''A Wizard's Tale'' (also known as ''Ahí Viene Cascarrabias'' in Mexico and ''Here Comes the Grump'' internationally) is a 2018 animated

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...

comedy film based on the DePatie–Freleng animated series, '' Here Comes the Grump'', which originally ran from 1969 to 1970 on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

. Produced by Ánima Estudios, Prime Focus World, and GFM Animation, the film features the voices of

Toby Kebbell Tobias Alistair Patrick Kebbell''Births, Marriages & Deaths: Toby is married to Arielle Wyatt. They got married in 2020 and they have one child together. Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com (born 9 July 1982) is an English ...

Lily Collins Lily Jane Collins (born 18 March 1989) is an English and American actress. Born in Guildford and raised in Los Angeles, she began performing on screen at the age of two in the BBC sitcom ''Growing Pains''. In the late 2000s, she began acting a ...

, and

Ian McShane Ian David McShane (born 29 September 1942) is an English actor. His television performances include the title role in the BBC series ''Lovejoy'' (1986–1994), Al Swearengen in '' Deadwood'' (2004–2006) and its 2019 film continuation, and M ...

. The Spanish version stars the voices of

Camila Sodi Camila Ía González Sodi (; born 14 May 1986) is a Mexican singer, actress and model. She is the niece of the singer and actress Thalía and a member of the Sodi family. Family life Camila Ía González Sodi was born in Mexico City, Mexico ...

and Mauricio Barrientos "El Diablito". It was first released in Italy on 1 March 2018. In Italian. The film was later released on July 26 in Mexico and was a commercial failure. The film was released by Blue Fox Entertainment in the United States in limited format and VOD on 14 September the same year, released as ''A Wizard's Tale''.

Plot

In an alternate dimension, there exists a kingdom called Groovingham, where a young wizard called The Grin lives. The Grin casts a spell to make people happy, but the magic deprives the subjects of their morality, resulting in instant pandemonium. Outraged, the king orders his royals guards to arrest The Grin. Though the authorities corner him on a cliff, The Grin escapes with his fiancée, Mary, in his blimp-like vehicle. The Grin goes into hiding and adopts a baby dragon he names Dingo. Mary promises to return to The Grin, but the authorities capture her, and the king has her banished to Earth. Unaware that Mary was exiled, the Grin becomes an embittered pariah called the Grump. On Earth, Mary owns an amusement park that resembles Groovingham and has a grandson named Terry Dexter. During Terry's youth, his grandmother reads him her bestselling story called "Here Comes the Grump", which summarizes the events before her banishment. Years later, Mary passes away, and Terry becomes the new owner of her amusement park. One night Terry finds a hidden handle piece of his grandmother's blimp. After reattaching the handle to the blimp, it sends him to Groovingham, much to his astonishment. Meanwhile, the Grump, who was captured at some point for his purported crime, escapes from prison alongside his diminutive henchmen called the Grumpies and enacts vengeance upon the king. However, he instantly realizes the king had died after spotting a statue built as his memorial. While feeling cheated out of revenge, the Grin discovers a poster of Princess Dawn's coronation and takes action against her instead. Interrupting the coronation, the Grump casts his "gloom spell" upon everyone, putting them into a state of depression. Princess Dawn manages to escape the gloom by being hidden in a chamber beneath her bed by her servants while her pet, Bip, leaves Groovingham to seek help from an outsider. As Terry tries to pilot the blimp back to his homeworld, the handle piece is taken by Bip, prompting Terry to chase him into Groovingham. Emerging from hiding, Dawn begs Terry to help save her kingdom. Terry reluctantly agrees so that he can return home. When his minions inform the Grump that Dawn had escaped the gloom, he returns to the castle where Terry recognizes him as the Grin from his grandmother's story. After being chased by the Grumpies through the castle's interior, Terry and Dawn reach the map room where they met a bird named G. P. Sparrow, who agrees to navigate them to the Oracle who knows how to lift the Grin's curse. Princess Dawn and Terry learn from the Oracle that they need a magical key from the Cave of Whispering Orchards to restore happiness in Groovingham, which the Grump overhears. During the confrontation, the blimp becomes punctured, rendering it unable to be airborne. They seek repairs at the Balloony Kingdom, under siege by the Grump. As Terry and the balloon people fight back, Dawn causes Dingo to sneeze, sending the Grump mounted on him flying away. With repairs finished on the blimp, the Grump lands on a nearby branch protruding from a cliff and casts the gloom spell on Dawn before plummeting. Seeking help from an alchemist to treat Dawn's condition, Terry learns that a kiss can break the curse afflicted upon her before sunset; otherwise, the spell will be permanent. However, after going through with it, Terry admits that he lacks feelings for Dawn since he has only known her for a day and that he wants to return home, upsetting the princess who dismisses him. At the Cave of Whispering Orchards the Orchards expel Terry since they only allow wizards inside. The Grump arrives and cast a sleep spell on Terry before proceeding to get the key. Bip returns to Dawn, who returns to Terry and awakens him with a kiss. The Grump returns empty-handed and accuses Terry of taking the key. Terry denies the Grump's accusations, but a key falls off him. He and Dawn try to escape but lose consciousness after falling into a pit. While incarcerated in Groovingham, Dawn asks Terry how he obtained the key. He hypothesizes that he is a wizard himself. After Bip frees them, Dawn and Terry confront the Grump on the castle's rooftop, using the key to eliminate happiness. Dawn manages to subdue the Grumpies while Terry subdues the Grump but also damages the key. Dawn implores Terry to leave on the blimp, but he decides to stay with her. Through their faith, they restore the key, which undoes the Grump's magic on Groovingham. The Grump retreats to his blimp and fights with Terry while heading to Earth. Upon visiting Mary's amusement park, the Grump becomes remorseful since he only wanted to make people happy. Terry convinces him that they still can and reveals himself to be his grandson. Terry reopens Groovingland, where he introduces Dawn to his parents and employs the Grump and the other characters from Groovingham as attractions.

Voice cast

as Terry Dexter *

(Spanish) as Princess Dawn *

as The Grump *

Keith Wickham Keith Wickham is an English voice actor, comedian and screenwriter. He is known for providing the voices of various characters in the children's television series ''64 Zoo Lane'' and in the British children's series ''Thomas and Friends''. Ca ...

Mauricio Barrientos Mauricio Barrientos (professionally known as "El Diablito") is a Mexican actor, stand-up comedian, and writer. He is known for starring in films such as '' Compadres'', '' Tod@s caen'', and '' Un rescate de huevitos''. Filmography Film Telev ...

(Spanish) as GP Sparrow * David Holt as Bip *

Emma Tate Emma Tate is a British voice actress who has worked in various animated films, television shows and video games. Career Tate debuted in a 1991 episode of ''The Bill'' and from 1999, she commenced work in voice acting, mainly in children's prog ...

as Grandma Mary/Nanny Bear *

Amy Thompson Amy Lan Thompson (born 28 July 1994) is a Luxembourgish international footballer who plays as a forward for Swift Hesperange Football Club Swift Hesperange (, ) is a association football, football football club, club, based in Hesperange, in ...

as Mary / Old Woman / Whispering Orchids * Jay Britton as Grumpies / Caveman / Thelonious * Andres Williams as Chancellor Woodblock * Claire Morgan as Fashion Manager *

Paul Tylak Paul Tylak is an Irish writer, actor and comedian. Personal life Paul Tylak was born to an Irish mother and Sri Lankan father, and grew up between Ireland and England. He attended the now closed De Burgh School in Tadworth, Surrey. He has li ...

as Oracle / Balloon Herald 2 / Red Bird * Darren Altman as Robert * Inel Tomlinson as Prime Pine / Air Doll / Generic Balloon 1 * Ed Gaughan as Omette / Christmas Tree 3 / Hobo *

John Hasler John Hasler (born 21 April 1974) is an English actor who is best known for playing T-Shirt in the children's television series ''T-Bag'' from 1985 to 1992, and for voicing Thomas the Tank Engine, Thomas in the UK dub of the children's televisio ...

as Amusement Park Dad / Beefeater 3 *

Rasmus Hardiker Rasmus Hardiker (born 31 January 1985) is a British actor. He is best known for voicing Scott and Alan Tracy in the reboot animated television series '' Thunderbirds Are Go''. He played Raymond in Steve Coogan's sitcom '' Saxondale'' and Ben i ...

as Balloon Herald 1 / Prince Charming * Matthew Bloxham as Christmas Tree 2 / Generic Balloon 3 * Fred Grey as Royal Guard 2 / Singing Map / Taxman / Additional Crowd * Alexander Cobb as Toby's Dad / Yellow Wizard / Additional Crowd * Alana Ramsey as Additional Crowd * Sophie Alfred as Additional Crowd

Development

The film was first announced in September 2014 when a film adaptation of the ''Here Comes the Grump'' cartoon, produced by Ánima Estudios, was in development. Development didn't start immediately after its announcement due to development of other projects. Production of the film was completed in 2017. While the original series was only moderately successful in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, the show has gained popularity in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Character designs

The film's characters were designed by Craig Kellman, who has also designed characters for other animated films, such as ''

Hotel Transylvania ''Hotel Transylvania'' is an American media franchise created by Todd Durham and owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment. It consists of four animated feature films, three short films, an animated television series, and several video games. The ...

'' and ''

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

''.

Animation

The film's animation was created at Prime Focus World at its

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

facilities. Greg Gavanski, head of Prime Focus Animation, said, "Animation is well underway and our artists are pushing the limits to put as much quality and humor into every last frame". Mexican animation studio Ánima Estudios was in charge of the film's creative development and supervision, with the direction done by Andrés Couturier, the manager at Ánima.

Casting

British actors

, and

joined the film's lead English voice cast, with the casting done by Todd Resnick's The Voice Company studio in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Prime Focus's Greg Gavanski commented that he was "thrilled" with the casting: "We are thrilled to welcome Ian, Lily and Toby to the Grump team. This hugely talented voice cast, alongside the beautiful animation delivered by the artists of Ánima

studios A studio is a space set aside for creative work of any kind, including art, dance, music and theater. The word ''studio'' is derived from the , from , from ''studere'', meaning to Wiktionary:study, study or zeal. Types Art The studio o ...

and Prime Focus, has brought these fantastic characters to life in ways we couldn't have imagined. I couldn't have hoped for things to come together any better than this". The casting has also been an important moment for Ánima Estudios, about which producer and company COO José C. García de Letona has shared his excitement: "Having such amazing actors be part of our movie makes us feel even more excited about it. We are sure that the audiences will love McShane's grouchy character, Lily's adorable princess and Toby's cool hero".

Music

James Seymour Brett James Seymour Brett (born 3 April 1974) is an English composer and conductor. Early career After graduating from the Royal Academy of Music in 1997, Brett was immediately hired by composer Michael Kamen. Brett's further contribution to fi ...

composed the film's original score.

Release

The film was released in the

in limited locations and digital platforms on 14 September 2018.

Reception

The film received generally negative reviews from critics. On Tomatazos, it has a score of "43%". Meanwhile, on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, it has a "Rotten" score of "17%", based on 6 reviews.

Box office

, the film performed weakly at the box-office, opening at #6 and grossing $8.99 million pesos (est. $0.48 million

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

). In its second week, the film moved down to #8, grossing $4.26 million pesos (est. US$0.2 million) which brings a total of $18.44 million pesos (est. US$0.99 million). It has earned $22.9 million pesos in total. In the

, the film has grossed $1,626 in 10 theaters. The film has grossed a total of $4.55 million worldwide.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

GFM Films profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wizard's Tale, A 2018 computer-animated films 2010s fantasy comedy films 2010s adventure comedy films 2010s children's comedy films Ánima Estudios films 2010s children's adventure films 2010s children's fantasy films Mexican animated feature films Mexican children's films 2010s Spanish-language films Films based on television series British 3D films British computer-animated films British animated fantasy films British children's animated films British children's comedy films British children's fantasy films Films set in London Animated films based on animated series 2018 comedy films 2010s English-language films 2010s British films 2010s Mexican films 2018 multilingual films Mexican multilingual films British multilingual films English-language fantasy comedy films English-language adventure comedy films