 January 2015). "Ink & Pixel: Special Edition: 2015 Animation Preview - Movie News". JoBlo.com. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
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- ^ a b "Reasons for Movie Ratings (CARA)". filmratings.com. Archived from the original on 26 January 2016. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
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