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| Top Cat Begins | |
|---|---|
 Mexican theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Andrés Couturier[1] |
| Screenplay by | Jim Krieg[1] Doug Langdale[1] Jorge Ramírez-Suárez[1] |
| Based on | Top Cat byHanna-Barbera |
| Produced by | Fernando de Fuentes S. José C. García de Letona |
| Starring | Raúl Anaya Mauricio Pérez Jesús Guzmán Gerardo Alonso Mario Filio Octavio Rojas |
| Edited by | Patrick Danse |
| Music by | Leoncio Lara Bon[1] |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures (Mexico and Latin America)[2][3] Kaleidoscope Entertainment (international)[4] |
Release date |
|
Running time | 90 minutes[6] |
| Countries | India Mexico[1] United States |
| Languages | English Hindi Spanish |
| Budget | $8 million[7] |
| Box office | MX$54.1 million (US$4.6 million)[8][9] |
Top Cat Begins (also known in Spanish asDon Gato: El Inicio de la Pandilla,Top Cat: The Start of the Gang) is a 2015 computer-animatedcomedy film produced byÁnima Estudios and distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures in Mexico, with portions outsourced toPrana Studios and Discreet Arts Productions in India.[2] Based on theHanna-Barbera animated television seriesTop Cat, this film is a prequel to both the series and the previous film,Top Cat: The Movie, taking place before Top Cat met his gang.[7]
The film was first released in Mexico on October 30, 2015, where it was moderately successful, while underperforming its more successfulpredecessor which held the record as one of the biggest box-office openings in Mexican cinema history.[10] Its predecessor grossed a total of $112.25 million pesos domestically whileTop Cat Begins grossed a total $54.1 million pesos domestically.[8][11]
Internationally, the film was later released in the United Kingdom on May 27, 2016, distributed by Kaleidoscope Film Distribution and Warner Bros. UK,[3][12][13] where it was met with negative reviews and was a majorbox office bomb.[14][15][16]
The film was released in limited form on September 29, 2017, in the United States and later on October 10 in home video and digital platforms, distributed by Viva Pictures.[17][18] The film has grossed a worldwide total of $4.6 million on an $8 million budget.[19][20]
While inNew York City,Top Cat comes across a cat playing the violin poorly and asks him to stop.
The cat agrees to stop but needs more money to buy dough, Top Cat agreeing to help if he gets most of the money[clarification needed].
The cat introduces himself asBenny the Ball and the two make money with Benny playing the violin poorly.
At the end of the day, Top Cat suggests they should go to Mrs. B's place. On the way, they bump into two orphans who stole cakes from the bakery. Immediately, anOfficer Charlie Dibble attempts to arrest them but Top Cat protects them, lying to Dibble that they had been with him all day.
Dibble believes him and leaves the orphans. The orphans ask Top Cat to help them because if they don't get enough money, Bad Dog will burn the orphanage down.
Top Cat says he'll talk to him but Bad Dog beats him before he could say a word. Top Cat and Benny have stew for dinner at Mrs. B's place.
The next day, Top Cat and Benny pull cons on New York residents. TheNew York City Police Department notices their activities and assign Dibble to spy on the pair. Later that day, Top Cat and Benny go into an apartment to swindle more people. They ring the doorbell with Dibble answering the door, chasing them all over the city until he loses them. Top Cat and Benny then bump into Bad Dog and company. Bad Dog warns them to stop deceiving people and threatens to throw them in a garbage can. They find out that they work for Mr. Big and Top Cat plans to rob the place by switching the bags that Bad Dog has. Once they rob the place, Top Cat chooses Benny to keep it for him. Later in the night, Top Cat and Benny are at the Starlight Club, when they get taken to the kitchen and get knocked out. The two suddenly find themselves in Mr. Big's office. Mr. Big forces them to tell him where his diamonds are and Top Cat offers to show him.
Mr. Big agrees and tells Bad Dog to go with them. The trio go to Benny's house, where Top Cat asks Benny about the location of the diamonds. However, Benny forgot, Top Cat thus tricked Bad Dog and the two escape from the house. The next day, Mr. Big's goons make 'Wanted' posters for Top Cat and Benny, so they call Dibble to help them. Dibble suggests Granny Dibble should look after them so he escorts them to the train station.
Once they get to their destination, they meetGranny Dibble who isn't what they expected. She then forces them to do chores and eat crackers. While painting the fence, Top Cat gets knocked out by three cats from thecircus who got fired because they let out the lion. Top Cat agrees to help the three cats whose names areChoo-Choo,Fancy-Fancy andBrain but instead of helping them he tricks them into doing his chores. Later that day, they go to getice cream but, on the way, a gangster spots Top Cat and Benny and reports them to Bad Dog. Once they arrive home, Bad Dog and company attempts to kill them and Granny Dibble saves them. Top Cat and Benny return to New York in the evening and Top Cat gets mad at Benny because he spent money on achocolate bar. Benny then feels sad and walks away.
When Benny arrives home, his mother informs him that she sold the diamonds to a club owned by Mr. Big, The Starlight Club. Benny decides to steal the diamonds back. Later that night, Top Cat and Dibble begin looking for Benny. Meanwhile, Benny sneaks into the club, disguising himself as a singer but is exposed and chased around the club. Top Cat and Dibble arrive at the club but get chased down by an angrymob, unable to stop Benny's capture by Mr. Big's goons. Dibble sends Top Cat to Florida to keep him safe. At the airport, Top Cat has a revelation that he needs his friends help to rescue Benny, returns to New York and recruits the three circus cats Choo-Choo, Brain and Fancy-Fancy to help.
Top Cat reveals he knows a pizza cat, namedSpook who lost his true love, Eleanor the Motorcycle, because of Mr. Big who would be willing to help. The five make a plan to rescue Benny the Ball. Suddenly Mr. Big's goons shoot a pizza box and all there is a recording of Top Cat's voice and Top Cat disguises himself as a businessman and makes the residents chase down Mr. Big.[clarification needed]
Mr. Big attempts to escape by climbing up a chain, Top Cat and Benny cut the chain to stop him. The next day, Top Cat apologizes to Benny and tells his gang to meet him at Hoagy's Alley. The residents and Dibble send Mr. Big to prison. Later that day, Top Cat resolves to bury Mr. Big's diamonds under the alley but decides to give them to the two orphans. Top Cat's gang ends the film by singing the original theme song.
Additional voices includeDavid Shaughnessy, Nick Shakoour,Steve Blum,Grey DeLisle,Diane Michelle,Rachael MacFarlane, Pamela Chollet,Jim Ward,G. K. Bowes, Sean Kenin, and Sue Boyajian.
Following the success of the firstTop Cat film from 2011, the filmmakers atÁnima Estudios began development of another film based on theHanna-Barbera property, but with the idea of an origin story.[21] The originalTop Cat cartoon, which ran onABC from 1961 to 1962, has already gained massive popularity in Latin America during the time of its run, mainly due to the show's well-performed dubbing and translation.[22] The film was in development for 10 months.[21] While expressing their 'confidence', getting the rights of aHanna-Barbera property was difficult for the producers.[21] The company's rights to develop a film based onTop Cat had been previously accomplished for the2011 film, soWarner Bros., the current owner of all HB properties, maintained the same 'confidence' of working with the Mexican animation studio.[21] Producer Jose C. Garcia de Letona called the film "a work of persuasion and persistence" since he also stated that the company "knows and understands the character".[21]
Director Andrés Couturier, who has also directed another film adaptation of a classic animation property,Kung-Fu Magoo based onMr. Magoo, has been attached to direct the animated prequel film since he has grown up watching the originalHanna-Barbera cartoon, stating that the character has "influenced" him. "Some people say that the Don Gato (Top Cat) [character] in this movie looks a lot like me, [and] I think I [do] look a lot like him because my whole childhood was very influenced by the character, so I worked with a character who was with you during all your childhood [which] is incredible," said Couturier.[22]
Unlike the previous film, which was animated in 2D withAdobe Flash,Top Cat Begins was animated entirely withcomputer animation according to producer Jose Garcia de Letona.[2] Animation production is handled by Discreet Arts Productions inIndia, which previously collaborated with Ánima's past CG project,Guardians of Oz.[1] with additional animation production services were taken place inPrana Studios in Mumbai, India.
The animation process was an 'important' step for the entire company.[21] Producer Garcia de Letona has admitted that, despite the studio's interest for 2D animated productions, they wanted to reach a wider market focused on CG distribution. "[It's] a style that catches the attention of distributors," he said.[21]
Rafael González, the film's art director, stated that the film's animation was a "challenge" due to the production's full transition to CG. "It was a challenge[.] [I]t seemed important to preserve the graphic and aesthetic essence of the original series [-] that the character was still Don Gato (Top Cat) despite having been translated into this new volumetric universe," said González.[22] González, who also worked for the preceding film, was not familiar of the original cartoon at the time, but recognizing the popularity between in Latin America and the United States.[22] "I did not watch the series at the time[.] I knew it was broadcast, but I think it was very small," he said.[22] González also added that he, "had a great opportunity in the first film, [where] I had to do conceptual art, which is a great pride. I did not live in that era of Don Gato (Top Cat), so it was my turn when interest opened with the new film and now, with 'Don Gato, El Incio de la Pandilla' (Top Cat: The Start of the Gang), we are trying to present a new version for the new generations."[22]
The film's screenplay is written by James Krieg (known for writing theScooby-Doo television shows),Doug Langdale, and Jorge Ramírez-Suárez.[1] To help the plot match the premise of the original cartoon,Warner Bros. Animation has accompanied with the film's writing process, to which producer Garcia de Letona calls it "welcom[ing] and grateful[...]"[21] There are references to films likePsycho andReservoir Dogs and mentions of Hanna-Barbera characters Snagglepuss and Hair Bear.[citation needed]
For the English version,Jason Harris Katz, the voice of Top Cat and other characters from thefirst film, announced via his Twitter that he would reprise his role as the same character.[23] It was also announced that voice actorsChris Edgerly, Bill Lobley, Hope Levy, and David Hoffman, had joined the English cast.[12]
The film was composed byLeoncio Lara, who said "we wanted to show the spirit of the original show and that meant the music we wanted to keep that jazz Broadway feel to the movie but update it so it can fit the cinematic approach".[citation needed] The film also had popular pop and recognisable songs to get the kids to see the movie.[citation needed]
The film's Mexican release trailer premiered on 1 July 2015,[24][25][non-primary source needed] followed by second trailer, released on 14 September 2015.[26]
The film was released on 30 October 2015 in Mexico, distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures Mexico and confirmed to release in the rest of Latin America.[27]
The film is followed by a United Kingdom release on 27 May 2016, distributed by Kaleidoscope Film Distribution andWarner Bros. Pictures UK.[3][12] "We are very excited to be working withÁnima Estudios, [by] bringing this latest chapter ofTop Cat to a worldwide audience," said Spencer Pollard, CEO of KFD.[12] "As a leading global animation brand, we're looking forward to T.C. and his friends hitting [the] screens everywhere in 2016."[12] The film's UK release and English-language trailer was released on 8 March 2016.[28]
On its opening weekend inMexico,Top Cat Begins debuted at No. 3 with a gross of $18.1 millionpesos ($1.09 millionUSD),[29][30][31] performing weaker than itspredecessor.
On its opening weekend in the United Kingdom, the film was a majorbox-office bomb, debuting at No. 15, withX-Men: Apocalypse andAlice Through the Looking Glass leading, and only earning £60,000 ($100,000USD).[32][33][34]
The film was released onDVD in the United States on 10 October 2017 from Viva Pictures.[35]
The film has received negative reviews, with criticism focused on the animation, directing, pacing, writing and humor, but critics praised the film's dubbing and effort to revive theoriginal show's characters. OnRotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 14%, based on 7 reviews, with an average rating of 2.90/10.[36][37][38]
Carlos Del Río ofCine Premiere gave this film a 1 star rating, saying that the film has "[c]heated again. [The] Top Cat film fails to approach the spirit and humor of the TV series."[39] Eddie Harrison, writing inThe List, gave the film 3/5 stars, saying, "The feline favourite returns for a likeably familiar, knockabout animation. As withJ. J. Abrams'firstStar Trek movie, there's a reasonable amount of fun in seeing how the iconic characters originally met each other...director Andrés Couturier's film wisely scales things down as it attempts to get back to the comedic values of its source material."[40]
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