''Willy's Wonderland'' is a 2021 American

action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

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film directed by Kevin Lewis from a screenplay by G. O. Parsons. The film stars

Nicolas Cage Nicolas Kim Coppola (born January 7, 1964), known professionally as Nicolas Cage, is an American actor and film producer. Born into the Coppola family, he is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Nicolas Cage, various ac ...

, who also served as producer, along with

Emily Tosta Emilia Gabriela Attias Tosta (born March 26, 1998), known professionally as Emily Tosta, is a Dominican actress, producer, dancer and singer. She is known for playing Lucia Acosta in the television series ''Party of Five''. Biography Tosta was b ...

Ric Reitz Kenric Lowell Reitz (born September 8, 1955) is an American actor, writer, composer, director and producer. Early life and education Reitz was born and raised in Rochester, New York. He was the middle of five creative children. Growing up an ...

, Chris Warner, Kai Kadlec, Christian Del Grosso, Caylee Cowan, Terayle Hill, Jonathan Mercedes, David Sheftell and

Beth Grant Beth Grant (born September 18, 1949) is an American character actress. Between 2012 and 2017, she was a series regular on the television comedy ''The Mindy Project'' in the role of Beverly Janoszewski. She is also known for her role as Gracie ...

. It follows a quiet drifter who is tricked into cleaning up an abandoned

family entertainment center A family entertainment center, often abbreviated FEC in the entertainment industry also known as an indoor amusement park, family amusement center, family fun center, or simply fun center, is a small amusement park marketed towards families with s ...

as he is stalked by eight murderous animatronic characters possessed by the souls of a cannibalistic killer and his seven psychotic acolytes. The project was announced in October 2019, with screenwriter Parsons having conceived the idea based on his 2016 short film ''Wally's Wonderland'', which was also the script's original name. It caught Cage's attention, who agreed to participate as both an actor and a producer. Lewis was hired as director in December 2019 while the cast joined in February 2020. Prior to its release, the film received a small

cult following A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic ...

due to sharing its premise with the ''

Five Nights at Freddy's ''Five Nights at Freddy's'' (''FNaF'') is a media franchise created by Scott Cawthon. The first video game of the same name was released on August 8, 2014, and the resultant series has since gained worldwide popularity. The main series consi ...

'' franchise. ''Willy's Wonderland'' was originally set for a worldwide theatrical release on October 30, 2020, but was postponed in response to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. Instead, it was released through

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of ...

, with a simultaneous

limited theatrical release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few theaters across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unit ...

in the United States, on February 12, 2021 by Screen Media Films. The film received mixed-to-positive reviews, with praise to Cage's performance, the dark humor and the animatronics' realistic movements but with criticism for its screenplay, plot and characters.

Plot

When his vehicle breaks down outside of Hayesville,

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

, a quiet drifter is picked up by the town's mechanic Jed Love, who takes him to Willy's Wonderland, a once-successful abandoned

. Owner Tex Macadoo offers him to work as a night-shift janitor in exchange for repairing his vehicle before he and Jed leave him locked in the restaurant. Meanwhile, teenager Liv Hawthorne gets handcuffed by her parental guardian, Hayesville's sheriff Eloise Lund, due to her previous attempts to burn the building. When Lund leaves, Liv's friends Chris Muley, Kathy Barnes, Aaron Powers, Bob McDaniel, and Dan Lorraine come and release her. As the Janitor begins his duties, the restaurant's now-withered eight animatronic mascots—Willy Weasel, Arty Alligator, Cammy Chameleon, Ozzie Ostrich, Knighty Knight, Tito Turtle, Gus Gorilla, and Siren Sara—are revealed to be alive and homicidal. Ozzie attacks the Janitor, who beats Ozzie to death with a mop. While her friends douse the perimeter with gasoline, Liv enters the restaurant through the vents to get the Janitor out. Meanwhile, the Janitor is attacked by Gus in the restrooms; he kills him by curb stomping his face into a urinal. In the vents, Arty chases Liv, but she escapes into a fairy-themed room where Sara kidnaps her. Liv manages to fend off Sara and encounters the Janitor, who ignores her warnings about the animatronics and refuses to leave. Outside the restaurant, Liv's friends climb to the roof, which collapses, causing them to fall into the building. While the Janitor cleans the kitchen, Liv explains that Willy's Wonderland was originally owned by Jerry Robert Willis, a notorious serial killer. With his seven cannibalistic colleagues, he often murdered unsuspecting families, but the authorities eventually discovered them. They committed a satanic ritual to transfer their souls into the animatronics before committing suicide. When Liv finishes, several animatronics awaken and attack the group. In the ensuing chaos, Knighty impales Aaron with his sword, Tito and Sara devour Dan alive, and Arty mauls Kathy and Bob to death in a party room. With Liv standing in awe, the Janitor decapitates Knighty and breaks Arty's jaws, killing them both. As Cammy stalks him in an arcade, Chris calls Lund for help; she goes with deputy sheriff Evan Olson upon learning that Liv is there. On the way, Lund reveals to Evan that after Willy's Wonderland was shut down, the animatronics continued murdering people around Hayesville until she, Tex and Jed made a deal with them. Over the years, they tricked random drifters into cleaning up the building, offering them as sacrifices in order to stop the animatronics' killing spree. Liv's parents were among the victims and a guilty Lund adopted her. When the Janitor and Liv arrive at the arcade, Cammy snaps Chris' neck, killing him. They subdue Cammy and attempt to leave before Lund and Evan stop them. Lund handcuffs the Janitor and leaves him to die as Evan takes Liv away. While driving back, Evan is attacked and killed by a

stowaway A stowaway or clandestine traveller is a person who secretly boards a vehicle, such as a ship, an aircraft, a train, cargo truck or bus. Sometimes, the purpose is to get from one place to another without paying for transportation. In other c ...

Tito while Liv escapes. In the restaurant, the Janitor subdues Sara, and twists Cammy's head, killing her. Enraged, Lund tries to lure Willy to kill the Janitor, only for Willy to tear her in half. Willy and the Janitor fight each other until the Janitor rips Willy's head off. The next morning, Tex and Jed return to the building and find it completely clean, with the animatronics missing. The Janitor receives his repaired vehicle and invites Liv to accompany him. While Tex and Jed discuss planning to re-open Willy's Wonderland, Sara suddenly appears and sets their car on fire with gasoline. All three are killed in a massive explosion that also destroys the entire restaurant. As the sun rises, the Janitor and Liv drive out of the town, running into and killing a wandering Tito along the way.

Cast

Human cast

Also appearing in the film are Jason Tyler as Eric Miller, a construction worker hired to demolish the restaurant; Ryan Kightlinger as a

biker Biker or bikie may refer to: * A cyclist, a bicycle rider or participant in cycling sports * A motorcyclist Motorcycling is the act of riding a motorcycle. For some people, motorcycling may be the only affordable form of individual motoriz ...

hired as a previous janitor; Joseph and Jessica Teagle as a

Hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...

couple also hired as previous janitors; Lawreen K. Yakkel, Ashann Bachan, Kevin Brown, Eduardo Lozano, Nathaniel Smith Jr., and D. J. Stavropoulos as members of Jerry Robert Willis' satanic cult; Michael Woodruff, J. J. Madaris, Robert Howell, Chris Speck, Benton Eden, and Elliott Boswell as

ATF The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), commonly referred to as the ATF, is a domestic law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibilities include the investigation and preven ...

agents; Jared Soto as a

homeless Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are: * living on the streets, also kn ...

man; Kandace Lee as a smoker killed by Willy Weasel, and Miles Woodruff as a birthday boy from the flashbacks.

Animatronic cast

Production

Development

The film was first announced in October 2019 by Screen Media Films after screenwriter and producer G. O. Parsons was advised to create a film to expand his career around 2015 to early 2016, but was displeased with his first attempt, a short film titled ''Wally's Wonderland''. He put the script on

Blood List The Blood List is a survey of unproduced thriller and horror scripts voted upon by industry professionals. It is similar to the Black List and was created in 2009 by Kailey Marsh. Steve Barton of Dread Central has called it "one of the most vita ...

, seeking to have it produced as a full-length film. Shortly after, ''

Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. The site is updated several times a day, w ...

'' confirmed that

had joined the cast after the script, which became popular on the site, caught his attention. Cage also agreed to produce the film along with producers Jeremy Davis from JD Entertainment and veteran actor-turned-producer Grant Cramer from Landafar Entertainment, in collaboration with Mike Nilon from Cage's

Saturn Films Nicolas Cage is an American actor and producer who began his acting career in 1981 with a role in the television pilot '' The Best of Times''. The following year, Cage made his feature film acting debut in '' Fast Times at Ridgemont High'', t ...

. Kevin Lewis was hired as director while the cast, including

and

, joined in February 2020. After the announcement, the film received a small

, with many comparing it to the ''Five Nights at Freddy's'' video game series, although Parsons and Lewis denied any similarities. The custom pinball machine in the film was based on the 1982

Gottlieb Gottlieb (formerly D. Gottlieb & Co.) was an American arcade game corporation based in Chicago, Illinois. History The main office and plant was located at 1140-50 N. Kostner Avenue until the early 1970s when a new modern plant and office was l ...

table ''Devil's Dare''. Certain changes were made during production; the title was changed from ''Wally's Wonderland'' to ''Willy's Wonderland'' due to legal issues; and original animatronic characters Douglas Dog, Pauly Penguin, Beary Bear, Pirate Pete, and Regina Rabbit were replaced with Arty Alligator, Tito Turtle, Gus Gorilla, Knighty Knight, and Cammy Chameleon, respectively.

Filming

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as a ...

began in February 2020 for a month in various parts of

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

. The crew used a desolated bowling alley in the Sprayberry Crossing shopping center in East Cobb, Marietta for the fictional Willy's Wonderland

, setting-up a huge basecamp with housing facilities for the crew members due to the

restrictions. Special effects for the film were done by production designer Molly Coffee, whose expertise in design and fabrication with puppetry helped to create the visual movement and appearance for the eight animatronic characters.

Music

On February 12, 2021, Filmtrax LTD released the score soundtrack for the film composed by Émoi. Producer Grant Cramer performed a track titled "Just The Way I Roll", which appeared in the film's end credits.

Marketing

On January 29, 2021, to promote the film, G. O. Parsons announced on his

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feed that original ''Willy's Wonderland'' T-shirts identical to the staff shirt Nicolas Cage wears in the film, would be available.

Comic book series

On June 25, 2021, Parsons confirmed that American Mythology Productions would release a

comic book series a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

serving as a

prequel A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. The term ...

to the film.

First issue

Its first issue was released in October 2021. It centers on the backstories of the animatronic characters. Jerry Robert Willis is an American

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

who preys on families who hire him as a professional photographer out of some sadistic pleasure. Siren Sara is depicted as a dance teacher who, upon seeing her assistant, Debbie, making out with Gary, her boyfriend (or possible husband), suddenly snaps and kills them both with an ax. Soon after, Willis is convicted of the killings and Sara is also detained. They team up in their satanic pact to kill everyone. The story also shows the re-opening of Willy's Wonderland after the deaths of Jerry and his colleagues by Tex and Jed despite protests from the public and the Sheriff. After the animatronics kill a few of the staff, Jed confesses to Tex that the spirits of Jerry and the others are inside the animatronics, but Tex decides to keep the place open as he and Jed dispose of the bodies.

Second issue

In the second

comic a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

, the backstory of Gus the Gorilla is revealed. He is depicted as a zookeeper who is socially impaired. Upon being reprimanded at the hands of his boss for feeding one of the

gorilla Gorillas are herbivorous, predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four ...

s a

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry (botany), berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa (genus), Musa''. In some countries, Cooking banana, bananas used for ...

, he snaps suddenly and beats her into oblivion, and is captured by law enforcement. Later on, it is revealed that the Cammy Chameleon animatronic is a woman going by the last name of "Love" and has a

split personality Dissociative identity disorder (DID), better known as multiple personality disorder or multiple personality syndrome, is a mental disorder characterized by the presence of at least two distinct and relatively enduring personality states. The di ...

in her deranged, psychopathic, and child-like immature mind, and her normal

shy Shyness (also called diffidence) is the feeling of fear, apprehension, discomfort, lack of comfort, or awkwardness especially when a person is around other people. This commonly occurs in new situations or with unfamiliar people; a shy person ...

persona A persona (plural personae or personas), depending on the context, is the public image of one's personality, the social role that one adopts, or simply a fictional character. The word derives from Latin, where it originally referred to a theatri ...

in the same comic and is revealed to be Jed Love's sister. It is revealed that the Arty Alligator animatronic is possessed by former art teacher turned infamous serial killer Arthur Allen, also called "The Bloody Banksy", who mauled people to death and then made artwork with their blood, declaring the world to be a blank canvas, and he is giving it color with each murder. After the animatronics kill more staff and guests, Jed is hesitant to keep the restaurant open, but Tex is approached by a wealthy family offering him money for a private birthday party for their child which Tex reluctantly agrees, despite Jed's protests. During the party, Willy and the rest of the mascots attack and kill the attending guests and staff forcing an evacuation. The sheriff and then Deputy Lund force the restaurant to be closed and torn down, but Jed states that it will only aggravate Willy and the others.

Third issue

The third comic was released on March 30, 2022, showing the origins of Tito Turtle, Ozzie Ostrich and Knighty Knight. Tito the Turtle is an unnamed

laborer A laborer (or labourer) is a person who works in manual labor types in the construction industry workforce. Laborers are in a working class of wage-earners in which their only possession of significant material value is their labor. Industries ...

who, upon being ridiculed for his love of

turtle Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked ...

s, killed every single last one of his co-workers, and was caught shortly after where he met Jerry Robert Willis and Love, joining the "Crazy 8". Ozzie Ostrich is revealed to be a serial killer going by the

epithet An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...

"The Midnight Strangler". After his abusive mother

strangled Strangling is compression of the neck that may lead to unconsciousness or death by causing an increasingly hypoxic state in the brain. Fatal strangling typically occurs in cases of violence, accidents, and is one of two main ways that hangin ...

him so hard his

vocal cords In humans, vocal cords, also known as vocal folds or voice reeds, are folds of throat tissues that are key in creating sounds through vocalization. The size of vocal cords affects the pitch of voice. Open when breathing and vibrating for speech ...

stopped working, he became a serial killer who preyed on women attending

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

. Knighty Knight was a former

renaissance fair A Renaissance fair, Renaissance faire or Renaissance festival is an outdoor gathering open to the public and typically commercial in nature, which purportedly recreates a historical setting for the amusement of its guests. Some are permanent the ...

employee who, after being insulted for his attire, impaled a guest with his sword, and became the last to join the "Crazy 8" who then escape from the facility. After the town hires a crew of builders to demolish the restaurant, Willy and the others leave the restaurant and proceed to kill the foreman and the rest of the builders before slaughtering several townspeople and massacring a basketball game. After the killings, the Sheriff, Deputy Lund, and a mob head to Willy's Wonderland with intent to destroy the animatronics.

Release

''Willy's Wonderland'' was scheduled for worldwide theatrical release on October 30, 2020, but was removed from the calendar due to the

causing the closure of theaters across the globe. It was announced on January 15, 2021 that it would be available for

digital distribution Digital distribution, also referred to as content delivery, online distribution, or electronic software distribution, among others, is the delivery or distribution of digital media content such as audio, video, e-books, video games, and othe ...

. It was eventually released through

and received a

on February 12, 2021. Due to being delayed by the pandemic, it was released in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries by area, fifth-largest country in Asia ...

on September 23, 2021.

Box office

''Willy's Wonderland'' grossed $418,286 in North America and grossed $38,858 in other territories for a worldwide total of $457,144, against a budget of $5 million. The film grossed around $97,164 in its opening day and made $107,145 over the four-day Presidents' Day weekend. The following day, it grossed $203,886, with Croatia grossing $12,734 and the UAE grossing $14,191.

Critical response

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American 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, and Stephen Wan ...

, the film holds an approval rating of 60% based on 89 reviews, with an average rating of 5.7/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "''Willy's Wonderland'' isn't quite as much fun as its premise would suggest -- but it's still got Nicolas Cage beating the hell out of bloodthirsty animatronics, which is nice."

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, which uses a

weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...

, assigned the film a score of 44 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". '' Variety''s

Owen Gleiberman Owen Gleiberman (born February 24, 1959) is an American film critic who has been chief film critic for '' Variety'' magazine since May 2016, a title he shares with . Previously, Gleiberman wrote for ''Entertainment Weekly'' from 1990 until 2014 ...

wrote: "Kevin Lewis's giant-furry-funhouse-mascot slasher movie knows how preposterous it is but plays it straight". Nick De Semlyn of ''

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

'' gave the film a score of three out of five stars, concluding that, "though the dialogue and plotting are no great shakes, that commitment to the concept, combined with Cage's swaggering soda-swigger, is enough to make this a good time." IGN's Matt Fowler rated the film six out of ten, writing that "There's not enough here to score high marks, but there's cartoonish carnage aplenty and that warrants a passing grade." Anton Bitel from VODzilla.com awarded the film a score of seven out of ten, saying: "It is set in an amusement centre for children, but comes with adult doses of foul-mouthed language, sex, gore and death. Its scenarios feel a little rote, but are enlivened by the craziness that Cage brings to everything". Kimberley Elizabeth from ''Nightmare on Film Street'' gave the film a score of 7.5/10, commenting: "Nicolas Cage sunique brand of kickassery is the jelly to this animatronic PB & J Horror sandwich". Alix Turner of ''Ready Steady Cut'' wrote: "Daft plot, fabulous fight scenes, teenagers in peril and plenty of gore. Sure, the film could have been better, but it didn't exactly need to be: this was thoroughly entertaining" and gave to it a rating of 3.5 on 5. Charles Barfield of ''The Playlist'' gave a similar opinion and rated the film with a "B+". Nicolás Delgadillo of DiscussingFilm.net called the film "unapologetically ridiculous" and "a bizarre hidden gem thrown into Cage's already vast and eclectic body of work."

Possible sequel

In an interview, G. O. Parsons stated he had an idea for a sequel if the film got enough support. In February 2021, it was announced that a sequel was being actively discussed.

References

External links

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