Eduardo (film)

Eduardo is an upcoming Mexican-American animated surrealistic mystery romantic drama television film posthumously directed by the late Kenneth Dumont, who committed suicide by hanging during mid-production. French Donovan was thereafter hired as a co-director as an attempt to finalize the film's production. The CC (Cartoon Comedy) and Animixicano Producciones, a relatively small and independent Mexican animation film studio, are the studios behind its production. Originally visualized as a 17-episode miniseries set for a June 26, 2020 airing, it was retooled halfway through production as a 2-hour television film that was moved down a year to June 28, 2019. Footage that was directed by Dumont will be utilized as well.[1]

Plot
Eduardo, a selective mute with endearing social anxiety, becomes acquainted, and eventually falls for, transferring student Leon. As this attraction for him endures through his freshman year of high school, he also deals with the large amount of attention his medium-sized town receives after the fictional former 42nd President of the United States Mick Johnson, who passes away at 96, is set to have his burial right there as he grew up there. Along the way, he develops a relationship with Leon and harnesses an unexplained connection towards the deceased President, one he is adamant on uncovering.

Voice cast
Additionally, Kevin Conroy, Wilson Cruz, and Retta have been cast in undisclosed roles.[2][3]
 * Jake T. Austin as Eduardo, a 16-year old selective mute whose condition is gradually lessening with the help of his therapist Meredith when he falls for Leon. In an interview, Austin commented that he had to learn Spanish for the role of Eduardo.[1]
 * Trevor Jackson as Leon, Eduardo's acquaintance and target of affections; he is a transferring student who's introverted and finds difficulties in befriending other people.[1]
 * Oscar Isaac as Alfredo, Eduardo's father who shows more compassion and understanding towards him and his condition but is somewhat emotionally distant. He and his wife hint at a divorce in the film, but it is never explicitly stated nor finalized.[1]
 * Marina de Tavira as Narcissa, Eduardo's chatterbox mother who works 3 odd jobs to support her family (as her husband's minimum-wage job at a Spanish-language bookstore does not sustain mortgage) and barely has friends. She is insinuated to suffer from an anxiety disorder which may have been passed down to Eduardo and provoked his SM. Narcissa's dialogue will be entirely Spanish, as the voice actress Marina de Tavira is solely fluent in Spanish, with English subtitles provided for the dialogue.[1]
 * Mia Xitlali as Mercedes, Eduardo's 11-year old sister who shows more generosity towards him than perhaps anyone else, but is otherwise uninterested in his shenanigans.[4]
 * Ellen Page as Meredith, Eduardo's speech therapist who strives to make him feel comfortable talking rather than exert him to speak.[1]
 * Jim Parsons as Reynolds, a possibly older student at Eduardo's school who also suffers from selective mutism and seeks a friendship with him, in spite of Eduardo's unwillingness. Parsons replaces Alex Wolff, who was listed as Reynolds' voice actor until it was revealed he had actually dropped out of the role a day into production and quickly replaced by Parsons. [1]
 * Jon Voight as Mick Johnson, the fictional and former 42nd President of the United States who passes away at the beginning of the film at the age of 96 due to a broken heart following the death of his 95-year old wife and former First Lady Anastasia Johnson. Throughout the rest of the film, Eduardo finds himself deeply connected to Mick and sets to find out why exactly. Johnson was loosely inspired by the late George H.W. Bush, who was the 41st President of the United States.[1]
 * Ellen DeGeneres as Ellen Johnson, Mick Johnson's 65-year old politician daughter who assists Eduardo when he believes he is spiritually connected to her father. She is partially inspired by Laura Bush, who is George H.W.'s daughter-in-law in reality.

Production
The film was initially developed as a 17-episode miniseries (16 episodes each running for 5 minutes, and a 40-minute series finale) under the placeholder title Whatever It Takes, that was set to air on June 26, 2020, to commemorate LGBT Pride Month and the Stonewall riots (which occurred on June 28, 1969). Production began sometime in 2017, but halfway through production, Kenneth Dumont committed suicide. As he only directed 45 minutes of footage for the miniseries, French Donovan, a fellow animation director who worked on PikaRap for The CC (Cartoon Comedy), took over as director for the duration of production. Afterwards, the miniseries received its official title: Eduardo.

During San Diego Comic-Con 2018, on a panel for The CC (Cartoon Comedy), it was announced by French Donovan himself that the Eduardo miniseries concept had been scrapped and instead would be retooled as a 2-hour film instead. Despite this, it was still set for June 26, 2020. Following The CC (Cartoon Comedy)'s 2019 programming slate announcement on March 13, 2019, the film was moved down a year to June 28, 2019, on the anniversary of the beginning of the Stonewall riots.

Jake T. Austin had to learn Spanish for some of movie's scenes, a process he would later admit in an interview with Variety was "very tasking for my brain and mouth, simultaneously", but in the end, "rewarding for each of them."

Casting
Nothing concerning casting would be announced until February 9, 2019, when a description and two voice actors, Oscar Isaac and Marina de Tavira (whose roles were undisclosed, but later revealed as Eduardo's parents, Alfredo and Narcissa, respectively), would materialize on TheCC.net website. Jake, T. Austin, Trevor Jackson, and Ellen Page, were later announced as part of the cast on February 14, 2019 as Eduardo, Leon, and Eduardo's speech therapist, Meredith, respectively. The CC.net website also added a page for the movie on the same day and announced in a blurb that more information not concerning casting would "come out" at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con. After the film was moved to June 28, 2019, however, the panel for Eduardo was promptly scrapped, and instead new cast members and information was released concurrent with the announcement. Jon Voight and Ellen DeGeneres would join the cast on April 22, 2019, as Mick Johnson, the fictional and deceased 42nd President of the United States whom Eduardo feels a spiritual connection towards, and his daughter Ellen Johnson, respectively. Kevin Conroy and Wilson followed suit on May 5, 2019, although their role in the film were undisclosed. Retta was also cast not even a week after the previous casting announcement, on May 11, 2019, but her role was left undisclosed as well.

Although Alex Wolff was initially cast as the voice of Reynolds (another selective mute who attempts to befriend the main character Eduardo), it was reported by press releases that he had dropped out only a day into the film's production and, in actuality, Jim Parsons (noticeable for his starring role on The Big Bang Theory) provided his voice for the film's entirety.

Music
Frequent The CC (Cartoon Comedy) song and soundtrack composer Samuel England was once again commissioned to compose the film's soundtrack, which will compose of R&B and pop music. On April 20, 2019, Frank Ocean and Daniel Caesar both announced that they had recorded a song for Eduardo entitled "Nostalgia", while ILoveMakonnen also made an announcement that he too wrote an original song for the film called "When Love Springs". Rapper Logic later announced on April 25, 2019, that he had performed an original song called "Standing Ovation". Miguel followed suit two weeks later on May 9, 2019, declaring in an interview that he had written and performed a song called "War-Torn Nations" solely for the film.

Release
During its conception as a 17-episode miniseries, Eduardo was originally scheduled to premiere on June 26, 2020. After it was recut as a 2-hour television film, the film retained its original air date for a while before it was moved down from a year to June 28, 2019, in order to concur with the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots.

Marketing
The film's official trailer was intentionally left out of airing in 2018 following the then-miniseries' reshoots to accommodate it for film standards. It finally premiered unannounced on April 30, 2019, and incorporated Selena's "Dreaming of You" as the background song. A week later, on May 7, 2019, the first TV spot for the film aired, which utilized the song "The Writer" by Ellie Goulding in the background.

Reception
The trailer's release on broadcast television and social media platforms prompted an overwhelmingly positive reception from both online users and film critics, who used terms such as "sweeping" and "refreshingly beautiful" to describe the trailer.

Critical reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film currently holds a 99% approval rating based on 7 reviews, and has an average rating of 7.497/10.