''The Prodigies'' (also known as ''The Night of The Prodigies'' in the Amazon Studios version) is a 2011 French-British computer-animated science fiction, action, horror and

psychological thriller Psychological thriller is a genre combining the thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting. In terms of context and c ...

film based on ''La Nuit des enfants rois'', a novel written by French writer Bernard Lenteric. Released theatrically on 8 June 2011, the film received generally negative reviews from critics with most critics and audiences making comparisons between ''The Prodigies'' and two other films '' Village of the Damned'' and '' Law Abiding Citizen'' and was a

box office bomb A box-office bomb, or box-office disaster, is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the production, marketing, and distribution costs combined exceed the revenue after ...

, grossing only $1 million against a budget of $31 million.

Amazon Studios Amazon Studios is an American television and film producer and distributor that is a subsidiary of Amazon. It specializes in developing television series and distributing and producing films. It was started in late 2010. Content is distributed th ...

acquired distribution rights for the film for North America, the United Kingdom, Australia and South Africa and plans to release the English-language dub version directed by Richard Kelly under the title The Night of The Prodigies scheduled to be released in 2024.

Plot

Ten-year-old Jimbo Farrar is a gifted child who is misunderstood and regularly beaten by his parents. One day, he is badly beaten by his father while his mother cheers him on, and Jimbo gets carried away by his anger and loses control of his abilities. When he wakes, he finds his mother's body on the floor, as she had been beaten to death by his father, who then hanged himself, all under the mental control of Jimbo. He is then sent away to a mental hospital, where Jimbo is visited by multi-billionaire Charles Killian, who decides to take him under his wing to help him control his abilities. Twenty years later, Jimbo has become a brilliant researcher in the Killian Foundation for Gifted Children, married to Ann with whom they are due to have a child. Jimbo has only one goal: to find young children who, like him, possess supernatural powers. Thus, he created an extremely complex online game "The Game" in the hopes that he'll be able to identify any such people around the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. One night, five unrelated teenagers pass the game and hack Jimbo's computer. In desperation, Jimbo shuts his computer down and restarts it, only to find a message on his screen with the words: "Where Are You?" Jimbo immediately sets out to find them and bring them to the Foundation, but on his return he learns of the death of Killian. The Foundation therefore passes onto Melanie, Killian's lesbian daughter, who plans with Jenkins - her second-in-command - to end Jimbo's game and instead work on a TV show. In order to save the game - and the possibility of locating more " Prodigies" - Jimbo has the idea of combining the ideas: create a large-scale televised competition to reveal future geniuses. The show, American Genius, is launched, and five teenagers are announced as participants - hand-picked by Jimbo, having met and identified them as "Prodigies": Gil, an abused child who was like Jimbo when he was a child but darker; Liza, a young girl trained to be a top model; Lee, a young Asian immigrant who helps her parents in their trade; Harry, an

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

whose mother wastes all her money in

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three el ...

; and Sammy, the only son of a wealthy family and physical ungrateful. The five are identified immediately and Jimbo arranges to meet with them in secret in

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...

. No sooner are the teenagers gathered than two thugs assault and rape Liza. Jimbo, however, is not there: he has just learned that Ann is pregnant. He learns of the teenagers' situation too late and, by the time he arrives at the park, Liza is missing and the other four are on the floor, unconscious. However, through Liza's agony while she is being raped, her pain is telepathically extended to the other four teenagers and Jimbo, who unconsciously drive out the thugs using mind-controlling abilities of their own. As soon as Jimbo recovers his senses, he hurries to Liza and finds her in a coma. The next day he learns that Melanie wants to cover up the crime, in order to preserve the TV show, by claiming Liza was injured by a

hit-and-run In traffic laws, a hit and run or a hit-and-run is the act of causing a traffic collision and not stopping afterwards. It is considered a supplemental crime in most jurisdictions. Additional obligation In many jurisdictions, there may be an ...

driver. Furious, Jimbo violently demands an explanation, and his anger almost makes him lose control of his abilities and as a result he is fired from the Killian Foundation. After that, he vows to protect the other four, and locks himself away in his office with his computer, afraid because of how he had almost lost control like in the day of the death of his parents. Meanwhile, under the leadership of Gil, the five teenagers infiltrate the archives of the Killian group, where they find video recordings of Jimbo during his sessions in the mental hospital. Here he talks about his feelings of isolation caused by his supernatural abilities, as well as the possibility of others like him (even Charles Killian) being out there. The mention of him bringing them all together to avenge themselves for all the years of mistreatment entices Gil, Sammy, Lee and Harry to bring justice upon Liza's attackers, which they do by brutally killing them as well as the officer, who helped cover up the crime, and his wife using their powers. When Jimbo learns of this, he is very alarmed. Furthermore, Melanie refuses to recognize the truth if only to let the TV show continue, Meanwhile the teenagers are demanding justice. However, one evening, as he tries to reason with the teenagers (who are now murderers), they turn against him. Doubting his trust, they put him to the test by ordering him to kill Jenkins. but Jimbo says "No!", So the teenagers go on to make Jenkins beat up Jimbo (once again with their abilities) and kill Jenkins, then frame Jimbo for his murder. Although Jimbo initially attempts to explain to the policemen the truth about his and the teenagers' superpowers, but starts hallucinating when Gil and Lee tries to make him kill the Lieutenant who interrogating him, and then we see flashbacks of the four teenagers avenging Liza by killing Lorenzo, McKenzie, his wife and Jenkins and sees flashbacks of him being beating up by his parents until he uses his mental powers to kill them. As young Jimbo watches sadly as his father commits suicide with his own belt, After that, we later learn why Jimbo refuses to use his powers against or kill Jenkins when the four teenagers tell him to do, After killing a sparrow in a mental hospital, Killian tells Jim never use his powers again to kill or touch any living things. After that, the policemen don't believe him, particularly due his supposed history of having

schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social wit ...

. Jimbo eventually relents and is sent to prison, where he is kept under surveillance. In the meantime, Gil, Harry, Lee and Sammy make plans for causing large-scale destruction upon the United States, under the belief that this will exact justice for all the pain they had been subject to in the past. Shortly afterwards, Liza comes out of her coma, and Ann visits her to ask her for help, for she now knows of Jimbo's abilities from the police interview, as well as the teenagers' plans to infiltrate the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

to launch

nuclear weapon A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...

s. However, Ann angers Liza, who loses control of her powers and almost kills Ann's baby. In a desperate attempt to prevent the imminent destruction the other teenagers plan on causing, Ann reluctantly seeks help from Melanie, the organiser of the final of American Genius, which will take place in the White House, include the four teenagers plus another fifth contestant named Justin, and be attended by the President of the United States. When Jimbo learns of Liza harming Ann, he uses his powers to break free from prison and joins Liza to reach the other teenagers, as well as Melanie and Ann, at the White House. On site, when she and Jimbo are attempting to sneak into the White House, they are halted by guards and Liza uses her powers for the two of them to escape. This triggering an alarm and initiates a security procedure where everybody in the Oval Office (including the finalists of American Genius) must get to safety in a security bunker. But once inside and all exits are sealed, the four gifted teenagers manipulate the soldiers and bodyguards into killing each other, and Melanie is shot dead under Gil's will. Gil then begins the attacks by launching a nuke at Killian University, where Jimbo and Killian worked. Ann's life is spared when Sammy raises the possibility that her child, being Jimbo's as well, might also be a "golden child". Jimbo eventually arrives at the bunker with Liza, where he learns that Gil is the one leading the group into attacking the US. A fight ensues where Gil attacks Ann and Jimbo fights to protect her, until the fifth contestant Justin fires a gun at Gil when Jimbo is at the verge of being killed. But Jimbo, anticipating the bullet, pushes Gil away and instead receives the bullet in his heart. While Jimbo lies in Ann's arms, dying, Gil horribly slaps Liza for her refusal to cooperate with him, which brings Harry to his senses and convinces his friends to stop all the madness of attacking and killing masses of people across the United States. And so, while one controls Gil in order to prevent him from stopping them, Harry cancels the nuclear attack, saving Killian University by seconds. Shortly afterwards, Jimbo takes his final breath. Three months later, Killian's company has gone bankrupt. Ann, still pregnant, receives a package containing Jimbo's phone (which he had lost in the fight at the White House), which has a final video message from Jimbo. Ann does not know it was left by Liza, who has disappeared from the radar along with Harry, Sammy, Lee and Gil. Liza, Harry, Sammy and Lee now search for other gifted people like themselves, using Jimbo's game, but Gil now continues with his journey on his own, and it seems that he is plotting dark schemes.

Cast

French

* Mathieu Kassovitz as Jimbo Ferrar, the main protagonist of the movie * Alexis Tomassian as FOZZY/Young Jimbo * Claire Guyot as Ann * Sophie Chen as Lee Mishon * Thomas Sagols as Gil Yepes, the main antagonist of the movie * as Liza Everton * as Melanie Killian * David Scarpuzza as Sammy Goldberg * as Harry Sparks *

Féodor Atkine Féodor Atkine is a French actor of Russian-Polish origin, born on 27 February 1948 in Paris. A screen performer, he has participated in numerous plays, films and television series in France and abroad. Life and career Féodor Atkine was born ...

as Charles Killian * Pierre-François Pistorio as Jenkins * Cédric Dumond as Lorenzo Carvahal * Patrick Donnay as The President * Jerome Keen as Doctor * as Justin * Alexandre Cross as Lieutenant Smith * Benoît Van Dorslaer as Chester

English

* Jeffrey Evan Thomas as Jimbo Ferrar *

Stephanie Sheh Stephanie Sheh is an American voice actress, ADR director, writer and producer who has worked for several major companies, including Cartoon Network and Sony. She is often involved with work in English dubs of anime, cartoons, video games and fi ...

as Ann/Lee Mishon * Ben Schiller as Gil Yepes *

Lauren Ashley Carter Lauren Ashley Carter is an American actress and producer. Personal life Carter grew up in Ohio and graduated from the University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Dramatic Performance in 200 ...

as Liza Everton *

Cindy Robinson Cindy Robinson is an American voice actress who voices in animations and video games. Some of her major roles are Makoto Nanaya and Gii from the ''Blazblue'' series, Betty Boop in commercials, Queen Beryl in ''Sailor Moon'', Chitose Nanbu in '' ...

as Melanie Killian * Dick Smallberries Jr. as Sammy Goldberg *

Ogie Banks Ogie Banks (born June 13, 1973) is an American voice actor. He is best known for his roles as Clawd Wolf in '' Monster High'', and Luke Cage and Miles Morales in ''Ultimate Spider-Man''. He also voices Dylan in the ''Bratz'' franchise and Omoi i ...

as Harry Sparks * JB Blanc as Charles Killian / Priest * Bob Buccholz as Jenkins * Rene Rosado as Lorenzo Carvahal * Karen Strassman as Elizabeth Farrar (Jimbo's mom) *

Ben Diskin Benjamin Isaac Diskin (born August 25, 1982) is an American actor who was affiliated in Studiopolis, Bang Zoom!, SDI Media, Funimation, VSI Los Angeles, and NYAV Post. Early life Diskin was born in Los Angeles County, California to a Jewish fa ...

as Diaz Arnesto *

Michael Sorich Michael John Sorich ( , born March 23, 1958) is an American actor, writer and director. Biography Sorich has been a prominent and ever-present voice actor for many different characters in the ''Power Rangers'' franchise (until the end of the '' W ...

as Lieutenant Jack McKenzie *

Chris Marlowe Christian "Chris" Marlowe (born September 28, 1951) is an American professional sportscaster who resides in Denver, Colorado. He currently is the play-by-play announcer for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association in the fall, ...

as The President * Donald Leary as Lieutenant Smith * Joey Lotsko as Doctor *

Wendee Lee Wendee Lee is an American voice actress, writer, and director. Biography Lee studied dance and theater and later became a full-time dancer in her teens. According to her interview on the '' Magic Knight Rayearth'' DVDs, she started doing voices ...

as Liza's mother *

Mari Devon Mari Devon (born October 10, 1959) is a retired American voice actress, best known as the voice of Togemon from ''Digimon Adventure'', Renamon from ''Digimon Tamers'', Tammy Nobi from '' Doraemon 2005'', Haruka Urashima from the '' Love Hina'' ser ...

as Mrs. McKenzie * Jaime Seibert as William Farrar (Jimbo’s father) * Michole White as Harry's mother * Jonas Alexander Sansone as Sammy / Fozzy / Young Jimbo

Amazon Studios Amazon Studios is an American television and film producer and distributor that is a subsidiary of Amazon. It specializes in developing television series and distributing and producing films. It was started in late 2010. Content is distributed th ...
/ Richard Kelly dub

Freddie Highmore Alfred Thomas Highmore (born 14 February 1992) is an English actor. He is known for his starring roles beginning as a child, in the films '' Finding Neverland'' (2004), '' Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' (2005), '' August Rush'' (2007), and ...

as Jimbo Farrar / Young Jimbo *

Ben Whishaw Benjamin John Whishaw (born 14 October 1980) is an English actor and producer. After winning a British Independent Film Award for his performance in ''My Brother Tom'' (2001), he was nominated for an Olivier Award for his portrayal of the titl ...

as Gil Yepes *

Naomi Watts Naomi Ellen Watts (born 28 September 1968) is a British actress. After her family moved to Australia, she made her film debut there in the drama '' For Love Alone'' (1986) and then appeared in three television series, '' Hey Dad..!'' (1990), '' ...

as Ann *

Dustin Hoffman Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable characters. He is ...

as Charles Killian *

Vera Farmiga Vera Ann Farmiga ( ; born August 6, 1973) is an American actress who is best known for portraying paranormal investigator Lorraine Warren in the Conjuring Universe films '' The Conjuring'' (2013), '' The Conjuring 2'' (2016), '' Annabelle Co ...

as Melanie Killian *

Juno Temple Juno Temple (born 21 July 1989) is a British actress. She has appeared in the films ''Notes on a Scandal'' (2006), ''Atonement'' (2007), '' The Other Boleyn Girl'' (2008), ''The Three Musketeers'' (2011), ''The Dark Knight Rises'' (2012), '' Ma ...

as Liza Everton *

Franz Drameh Franz Alhusaine Drameh (born 5 January 1993) is an English actor. His film debut was in Clint Eastwood's fantasy drama, ''Hereafter'' (2010). He also appeared in British film ''Attack the Block'' (2011) and the 2014 blockbuster ''Edge of Tomorr ...

as Harry Sparks * Joe Thomas as Sammy Goldberg *

Katie Leung Katie Leung (born 8 August 1987; ) is a Scottish actress. Initially famous for playing Cho Chang, the titular character's first love interest in the ''Harry Potter'' film series, she is also known for her roles as Caitlyn in the animated ser ...

as Lee Mishon *

Gael García Bernal Gael García Bernal (; born 30 November 1978) is a Mexican actor and producer. He is best known for his performances in the films '' Bad Education'', '' The Motorcycle Diaries'', '' Amores perros'', ''Y tu mamá también'', ''Babel'', '' Coco'', ...

as Jenkins * August Diehl as Lorenzo Carvahal * Alexander Fehling as Diaz Arnesto * Mathieu Kassovitz as Lieutenant Jack McKenzie *

Elias Koteas Elias Koteas (; el, Ηλίας Κοτέας; born March 11, 1961) is a Canadian actor. He is known for playing Alvin "Al" Olinsky in the ''Chicago'' franchise, as well as appearing in lead and supporting roles in numerous films. He won the Cana ...

as The President *

Dominic Cooper Dominic Edward Cooper (born 2 June 1978) is an English actor known for his portrayal of comic book characters Jesse Custer on the AMC show ''Preacher'' (2016–2019) and young Howard Stark in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with appearances ...

as FOZZY *

Alex Zane Alex Zane (born Faris Alexander L. Albayaty; 3 March 1979) is a British television presenter and DJ. Early and personal life Zane was born in Leeds and attended Boston Spa School before going on to study Medicine at University College London, ...

as The Host of American Genius *

Mark Strong Mark Strong (born Marco Giuseppe Salussolia; 5 August 1963), is a British actor, best known for his film roles such as Prince Septimus in ''Stardust'' (2007), Archibald in '' RocknRolla'' (2008), Lord Henry Blackwood in ''Sherlock Holmes'' (20 ...

as William Farrar (Jimbo’s father) *

Sally Hawkins Sally Cecilia Hawkins (born 27 April 1976) is an English actress who began her career on stage and then moved into film. She has received several awards including a Golden Globe Award and the Berlin International Film Festival's Silver Bear fo ...

as Elizabeth Farrar (Jimbo's mom) *

Josh Hartnett Joshua Daniel Hartnett (born July 21, 1978) is an American actor and producer. He first came to attention in 1997 for his role as Michael Fitzgerald in the television crime drama series '' Cracker''. He made his feature film debut in 1998 in th ...

as Lieutenant Smith *

Noel Fisher Noel Roeim Fisher (born March 13, 1984) is a Canadian actor. He is known for his portrayal of Mickey Milkovich on the Showtime series '' Shameless'', as well as his portrayal of Cael Malloy on the FX series '' The Riches''. He played Ellison " ...

as Justin * Johnny Yong Bosch as Doctor * Holmes Osborne as Gil's father *

Fred Tatasciore Fred Tatasciore (; ) is an American voice actor who has provided voices in animated and live-action films, television shows, and video games. He is known for voicing the Hulk and Beast in various Marvel media and Solomon Grundy in various DC ...

as FBI Agent / Guard *

Ashton Kutcher Christopher Ashton Kutcher (; born February 7, 1978) is an American actor, producer, entrepreneur, and former model. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a People's Choice Award, and nominations for two Young Artist Awards, a ...

as Sammy's father * as Mrs. McKenzie *

Wendy Raquel Robinson Wendy Raquel Robinson is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as high school principal Regina "Piggy" Grier on The WB comedy sitcom ''The Steve Harvey Show'' (1996–2002), and as sports agent Tasha Mack on The CW/ BET/Paramo ...

as Harry's mother * Peter Hermann as Chester * Kathleen Turner as Liza's mother * Lisa K. Wyatt as Sammy's mother *

Michael Weston Michael Weston (born Michael Rubinstein; October 25, 1973) is an American television and film actor. His best-known roles are the private detective Lucas on ''House'', the deranged and sadistic kidnapper Jake in the HBO serial drama '' Six Feet ...

as Priest

Motion-capture performers

* Jeffrey Evan Thomas as Jimbo Ferrar * Isabelle Van Waes as Ann * Sophie Chen as Lee Mishon * Jacob Rosenbaum as Gil Yepes/Young Jimbo *

as Liza Everton * Moon Dailly as Melanie Killian * Nilton Martins as Sammy Goldberg * Dante Bacote as Harry Sparks *

Dominic Gould Dominic Gould (born 19 September 1964) is a French and American actor. He was born in Los Angeles, United States. Filmography Film * '' Jeux d'artifices'' (1987) - Stan * '' Hôtel de France'' (1987) - Manu's Friend * ''Monsieur (1990) - Mo ...

as Charles Killian * Jérôme Cachon as Jenkins * Alex Martin as Jenkins * Alain Figlarz as Lorenzo Carvahal * Patrick Vo as Diaz Arnesto * Patrice Melennec as Lieutenant Jack McKenzie * Tom Leick as Doctor/The President * Diego Mestanza as Justin * Yves Le Caignec as Lieutenant Smith * Solange Milhaud as Liza's mother/Mrs. McKenzie * Arnita Swanson as Harry's mother

Reception

Box office

''The Prodigies'' grossed a worldwide total of $1.3 million against a budget of $31.6 million, making the film a

. In France, the film was released in 282 theaters and grossed $957,287 in its opening weekend, ranking 11th. In its second weekend, the film grossed $322,595 from 279 theaters, falling down to 16th.

Critical reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 20% based on 5 reviews, with an average rating of 3.1/10. Linda Barnard of ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...

'' wrote that the film was "too violent for youngsters and so poorly written it won't engage an older audience, it seems to be targeted towards youthful nerds nursing overwhelming revenge fantasies." Liz Braun of ''Jam! Movies'' wrote, "You wouldn't expose a teenager to this, that's for sure, but the storytelling is so ham-handed that few adults would sit still for it" Dave McGinn of ''Globe and Mail'' was critical, writing, "''The Prodigies'' pulls together a lot of familiar tropes from superhero movies without adding anything new or compelling to the genre." In contrast, Sarah Gopaul of ''Digital Journal'' gave the film a positive review, stating, "''The Prodigies'' delivers a noteworthy new approach to the “teens with super powers” genre that is worth the big screen treatment."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Prodigies 2011 films 2011 computer-animated films 2011 LGBT-related films 2011 psychological thriller films 2010s British films 2010s Canadian films 2010s French films 2010s French animated films 2010s English-language films 2010s French-language films 2010s German-language films 2010s science fiction horror films 2010s science fiction thriller films Belgian LGBT-related films Belgian science fiction films British action horror films British animated horror films British computer-animated films British horror thriller films British LGBT-related films British psychological thriller films British rape and revenge films British science fiction horror films Canadian action horror films Canadian computer-animated films Canadian horror thriller films Canadian LGBT-related films Canadian psychological thriller films Canadian science fiction films English-language French films English-language Belgian films English-language Luxembourgian films English-language Indian films English-language Polish films French animated horror films French action horror films French computer-animated films French-language Belgian films French LGBT-related films French psychological thriller films French science fiction thriller films French vigilante films Indian action films Indian computer-animated films Indian horror thriller films Indian LGBT-related films Indian rape and revenge films Indian science fiction horror films Luxembourgian animated films Luxembourgian horror films Luxembourgian LGBT-related films Luxembourgian science fiction films Polish animated films Polish horror films Polish LGBT-related films Polish science fiction thriller films Lesbian-related films LGBT-related animated films LGBT-related horror thriller films LGBT-related science fiction horror films LGBT-related science fiction thriller films Fiction about mind control Films based on French novels Films set in bunkers Films scored by Klaus Badelt Films scored by Hildur Guðnadóttir Amazon Studios films Entertainment One films Method Animation films Warner Bros. animated films The Weinstein Company animated films