| Magic Tree House | |
|---|---|
| Directed by |
Mark Fergus Hawk Ostby |
| Produced by |
Audrey Wells David K. Lovegren David W. King Stephen Swofford Mary Pope Osborne Will Osborne |
| Screenplay by |
Alexa Junge Will Osborne Jenny Laird Mark Fergus Hawk Ostby |
| Story by |
Cheryl Edwards Alexa Junge Mark Fergus Hawk Ostby Mary Pope Osborne Will Osborne Jenny Laird |
| Based on |
Magic Tree House by Mary Pope Osborne |
| Starring |
Owen Laramore Taylor Goll Kathy Najimy Danny DeVito Antonio Banderas |
| Music by |
Hans Zimmer John Powell |
| Cinematography | Cory Rocco Florimonte |
| Edited by | Ken Schretzmann |
| Production companies |
Walt Disney Pictures Dice Productions |
| Distributed by |
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
| Release date |
September 28, 2018 (El Capitan Theatre) October 12, 2018 (United States) |
| Running time | 110 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $200 million |
| Box office | $1.522 billion |
Magic Tree House is a 2018 American animated musical adventure film produced by Dice Productions and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. Directed by Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby in their feature directorial debuts, it is loosely based on the book series of the same name by Mary Pope Osborne. The film stars the voices of Owen Laramore, Taylor Goll (in their film debuts), Kathy Najimy, Danny DeVito, and Antonio Banderas. In the film, Jack and Annie (who are to become Master Librarians), Morgan la Ley, and the wise-yet-eccentric wizard Merlin must unite people from the world's different countries against certain doom plotted by a tyrannical overlord who plots to unite them under his evil rule.
Magic Tree House premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles on September 28, 2018, and was theatrically released in the United States on October 12, by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It was Dice's last film released during Audrey Wells' lifetime before her death. The film received universal acclaim from critics and audiences and was commercially successful, grossing $1.522 billion worldwide. It is the first Dice film to surpass $1 billion in worldwide ticket sales, the second highest-grossing film of 2018, the highest-grossing animated film of 2018, the seventh animated film to pass $1 billion, the eighth highest-grossing animated film of all time, and Dice's highest-grossing non-Vanellope & Friends film at the time, as well as its highest-grossing film overall at the time, until Vanellope & Friends: Time Travel surpassed it in 2019. At the 91st Academy Awards, it was nominated for Best Original Song (for "Harmony Takes Voices"), Best Picture, and Best Animated Feature; It was also the fourth animated film in history to be nominated for the Best Picture category. A sequel, Magic Tree House 2, was released on April 19, 2024.
Cast[]
- Owen Laramore as Jack, a ten-and-a-half-year-old boy and Annie's brother.
- Taylor Goll as Annie, a nine-year-old girl and Jack's sister.
- Kathy Najimy as Morgan la Fey, the owner of the Magic Tree House.
- Danny DeVito as Merlin the Magician, a magician.
- Antonio Banderas as Overlord Zigness, an aggressive and zealous overlord who aims to unite the world under his rule.
- Hiroyuki Sanada as Ken'ichi, a go-kart racer from Japan.
- Adèle Exarchopoulos as Léa, an artist from Paris.
- Jackie Chan as Sensei Xiaoming, a karateka from China.
- Lupita Nyong'o as Nomalonga, a kora-player from African
- Judi Dench as Meryl, an elderly umbrella-flyer from London.
- Lombardo Boyar as de la Ricardo, a mariachi musician from Mexico.
- Bianca Comparato as Bruna, a samba dancer from Brazil.
- Enrico Brignano as Silvio, a spaghetti chef from Italy.
- Bindi Irwin as Darla, a outback zookeeper from Australia.
Box office[]
In the United States, Magic Tree House was released alongside The Happytime Murders and A.X.L., and was projected to gross $134 million in its opening weekend; in that opening weekend, it grossed $570 million, including $17 million from Thursday night previews, among the highest for an animated film. It grossed $711 million in the United States and Canada, and $811 million in other territories, marking the record for the fastest animated film to pass the $1 billion mark, marking it in just 14 days, until Vanellope & Friends: Time Travel took over in 2019. It ended its theatrical run on July 30, 2019, having grossed $1.522 billion worldwide, and, produced on a $200 million budget, it was a commercial success at the box office, exceeding Osbourne's expectations and impressing Disney.
Critical response[]
Magic Tree House received universal acclaim from critics. The film holds a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 240 reviews. The consensus reads, "Led by a well-chosen cast including newcomer Owen Laramore and Lulu Wilson, Magic Tree House retains the spirit of Mary Pope Osborne's best-selling series while simultaneously proving itself among Disney and Dice's best animated films". On Metacritic, the film has a score of 95 out of 100 based on 50 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of "A+" on an A+ to F scale.