| Toys To Life | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Owen Laramore |
| Produced by | Owen Laramore Taylor Goll |
| Screenplay by | Chris Jenkins Frank E. Flowers Irene Mecchi |
| Story by | Owen Laramore Taylor Goll Chris Jenkins Frank E. Flowers Irene Mecchi |
| Starring | Jimmy Fallon Claire Crosby Will Arnett Idina Menzel Catherine O'Hara James Corden Christopher Lloyd Bill Hader Jenny Slate |
| Music by | John Powell |
| Edited by | Andy Keir |
| Production company |
Owen Laramore Studios |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
| Release date | February 28, 2020 |
| Running time | 94 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $71--75 million |
| Box office | $490 million |
Toys to Life is a 2020 American animated comedy film directed by Owen Laramore in his feature directorial debut from a screenplay by Chris Jenkins, Frank E. Flowers, and Irene Mecchi. Produced by Owen Laramore Studios as its first feature-length film, the film features the voices of Jimmy Fallon, Claire Crosby, Will Arnett, Idina Menzel, Catherine O'Hara, James Corden, Christopher Lloyd, Bill Hader, and Jenny Slate. Set in Toytown, a town inhabited by anthropomorphic toys, The story centers on a museum tour guide who searches for the long lost "Lamp of Amazement" to save the museum from closure. However, he has two problems: The supposed "giant lava lamp" turns out to be small, and accompanying him is an orphaned girl who wants to be adopted.
Toys To Life was released across the United States on February 28, 2020 by Warner Bros. Pictures. It became a critical and commercial success, grossing over $490 million worldwide, becoming the third highest-grossing film of 2020. This was the the only film from the studio to be released under the "Owen Laramore Studios" name before it became "HumboldtMation" in 2021. It was also the last commercially successful mainstream Hollywood movie before the impact on cinemas by the COVID-19 pandemic. Toys To Life was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. It started the Toys To Life franchise with three sequels, Toys To Life 2, Toys To Life 3, and Toys To Life 4, on August 23, 2023, May 21, 2027, and August 3, 2035, and a spin-off prequel, Toys To Life: Murray's Beginnings, on August 3, 2029.
Plot[]
In Toytown, a small town inhabited by anthropomorphic talking toys, a blue snowboarder toy named Murray Playskool is a tour guide at the Toytown Museum, who works with its owner, a fat, elderly old man toy named Mr. Rutherford and his family consisting of co-workers and friends: Ian the lion, Tina the train, Ouch the giant pillow penguin, Robone the robot dog, Ribbit the baseball-sized frog, four Let's Go Fishin' fish, the Fishies, Mamo the dump truck and her daughter Little Spence, and Mousey the tiny mouse-like elephant. Anji the Christmas ornament and her students are the only regular visitors. In a far-away toy orphanage, an orphaned 5-year-old toy girl named RaeLynn grows weary of living in the orphanage without a parent to be adopted, loved, and cared for by, and sets out on a journey to find one.
One day, Murray learns from Rutherford that the museum might shut down due to declining in popularity. Saanvi, a selfish Bionicle toy, plots to turn the museum into a bicycle parking storage the next week. Saanvi suggests Murray retire, but he concocts an idea to bring in the Lava Lamp of Amazement to save the museum. While Mr. Rutherford is delighted, as he had been searching for it years ago, Saanvi agrees to give him a whole week to do so on the condition that shall he fail, the museum will be torn down. With the week to spare, Murray enlists the help of the family, and they travel to a toy forest. Murray and his friends find the Lava Lamp of Amazement, which they hope will attract costumers, but it turns out to be smaller. A despairing Murray sends a photograph of the Lava Lamp of Amuzement, but the photograph's angle leads Rutherford to believe it is larger than he thought. Murray and his friends return to Toytown with the small Lava Lamp of Amazement, with RaeLynn in tow, still not wanting to be alone in the orphanage.
Back in Toytown, Murray and his friends find advertisements for the lava lamp all over the place. In John's apartment building, RaeLynn explores around the apartment, eventually making her way to the penthouse, where she adds color onto the walls of Murray's neighbor, Mrs. Natasha, with paint. When the doorman, Vygo, discovers RaeLynn, he evicts Murray because of children being strictly prohibited from the apartment. At the museum, Murray and the group reveal the lava lamp's size to Mr. Rutherford. Saanvi gathers the crowd for questions when Toytown will see the lamp. Murray is reluctant to answer, believing everyone seeing the lava lamp's small size would jeopardize the museum's future and his career. The group is kicked out by Saanvi after Rebecca climbs up a huge cardboard Argentinosaurus skeleton and accidentally breaking it.
When Murray and RaeLynn are forced to sleep outside, RaeLynn optimistically assures Murray that they can solve the Lava Lamp of Amusement's size issue, and he reluctantly agrees to let her help him and his friends. The next day, Murray decides to take the lava lamp to his friend Mad, an inventor, to find a way to make the lava lamp bigger. However, RaeLynn sees a playground and decides to go there to make friends with other kids. Murray and the gang follow her into the playground, finding her playing with the kids from Anji's class, who are there for a field trip. RaeLynn floats away on helium balloons that are popped by bird control spikes, but Murray uses some balloons and a kite to float after her come to her rescue. As they fly over Toytown using Murray's kite, Murray begins to bond with the girl.
Murray and RaeLynn meet up with Mad and the group at his apartment. RaeLynn discovers that an overhead projector makes the lava lamp appear 25 feet tall. Murray, RaeLynn and his friends drive to take the projector to the museum. At the museum, they use the projector to make the lava lamp appear the right size to show Saanvi and Mr. Rutherford. Though Saanvi tries to convince Mr. Rutherford that this would fool the public, Mr. Rutherford is oblivious, seeing this as the only way to save the museum. When RaeLynn takes Saanvi's drink of latte, she accidentally spills some latte on the projector, causing it to explode. With his plan derailed, Murray sadly addresses the crowd outside, saying the museum is to close forever, and revealing the lamp's small size to the crowd, who leave, disappointed that the lava lamp isn't as big as they hoped; his friends leave as well. Because RaeLynn caused him to lose everything, Murray disowns her and allows Ms. Meg (who he called the night before) to retrieve and take her to the orphanage, believing it to be for the best.
Alone, Murray is constantly reminded of his fun with RaeLynn. Murray talks with Anji, who helps him understand what is more important in life than the museum. Regretting his decision to let RaeLynn be taken back to the orphanage, Murray races after RaeLynn. With the help of his friends, Murray approaches a huge cargo aircraft headed for the orphanage which RaeLynn has been stored in. Murray sneaks onto the plane just before it takes off. Murray sets RaeLynn free, explains to her that nothing (including the museum's closure) matters besides the two of them, and accepts her as his daughter. RaeLynn discovers that the small lava lamp reveals a pitcogram when turned to sunlight. The two realize the inscription: when held up to the sun, the small lava lamp is actually a map to the real lava lamp. Murray, Raelynn and their friends head back to the forest and finally find the real Lava Lamp of Amusement.
The real Lava Lamp of Amazement is finally put in the museum, which goes back in business and becomes more successful than ever, and a new kids' zone is opened, frequently funded by Murray, his friends, Mad, and his inventions. Saanvi gets a job as a bike valet, and, despite being distraught over not getting her bike storage, finds joy in Mr. Rutherford finally being proud of her. Vygo also allows Murray to move back into his apartment out of a new fondness for RaeLynn. The toys praise Murray and RaeLynn (now father and daughter) as heroes, and Mr. Rutherford decrees the museum is to permanently stay open.
Cast[]
- Jimmy Fallon as Murray Playskool, a blue snowboarder action figure and a museum tour guide.
- Claire Crosby as RaeLynn, a young girl who Murray has to adopt.
- Christopher Lloyd as Mr. Rutherford, the elderly owner of the Toytown Museum.
- Bill Hader as Saanvi, a Bionicle toy who intends to replace the museum with a bicycle parking storage.
- Will Arnett as Ian, a toy lion and one of Murray's friends.
- Idina Menzel as Tina, a toy train and one of Murray's friends.
- Catherine O'Hara as Ouch, a pillow-sized toy penguin resembling a Dachshund who is one of Murray's friends.
- James Corden as Robone, a robotic dog and one of Murray's friends.
- Pamela Adlon as Ribbit, a baseball-sized frog toy and one of Murray's friends.
- Chris Jenkins as The Fishies:
- Yellow
- Red
- Blue
- Green
- Brooklynn Prince and Ana Ortiz as Little Spence and Mamo, a dump truck mother and daughter duo who are friends of Murray.
- Sarah Vowell as Mousey, a 2-inch-tall elephant toy and Little Spence's best friend.
- Jenny Slate as Anji, a Christmas ornament who is a teacher and Murray's love interest.
- Warwick Davis as Mad, a genius inventor and John's friend.
- Michael K. Williams as Vygo, an often hot-tempered doorman who dislikes children and strictly enforces the apartment's "no children allowed" policy and suspects Murray of having one with him.
- Jodie Whittaker as Ms Meg, the owner of the orphanage where RaeLynn grows tired of living in.
- Estelle Harris as Mrs. Natasha, Murray's wealthy neighbor whose walls are painted by RaeLynn. This was Harris' last animated feature before her death in 2022.
Reception[]
Box office[]
Toys To Life opened on February 28, 2020 in the United States and was projected to gross anywhere around $40--45 million in its opening weekend. After earning $290 million in its four-day opening weekend, the film has grossed $191 million in North America and $299 million internationally, for a total of $490 million worldwide, against a production budget of $71--75 million. It was a commercial success, despite its theatrical run being cut significantly cut short after the impact on cinema by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Critical response[]
Toys To Life received near-universal acclaim from film critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 94% approval rating based on 239 reviews. The consensus reads, "With an all-star voice cast, a well-though-out narrative, spectacularly-crafted animation that's a feast for the eyes, Toys To Life is something deserving of a successful animated filmmaking debut for Owen Laramore". On Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, the film has a score of 81 out of 100 based on 30 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.