| Zoob | |
|---|---|
| Directed by |
Mark Fergus Hawk Ostby |
| Produced by | Jodi Nussbaum |
| Screenplay by |
Ashley Edward Miller Zack Stentz |
| Story by |
Mark Fergus Hawk Ostby Ashley Edward Miller Zack Stentz |
| Based on |
Zoob Builder toys by Lakeshore Learning Materials |
| Starring |
Brad Pitt Michael Keaton Mary-Louise Parker David Cross Paul Giamatti Awkwafina Ed O'Neill |
| 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 |
August 5, 2022 (El Capitan Theatre) August 19, 2022 (United States) |
| Running time | 116 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $150 million |
| Box office | $1.111 billion |
Zoob is a 2022 American animated superhero comedy adventure film produced by Dice Productions and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Directed by Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby and loosely based on the Zoob Builder toys by Lakeshore Learning Materials, the film stars Brad Pitt, Michael Keaton, Mary-Louise Parker, David Cross, Paul Giamatti, Awkwafina, and Ed O'Neill. Set in a world inhabited by anthropomorphic Zoob toys, it tells the story of a superhero named Flexi-Man who is faced with the possibility of retirement amid changes brewing in Zoob City, and sets out rid the city of Zoob City of crime by banishing his arch-enemy, Dr. Gray, to an eternal prison known as the Phantom Trap.
Zoob premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles on August 5, 2022, and was released theatrically the United States on August 19 by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, after being delayed from a September 2021 release date due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film received universal acclaim from critics and audiences and was a commercial success, grossing $1.111 billion worldwide on a $150 million budget, becoming the third highest-grossing film of 2022, the highest-grossing film of Pitt's career, and the highest-grossing film based on a toy brand. At the 94th Academy Awards, Flexi-Man was nominated for Best Animated Feature. It was the last Dice Productions feature overall to be executive-produced by Andre Svislotski during his lifetime before his death on December 19, 2022, four months after the film's release. A sequel, Zoob: Galax-Z, is scheduled to be released on October 5, 2029.
Plot[]
In a world inhabited by anthropomorphic Zoob toys, a fearless yet overconfident, egotistical superhero named Flexi-Man protects Zoob City and fight crime. During his latest mission to stop his arch-enemy, Dr. Gray and Zoob City's other supervillains from destroying the city, Flexi-Man succeeds, but Flexi-Man also hurts Gray's feelings by telling him he is not as important in his life as he thinks he is, due to Gray being evil, leading Gray to seek ultimate payback as revenge on him for the insult.
The following day, Wallace Jobs, Flexi-Man's butler and father, invites Flexi-Man to attend the city's winter-gala, which is celebrating both the retirement of Commissioner John Garner and the ascension of his daughter Bree Garner as the city's new police commissioner. He attends under his alter ego, Chadwick C. Jobs, only to be shocked by Bree's plans to restructure the police to function without the need of Flexi-Man, as she believes he's been on city-saving routines for too long and must retire for good. Gray crashes the party with city's other villains, all of whom surrender except for Gray's girlfriend and assistant, Dr. Silver, who disappears during the confusion. With so many criminals incarcerated, Zoob City begins to no longer depend on the Flexi-Man crime-fighting skills anymore, leaving him feeling downhearted.
Suspecting Gray is up to no good, Flexi-Man plans to steal the Phantom Trap projector, a device which can banish anyone to the Phantom Trap, which houses some of the most dangerous villains in the Zoob world, and banish Gray there forever. Bree objects to this, as the Phantom Trap is against the law, but Flexi-Man doesn't listen. Wallace takes away Flexi-Man's computer privileges to convince Flexi-Man to move on from superhero life to focus on civilian life. Flexi-Man, undeterred, recruits TriangleTail, SquareSnake, RoadRacer, three misfit Zoobs whom he unintentionally befriended during the gala earlier, dubbing them the "Zoobstice Squad". The Zoobstice Squad successfully recover the projector from the Fortress of Solitude. They then break into Zoob Asylum, where they send Gray to the Phantom Trap. Discovering Flexi-Man and the Zoobstice Squad's actions and suspecting that Gray wanted to be sent there, Bree arrests them and admonishes Flexi-Man for breaking her rule and being too selfish to change his ways.
While the projector is being seized as evidence, Silver steals it back as part of Gray's plan, and frees him, allowing him to return to Zoob City along with other banished villains he recruited, who ravage Zoob City and conquer Jobs Manor. Realizing Zoob City does need Flexi-Man after all, Bree releases him and the Zoobstice Squad and agrees to join them under the condition that, going forward, Flexi-Man won't handle saving Zoob City all by himself, to which he agrees. The Zoobstice Squad achieve success in fighting the escaped criminals, but upon approaching Jobs Manor, Flexi-Man, although finding himself able to trust his newfound friends, chooses to send them away rather than cause them to meet the same fate as his parents.
Flexi-Man confronts Grey alone, but Gray believes Flexi-Man to be incapable of changing his ways and banishes him to the Phantom Trap before stealing his stash of confiscated dynamite to destroy Zoob City. In the Phantom Trap, Abyss, the traps prison warden, shows Flexi-Man his constant egotistical mistreatment of everyone closest to him; he finally accepts that it is time to change his ways. After making a deal with Abyss to be allowed back into Zoob City in order to retrieve the escaped villains, Flexi-Man returns to Zoob Asylum in time to find the Zoostice Squad, apologizing for abandoning them and requesting their help to stop Gray. They reconcile with Flexi-Man, with Bree doing so while taking on the mantle of "Primary Color (Prime)".
With help from Gray's henchmen, who felt neglected by Gray when he refused to break them out of the asylum, Flexi-Man, Prime, and the Zoobstice Squad defeat the villains by sending them back to the Phantom Trap, and Flexi-Man disables Gray's dynamite. However, Gray lights a backup stick of dynamite, and the explosion begins to tear the plates beneath Zoob City to fall apart. Knowing it was his fault, Flexi-Man convinces Gray to help him by telling him he gives him the purpose to be the hero he is. Flexi-Man, Gray, Prime, the Zoobstice Squad, and all the criminals and civilians chain-link themselves to reattach the plates, saving Zoob City.
Flexi-Man reveals himself as Manny Jobs to Prime and the Zoobstice Squad and prepares to be taken back to the Phantom Trap to face the consequences of his earlier behavior. However, Abyss who chooses to let Flexi-Man remain in Zoob City after realizing he is a hero and seeing how much he had changed to save the city and everyone in it. Afterwards, Flexi-Man welcomes Bree into the Zoobstice Squad as a new member and gives Gray and the other criminals a head start to avoid capture, knowing they will be no match for the Zoobstice Squad. Flexi-Man, Bree, Triangle-Tail, Square-Snake, and Spider-Scope settle into their new lives as a family in Jobs Manor.
Cast[]
- Brad Pitt as Flexi-Man, a billionaire/superhero who always saves Zoob City from crime.
- Michael Keaton as Dr. Gray, a sadistic gray Zoob who is Flexi-Man's arch-nemesis.
- Mary-Louise Parker as Bree Garner, Zoob City's new police commissioner who wants to restructure the Police Department to move on from Flexi-Man and all superheroes in general in favor of crime-fighting independently. She is later given a superhero mantle, Prime, inspired by three primary colors, red, yellow, and blue.
- David Cross as TriangleTail, a Zoob who has a triangle for a tail.
- Paul Giamatti as SquareSnake, a Zoob snake who has a square for a head.
- Awkwafina as RoadRacer, a Zoob car who drives at the speed of a racecar.
- Ed O'Neill as Wallace Jobs, Flexi-Man's loyal butler and adoptive father.
- Vanessa Bayer as Dr. Silver, Gray's girlfriend and a member of his villain crew.
- Justina Machado as Abyss, a Zoob piece and the keeper of the Phantom Trap.
- Brian Cox as Garner, the former police commissioner of Zoob City, Prime's father, and an ally to Flexi-Man.
- Lily Singh as Madame Zoob, the mayor of Zoob City.
- Utkarsh Ambudkar and Tony Leondis as an airplane captain and pilot who are hijacked by Gray at the beginning of the film.
Reception[]
Box office[]
In the United States, Zoob was released alongside Dear Evan Hansen, and was projected to gross $45 million in its opening weekend. The film grossed $380 million domestically and $731 million internationally, for a worldwide total of $1.111 billion, against a $150 million budget.
Critical response[]
Zoob received acclaim from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 97% approval rating based on 198 reviews. The site's consensus reads, "Boasting sophisticated animation and a winning performance from Brad Pitt, Zoob appeals excellently to both kids and adults, while also embracing Dice's resonant feel". According to Metacritic, which calculated a score of 92 out of 100 based on 34 critics, Zoob received "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale.