Animal Crackers (2017 film) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Animal Crackers
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Scott Christian Sava Tony Bancroft
Produced by	Scott Christian Sava George Lee Marcus Englefield Jamie Thomason Leiming Guan Jaime Maestro Nathalie Martinez
Written by	Scott Christian Sava Dean Lorey
Starring	John Krasinski Emily Blunt Ian McKellen Danny DeVito Sylvester Stallone Raven-Symoné Patrick Warburton
Music by	Bear McCreary
Editing by	Ximo Romero
Studio	Blue Dream Studios Blue Dream Studios Spain Mayday Movie Productions Beijing Wen Hua Dongrun Investment Co. China Film Group Corporation Odins Eye Entertainment Storyoscopic Films
Distributed by	Netflix
Release date(s)	June 12, 2017 (2017-06-12) (Annecy) July 21, 2018 (2018-07-21) (China) July 24, 2020 (2020-07-24) (United States)
Running time	105 minutes
Country	United States Spain China
Language	English
Budget	$17 million
Money made	$11.2 million

Animal Crackers is a 2017 American-Chinese animated comedy and fantasy film for the whole family. It was directed by Scott Christian Sava and Tony Bancroft. The story is based on the idea of animal-shaped cookies and a graphic novel by Scott Christian Sava.

The movie features the voices of famous actors like John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Danny DeVito, Ian McKellen, Sylvester Stallone, Raven-Symoné, and Patrick Warburton.

Animal Crackers first showed at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on June 12, 2017. It was released in China on July 21, 2018. After some delays, it was finally released worldwide on Netflix on July 24, 2020. Critics had mixed opinions about the film.

Plot

The Magic Circus Begins

The story starts in 1962 with two brothers, Bob and Horatio Huntington. They run a traveling circus together. Even though they are very different, their circus is doing well.

One day, a fortuneteller named Esmerelda introduces her niece, Talia, to Bob and Horatio. She asks them to give Talia a job. Both brothers are very impressed by Talia, but she only likes Bob.

When Bob and Talia decide to get married, Horatio gets very angry. He tells Bob to choose between Talia and him. Bob chooses Talia and marries her. As a wedding gift, Esmerelda gives them a mysterious box. This box helps them start a new circus called "Buffalo Bob's Rootin' Tootin' Animal Circus." This circus becomes famous for its animals doing amazing, impossible tricks.

A Family Legacy

Many years later, Bob's nephew, Owen, marries his childhood sweetheart, Zoe, at the circus. This is where they first met. After the wedding, Owen starts working as a taste tester for Zoe's father, Mr. Woodley, at his dog biscuit factory.

Seven years later, Horatio, who has had bad luck since leaving the circus, sneaks into Bob and Talia's trailer. He is trying to find the secret to the magic animals. He accidentally starts a fire, and Bob and Talia seemingly die in it.

Owen, Zoe, and their daughter Mackenzie attend the funeral. Horatio then shows up unexpectedly and says he will take over the circus. He and his helpers start a fight, making the Huntingtons run away.

The Secret of the Cookies

Before they leave, the circus pets, Old Blue the bloodhound and Zena the cat, give the Huntingtons the mysterious box. Later, Owen, Zoe, and Mackenzie discover the box holds animal cracker cookies. Owen eats one and suddenly turns into a hamster!

The Huntingtons go back to the circus to figure out what happened. Chesterfield, a clown, explains that the animal crackers turn the person who eats them into the animal on the cookie. He also says there is only one special human cookie to change them back. Chesterfield then tells them that they have inherited the circus.

Zoe is excited to reopen the circus, but Owen wants to keep his job at the dog biscuit factory to please Mr. Woodley. Zoe starts to fix up the circus while Owen stays at his job. Mr. Woodley is upset that Zoe quit and starts thinking about Brock, a mean employee, as her replacement.

Circus Challenges

The Buffalo Bob's Rootin' Tootin' Animal Circus reopens, but it's a disaster because there are no animals! Owen reluctantly decides to eat the animal crackers himself and perform as an animal. He starts to enjoy it and decides to quit his factory job.

As Owen is packing up, Brock accidentally eats one of the cookies and turns into a mandrill. To catch him, Owen turns into a lion. But Brock is captured by Horatio's helper, Mario Zucchini, who also steals some cookie crumbs.

When Owen gets home, he realizes he has lost the human cookie. This means he will stay an animal forever! He tries to live as an animal but finds it very hard. Meanwhile, Binkley, an employee at Mr. Woodley's factory, discovers the animal crackers. She convinces Mr. Woodley to come to the circus.

The Final Showdown

During a circus performance, Horatio appears. He offers Owen his human cookie (which Mario had also unknowingly stolen) in exchange for the circus. Owen refuses, thinking that staying an animal will at least keep his family together. But Horatio's helpers, who have turned into strange animals from eating the cookie crumbs, force Owen to agree.

The circus performers then join the fight against Horatio's animal helpers. Horatio eats some crumbs and turns into a chimera, a creature made of different animals. Old Blue and Zena then reveal they are actually Bob and Talia! They are alive but stuck in animal form because their human cookies were destroyed in the fire. They ask Horatio to change his ways, but he refuses.

Horatio flies up, grabbing Bob and Talia. Owen, Zoe, Mackenzie, and the other circus performers work together to save Bob and Talia. They manage to capture Horatio, and Owen turns him into a hamster as punishment.

Mr. Woodley changes his mind about the circus. With Binkley, he decides to create a new circus souvenir: animal crackers that temporarily change the eater's skin color and patterns to match the animal on the cookie. Owen and Zoe now work happily at the circus. Owen even performs as a dragon!

Cast

Music

The music for Animal Crackers was created by Bear McCreary. The movie's soundtrack also includes original songs from popular artists like Toad the Wet Sprocket, Huey Lewis and the News, Howard Jones, and Michael Bublé.

Soundtrack

Score

See also

In Spanish: Animal Crackers (película de 2017) para niños