| Iké Boys | |
|---|---|
 Film poster byBob Eggleton | |
| Directed by | Eric McEver |
| Written by |
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| Story by | Eric McEver |
| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Ed Wu |
| Music by | Rob Tunstall |
| Distributed by | Shout! Factory |
Release date |
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Running time | 88 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Languages | English Japanese |
Iké Boys is a 2021 Americanmixed mediafantasy film directed by Eric McEver and starringQuinn Lord, Ronak Gandhi, and Christina Higa as three teenagers who acquire superpowers from a magicalanime film.Billy Zane,Yumiko Shaku, andBen Browder are featured in supporting roles.[1]
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Best friends Shawn Gunderson and Vikram ‘Vik’ Kapoor escape from the drudgery of high school life in Oklahoma through their obsession with all things Japanese. When a mysterious anime film transforms them into its superhuman characters, they at first think that their wildest fantasies have come true. But when ancient monsters threaten to unleash the apocalypse on New Year's Eve of 1999, Shawn and Vik must look to each other to become the heroes they were always meant to be. Joining their adventure is Miki, a Japanese exchange student whose determination to go on a Native American vision quest puts her on a collision course with both Shawn and Vik and their foes... and whose destiny may determine the fate of the world.
Production took place inOklahoma at the beginning of 2020, with postproduction conducted during theCOVID-19 pandemic.[citation needed] The original2D animation was produced by teams in France and Taiwan, paying stylistic homage to Japaneseanime of the 1980s and 1990s.[2] The climactic battle was produced by a team of Japanesetokusatsu veterans, with explosives detonated using the same pyrotechnics rig as inGodzilla.[3]
The film premiered at theFantastic Fest on September 26, 2021.[4][5][6][7] It had its international premiere at theBucheon International Fantastic Film Festival on July 7, 2022.[8] It also screened at the 2022Boston Science Fiction Film Festival, where it won the award for Best Editing,[9] the 2022Phoenix Film Festival,[10] and the 2022Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival.[11]Shout! Studios acquired the North American rights to the film, which was released on October 11, 2022.[12]
Since its release the film has been featured at a variety of fan events, includingSan Diego Comic-Con,[13]Otakon,[14]G-Fest,[15] andAnime Boston.[16]
The film received positive reviews. On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes,100% of 11 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.10/10.[17] Robert Daniels ofThe New York Times wrote that, "What “Iké Boys” lacks in budget, it makes up for in ingenuity and spirit... when the big emotional beats arrive, this tight, emotive cast delivers the theme of being yourself no matter what, with aplomb."[18] Harris Dang of In Their Own League called the film"a charming, entertaining and goofy trifle that honours its inspirations with love and respect while providing a warm story about will resonate with young audiences about passion, adventure and friendship."[19] Amelia Emberwing ofSlash Film gave the film a positive review and wrote, "The earnest nature of the film is both its greatest strength and its greatest weakness. But I'll take dorky earnestness over cool glibness any day."[20] Andrew Mack ofScreen Anarchy also gave it a positive review and wrote, "The action is just a fun way to reward yourself for learning something other than how to land a proper hero stance off your living room couch."[21]