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Vanellope's Rhyme Time Movie is a 2017 American live-action/animated musical film based on the popular children's television series Vanellope and Friends created by Jule Selbo and Jenny Wingfield. It was directed by Norton Virgien and Chris Nee (the latter in her directorial debut) and executive-produced by John Lasseter from a screenplay by Jeffrey M. Howard. The film stars Giselle Eisenberg, Vivienne Marcheline Jolie-Pitt, Izaac Wang, Lidya Jewett, and Luke Judy, with Julie Andrews as Mother Goose and the voice of Sarah Silverman as Vanellope von Schweetz. In the film, Emily has a hard time attempting to write her own Mother Goose rhyme, so Vanellope enlists the help of Mother Goose to help. The score was composed by Michael A. Lavine.

Vanellope's Rhyme Time Movie
Directed by	Norton Virgien Chris Nee
Produced by	Paul Sabella Jonathan Dern
Screenplay by	Jeffrey M. Howard
Story by	Jule Selbo Jenny Wingfield
Based on	Vanellope and Friends by Jule Selbo Jenny Wingfield
Starring	Sarah Silverman Giselle Eisenberg Vivienne Marcheline Jolie-Pitt Izaac Wang Lidya Jewett Luke Judy Julie Andrews
Music by	Michael A. Lavine
Cinematography	Moria Morel
Edited by	Mark A. Hester
Production companies	Walt Disney Pictures Disneytoon Studios SD Entertainment
Distributed by	Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Release date	March 25, 2017 (United States and Germany) March 26, 2017 (Canada) March 27, 2017 (United Kingdom)
Running time	80 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$20 million
Box office	$55 million

Produced by Disneytoon Studios and animated by SD Entertainment, the film was released theatrically on March 25, 2017 in the United States by Walt Disney Pictures at the height of Vanellope's popularity. The film received negative reviews and was a box office bomb, grossing over $55 million worldwide against a $20 million budget. This was the 48th and final film to be produced by Disneytoon Studios before it closed its doors in June 28, 2018. It is also the only theatrical Vanellope and Friends film as all other Vanellope and Friends films were released either direct-to-video or at home on demand.

Plot

At the start of the film, Emily (Giselle Eisenberg) is having a hard time writing a Mother Goose rhyme. Her friends Jill (Vivienne Marcheline Jolie-Pitt), Joe (Izaac Wang), Kimberly (Lidya Jewett) and Ron (Luke Judy) discover this and sing "Did You Ever See A Lassie?". Her Vanellope toy (Sarah Silverman) comes to life and tries to cheer up.

Mother Goose (Julie Andrews) appears and sings "I Like To Speak In Rhyme". Vanellope, Mother Goose, and the kids decide to get out and play. They sing rhymes such as "Daffy Down Dilly", "London Bridge Is Falling Down", and "Up At The Piccadilly, Oh!". At the same time, Zimmer the bunny (Eric Bauza) and Ms. Aya the duck (Laraine Newman) watch this. Zimmer tries to say "Peter Piper" correctly, to no avail. Vanellope, Mother Goose, and the kids play a game throughout the house that escalates into a rhythm of rhymes such as "Humpty Dumpty", "The Clock", "To Market To Market", and "One Two Buckle My Shoe".

Zimmer reads "Donkey, Donkey, Old And Grey", to which Ms. Aya tells him she feels like there's a real donkey sitting next to her when he reads. Vanellope, Mother Goose, and the kids sing a sheep and lamb medley consisting of "Baa Baa Black Sheep", "Little Boy Blue", "Little Bo Peep", and "Mary Had A Little Lamb". Vanellope then proceeds to tell of the story of "This Is The House That Jack Built". Suddenly, it starts to rain. Vanellope, Judy, Mother Goose, and the kids manage to find shelter back in the tree house, where Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) Woody (Tom Hanks) and Hank (Ed O'Neill). Mother Goose decides to take Vanellope, Judy, Woody, Hank, and the kids to her land for a visit.

They use their imaginations to get there, and when they do, they sing "The Land Of Mother Goose". Jill hears music coming from flowers and proceeds to read "Mary, Mary Quite Contrary". Ron rhymes about geese and reads "Goosey, Goosey Gander". They head inside, where Mother Goose allows the kids to enjoy themselves, explaining her property is made to be shared with boys and girls. She reveals her very own Mother Goose book and her old quilt pen to Emily. Kimberly and Vanellope explore the tuffet from "Little Miss Muffet".

Joe and Jill find a candle from "Jack Be Nimble" and hop over it. Judy successfully hops over the candle, prompting her, Vanellope, Mother Goose, Woody, Hank, and the kids to sing "The Judy Hopps Hop". When Vanellope jumps over the candlestick, her landing shakes the clock with mice from "Hickory Dickory Dock". Kimberly discovers mittens, and they sing "Three Little Kittens". Mother Goose reads "Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater", and "There Was An Old Woman Who Lived In A Shoe" while explaining that almost anything can become a rhyme. Due to the increasing in numbers, Emily becomes better at rhymes.Woody reads "There Was A Little Girl And She Had A Little Curl" to Vanellope, who reads "Just Like Me", to Woody, who says the "Just like me" lines.

Emily asks if one shoe was in a rhyme. Vanellope reveals that she remembers the rhyme and sings "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod". Judy, Hank, and Woody find a throne, the one Old King Cole uses. Joe is dressed like Old King Cole and declares a tea party. Everyone sings a medley to celebrate their tea party, consisting of rhymes including "Polly Put The Kettle On", Little Jack Horner", "Do You Know The Muffin Man?", "Pease Porridge Hot", "Hot Cross Buns", "Hot Boiled Beans", "The Queen Of Hearts", and "Pat-A-Cake". After the successful tea party, Joe decides they should have music, and sing the titular song "Old King Cole".

Vanellope, Mother Goose, Judy, Woody, Hank, and the kids return to the tree house, where they realize the rain has stopped and the sun is out again. Vanellope decides everyone can write their own rhymes, but they need pencils and paper. As Vanellope returns with pencils and paper. Mother Goose gives Emily her old quilt pen. Jill reads "I Saw A Bluebird", Joe reads "I Gave Ice Cream To A Whale", Kimberly reads "1 Step, 2 Steps, 3 Steps", and Ron reads "Mr. Elephant, Big and Gray". But Emily is missing! Vanellope tells Judy to keep everyone busy while she sets out to find Emily. When Vanellope finds her, she discovers Emily is having another hard time. A downhearted Emily considers quitting, but with encouragement from Vanellope, who sings "Don't Give Up", she regains her confidence.

Vanellope and Emily return to the tree house, where Vanellope educates everyone to say her famous magic words "Vanellope-vocus focus Koalacus!". Emily appears and shares a hug with her friends. Emily reads "Smiles Are Like Sunshine", declaring her true place is with her friends. Emily thanks Vanellope for everything and the two share a hug, to which everyong proceeds to sing "I Love You". Mother Goose heads home, and Woody politely decides that it's time for everyone else to go home as well. The film ends with Emily saying one last rhyme to Vanellope who has reverted to her toy form.

Cast

• Sarah Silverman as the voice of Vanellope von Schweetz, an animated adolescent who conveys educational messages through music and play with a friendly and optimistic attitude.
• Giselle Eisenberg as Emily, a feisty 9-year-old girl who aspires to write rhymes like Mother Goose.
• Vivienne Marcheline Jolie-Pitt as Jill, an energetic and fun-loving 7-year-old girl and Joe's best friend.
• Izaac Wang as Joe, a optimistic 10-year-old boy who is a talented magician and Jill's best friend.
• Lidya Jewett as Kimberly, a good-natured 15-year-old girl with a Canadian accent.
• Luke Judy as Ron, a 13-year-old boy who likes telling jokes.
• Julie Andrews as Mother Goose, the mother of all rhymes. Before Andrews was cast, Judi Dench, Angela Lansbury, and Carol Burnett were considered, but they all turned down the role.
• Tom Hanks as the voice of Woody, an animated cowboy who shows talent in magic and is also one of Vanellope's friends.
• Ginnifer Goodwin as the voice of Judy Hopps, an anthropomorphic animated bunny who wears a police uniform and is one of Vanellope's friends.
• Ed O'Neill as the voice of Hank, an anthropomorphic animated red octopus who is one of Vanellope's friends.
• Eric Bauza as the voice of Zimmer, a rabbit who lives with Ms. Aya in the tree house.
• Laraine Newman as the voice of Ms. Aya, a duck who lives with Zimmer in the tree house.

Note: The vocal effects for the geese were provided by Frank Welker who was not credited in the film.

Production

Plans a film based on the children's television series Vanellope and Friends were confirmed after the show premiered in 2013. Silverman, Goodwin, Hanks, and O'Neill reprised their roles of Vanellope, Judy, Woody, and Hank. Jill's original names were supposed to be dubbed "Melanie" and "Diana", but Disney disliked the suggestions, and the name "Jill" remained in the final film. Famous elderly actresses and celebrities began auditioning for the role of Mother Goose when Nee decided the film would have the inclusion of the character. Judi Dench, Angela Lansbury, and Carol Burnett were considered, but these sounded too obvious, and were replaced by Andrews.

Release

The film was scheduled to be released on January 15, 2018, but was moved to March 31, 2017 due to being ahead of schedule. The release date was then changed a week earlier on March 25 in order to avoid competition with DreamWorks Animation's The Boss Baby.

Home media

The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on August 22, 2017.

Reception

Box office

Vanellope's Rhyme Time Movie opened in theaters on March 25, 2017, and grossed $20 million in its opening weekend. It has grossed $25 million in North America and $35 million internationally, and by the end of its run, it grossed $55 million worldwide. Produced on a $20 million budget, the film was a box office disappointment.

Critical reception

Vanellope's Rhyme Time Movie has received negative reviews upon release. Many critics criticized the overuse of nursery rhymes, running time, and story, but some praised its faithfulness to the source material. On the website Rotten Tomatoes, it has an 33% approval rating based on 90 reviews. The consensus reads, "With a saccharine story, and a use of too many nursery rhymes, Vanellope's Rhyme Time Movie proves unable to recapture the popularity of the children's show for preschoolers". On Metacritic, it has a score of 39 out of 100 based on 19 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".

Peter Hartlaub of the San Francisco Chronicle gave the film a mixed review, saying, "If children and their accompanying parents wanted to see a film based on the Vanellope and Friends show for kids, they would be stimulated by the use of nursery rhymes, though adults may be more annoyed than entertained. Mike Ryan of Uproxx gave the film two and a half stars, saying "Vanellope's Rhyme Time Movie, the first (and so far only) theatrical film inspired by the show, takes that foot of Vanellope's and stomps it onto a movie beyond the television show's recognition."

In a two star review, Steve Persall of Campa Bay Times called it the "bleakest film based on a television series so far". finding its story as "overindulgent" and its array of nursery rhymes as "knackering", and viewing it as "a disappointment". for taking the series outside of its target audience of preschoolers. In a three star review, Joe Williams of St. Louis Post Dispatch wrote, "Vanellope's Rhyme Time Movie will truly entertain the preschooler audience, but as a film, it's sunshine-and-flowers". A.O. Scott of The New York Times wrote, "Vanellope feels more magical on television and DVD; on this film, she's clearly a doofus with a sugary personality".

Bill Goodykoontz of Arizona Republic gave the film a more positive review, saying, "With faithful elements to the critically-acclaimed children's television program, this fun-filled family adventure lives up to its potential". He considered the film to be a target for classic family entertainment and notes that it "stimulates the viewing preschool audience".

Accolades

At the 38th Golden Raspberry Awards, Vanellope's Rhyme Time Movie was nominated for Worst Picture. The film also received a nomination for the year's special category: "The Razzie Nominee So Rotten You Loved It", and won in a tie with Baywatch. In contrast to the Razzie nominations, Vanellope's Rhyme Time Movie received a Kids' Choice Award nomination for Favorite Movie. The film was also nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Music Film, and the signature song "I Love You" was nominated for Best Song Written for Visual Media. The music composed by Michael A. Lavine was nominated for a BMI Film Music Award.