Freddie as F.R.O.7 facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Freddie as F.R.O.7 |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Jon Acevski |
| Produced by | Jon Acevski Norman Priggen |
| Written by | Jon Acevski David Ashton |
| Starring | Ben Kingsley |
| Music by | David Dundas Rick Wentworth |
| Cinematography | Rex Neville |
| Editing by | Mick Manning Alex Reymant |
| Studio | Hollywood Road Films J&M Entertainment |
| Distributed by | Rank Film Distributors |
| Release date(s) | 14 August 1992 (United Kingdom) |
| Running time | 91 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Money made | $1.1 million (US) |
Freddie as F.R.O.7 (also known as Freddie the Frog) is a 1992 British animated musical action and fantasy comedy film. It was written and directed by Jon Acevski. The famous actor Ben Kingsley provides one of the main voices.
The movie was inspired by bedtime stories Jon Acevski told his son. These stories were about his favorite toy frog who worked as a secret agent. The film is a fun parody of the James Bond spy movies.
Freddie as F.R.O.7 was released in both the United Kingdom and the United States in the summer of 1992. It didn't do very well with critics or audiences. The American release especially struggled at the box office. For a while, it held the record for the lowest-grossing animated film in the US. This record was later broken by The Ten Commandments in 2007, which also featured Ben Kingsley's voice.
Contents
The Story of Freddie
The adventure begins long ago in the Middle Ages in Monaco, France. We meet Prince Frederic, a 10-year-old boy. He lives with his father, the King, in a huge castle by the ocean. Frederic is learning about magical powers. His mother, the Queen, had passed away about a year before.
One day, while Frederic and his father are horse riding in the forest, something strange happens. A red cobra scares the King's horse, and the King is lost. Frederic watches the cobra slither away. He had never seen one like it in the forest before.
Now an orphan, Frederic is taken in by his aunt, Messina (Billie Whitelaw). She is the King's sister and becomes the ruler until Frederic is old enough. Soon, Frederic realizes that the cobra he saw was actually Messina. She was also responsible for the storm that caused his mother's passing. Instead of harming the young prince, she turns him into a frog and tries to capture him.
Both Frederic and Messina fall from the castle window into the ocean. Frederic is saved by a giant sea creature. This creature turns out to be Nessie (Phyllis Logan). Messina, who wants to rule the world, vows to destroy Frederic.
Freddie's New Life
As Messina leaves, Nessie's tail gets stuck under a big rock. Frederic uses his new powers to free her tail. Nessie then takes him to dry land. She tells him that if he ever needs her, he just has to whistle. Frederic then leaps into the night sky, traveling through time. He lands in the late 20th century in a swamp full of frogs. This is where he spends the rest of his childhood, living as Freddie the Frog.
Freddie grows up to become a member of the French secret service. He is known as F.R.O.7. He even has a car that acts like a person!
The Missing Landmarks
Freddie is called to London, England, by the British Secret Service. Important famous buildings in the United Kingdom are disappearing! By the time Freddie arrives, many famous places are already gone. These include Nelson's Column, the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, St. Paul's Cathedral, and Stonehenge.
Freddie meets Brigadier G (Nigel Hawthorne), the head of the British Secret Service. He also meets Agent Daphne Fortescue, known as Daffers (Jenny Agutter). She is an Englishwoman who is an expert in martial arts. There's also Scotty (John Sessions), a Scotsman who is great with weapons. Things get worse when Canterbury Cathedral also vanishes. Freddie also meets Trilby (Jonathan Pryce), another member of the secret service who seems a bit sneaky.
Uncovering the Villain's Plan
During a trip to Ascot, Freddie discovers who is behind the disappearances. The villain is called El Supremo (Brian Blessed). He is working with Messina, who often appears in her cobra form. Freddie also learns that El Supremo plans to steal Big Ben next.
Knowing Daffers and Scotty might get caught, Freddie tells them the next target is Windsor Castle. They decide to hide on Big Ben instead. But they are quickly captured by a giant robotic snake! They are taken to a secret island in Scotland. There, they discover El Supremo's evil plan.
He is shrinking the famous buildings to the size of trophies. He plans to use them as batteries for a giant crystal. This crystal will send a powerful sleeping virus across the world, starting with the UK. The virus will put everyone to sleep, allowing him to take over and control them. Scotty gets very upset when the last building, Edinburgh Castle, is captured.
The Final Battle
Freddie and Scotty are thrown into a pool of sea monsters. Daffers is taken away to be brainwashed into following El Supremo and Messina. El Supremo uses his crystal to send the sleeping virus across Great Britain. The whole country shuts down.
Freddie whistles, and Nessie appears to save him and Scotty from the monsters. Nessie then introduces Freddie to her family. Freddie asks them to help by sinking the enemy submarines. Freddie and Scotty rescue Daffers from the snake guards. The three heroes return to stop El Supremo from conquering the world.
They battle an army of soldiers. But Daffers and Scotty get too close to the crystal's energy and fall unconscious. Freddie uses his mind powers to get inside the crystal's energy and destroys it. He also falls unconscious. El Supremo and Messina, who are planning to attack the United States next, arrive to finish Freddie. But Freddie, Daffers, and Scotty manage to defeat El Supremo. They shrink him down to the size of an ant and trap him in a matchbox.
A final battle then happens between Freddie and Messina. She changes into different animals like a bat, hyena, scorpion, and a boa constrictor. As Messina tries to crush Freddie in her boa form, Freddie remembers comforting words from his late father. He finds the strength to escape and defeats Messina.
Brigadier G and his team arrive. They discover that Trilby was a spy for the villains! Britain is returned to normal. Freddie then heads off to deal with more bad guys in the United States.
Voice Cast
- Adrian Della Touche (British release) - Narrator
- James Earl Jones (American release) - Narrator
- Ben Kingsley - Freddie/Prince Frederic, a French prince. He is turned into a frog by Messina and becomes a secret agent.
- Edmund Kingsley - Young Freddie
- Jenny Agutter - Daffers, a martial arts expert and Freddie's friend.
- Brian Blessed - El Supremo, the main villain who captures monuments to create a sleeping virus.
- Billie Whitelaw - Messina, Freddie's wicked aunt who causes his parents' passing and turns him into a frog. She can change into animals, especially a cobra.
- John Sessions - Scotty, a weapons expert who becomes Freddie's friend / Additional Voices
- Phyllis Logan - Nessie, a Loch Ness monster who helps Freddie.
- Nigel Hawthorne - Brigadier G, the head of the British secret service.
- Sir Michael Hordern - King, Freddie's father.
- Victor Maddern - Old Gentleman Raven
- Jonathan Pryce - Trilby, a sneaky member of the secret service.
- Prunella Scales - Queen, Freddie's mother / Additional voices
Cancelled Sequel
After Freddie as F.R.O.7 was released, a sequel was planned. It was going to be called Freddie Goes to Washington. Not much is known about what the story would have been. However, people think that after the first movie, Freddie and his friends would have traveled to Washington D.C. Their goal would be to finally defeat Messina for good. It was also thought that Freddie might change back into a human.
But because the first film didn't do well with critics or financially, the sequel was cancelled. The animation studio even went out of business shortly after. As of 2016, there is no other information about Freddie Goes to Washington. Only a few early animation drawings, called pencil tests, can still be seen in a YouTube video from 2009. These were likely shared by a former animator who worked on the film.
