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Hitpig!

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Hitpig!
American theatrical release poster
Directed by
Written by
  • Dave Rosenbaum
  • Tyler Werrin
Story byBerkeley Breathed
Based onPete & Pickles
by Berkeley Breathed
Produced by
  • Adam Nagle
  • Peter Nagle
  • Dave Rosenbaum
Starring
Edited byRob Neal
Music byIsabella Summers
Production
companies
Distributed byVVS Films (Canada)
Release date
  • 1 November 2024 (2024-11-01) (North America)
Running time
86 minutes
CountriesUnited Kingdom
Canada
LanguageEnglish
Box office$2.3 million[1][2]

Hitpig! is a 2024 animated comedy film directed by Cinzia Angelini and David Feiss. The film comes from an original story by Berkeley Breathed, rooted from his 2008 children's book Pete & Pickles. Breathed also wrote the screenplay alongside Dave Rosenbaum and Tyler Werrin. Produced by Aniventure and animated by Cinesite, the film features the voices of Jason Sudeikis, Lilly Singh, Rainn Wilson, Anitta, RuPaul, Hannah Gadsby and Charlie Adler.

Hitpig! was released in North America on 1 November 2024.

Plot

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Hitpig is an anthropomorphic pig who was raised by bounty hunter Big Bertha to retrieve lost pets to their owners. When Bertha gets eaten by a crocodile, Hitpig is left traumatized from the event but continues Bertha's work taking on high-profile runaway animals for cash rewards.

One night, an elephant named Pickles escapes from the custody of the Leapin' Lord of the Leotard; a wealthy but unsuccessful Las Vegas showman, with the help of animal rights activist Letícia dos Anjos. Upon discovering Pickles' escape, the Leapin' Lord contacts Hitpig to capture Pickles before a big show he intends to open within a couple of days. Hitpig accepts his offer upon hearing about the million-dollar bounty.

Pickles is taken by Letícia to London, with the intent of transferring Pickles to India to find her family. Hitpig manages to track down Pickles and earns her trust when she mistakes Hitpig to be an ally of Letícia. However, Hitpig's catchvan gets towed, so the two are forced to take a flight back to Las Vegas. On the plane, Hitpig is spotted by Letícia, and the two engage in a dart battle over Pickles, who mistakenly opens the backdoor of the plane. Hitpig and Pickles are ejected from the plane and land at a roadside motel. The pair builds a makeshift vehicle to get back to Las Vegas, but they divert from the road when a hot air balloon festival distracts Pickles, forcing Hitpig to chase after her. They settle on using a hot air balloon as another means of transportation.

The two end up in San Francisco, where they crash land on the set of a cooking game show. Pickles helps Hitpig win by using her trunk as a hand after he breaks his. Developing complicated feelings towards Pickles, Hitpig has a dream about Bertha, who explains to him that helping others was the rewarding part of bounty hunting. Hitpig then saves Pickles from drowning in a flooded house by breathing into her trunk.

The next day, the Leapin' Lord finds Hitpig and Pickles and reveals to Pickles the truth about Hitpig, who still believes he is trying to take her to India, and forces Hitpig into taking the bounty. When Hitpig rejects the bounty, he intimidates him with his pet crocodile Fluffy, who happens to be the same crocodile that ate Bertha, causing him to faint. Upon waking up, Hitpig decides to rescue Pickles. Letícia, who has taken control of Hitpig's catchvan, insists on helping, alongside other animals Hitpig had captured and Super Rooster, a superhero rooster. They make their way to the Leapin' Lord's palace, only to find out that the Leapin' Lord's show involves him shooting his palace into space so that Pickles can successfully leap into his arms.

With the help of Super Rooster and a polecat's nuclear-powered farts, Hitpig and his team manage to catch up to the flying palace. Hitpig makes it to the main stage to rescue Pickles, but as he tries to fight Fluffy, the catchvan detaches from the palace's entrance hatch, ejecting the Leapin' Lord, Fluffy and Hitpig. As Hitpig flies into space, Super Rooster gets ahold of the catchvan, reinstates it to the palace, and saves Hitpig. Hitpig takes the palace back to Earth safely. Sometime later Hitpig brings Pickles to India.

One year later, Hitpig has opened a food truck in Italy. Pickles, unable to find her family in India, comes across his restaurant and declares that Hitpig and his friends are her true family. Hitpig decides to invite Pickles into helping him save animals alongside Letícia, and they fly off in his catchvan. The Leapin' Lord and Fluffy, meanwhile, have flown high up in space towards the Sun, where they are very quickly decimated.

Voice cast

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Production

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Hitpig! was conceived by Berkeley Breathed as a film adaptation of his 2008 children's book Pete & Pickles. The film initially entered development at DreamWorks Animation in 2014 before being abandoned soon afterwards.[3][4] Prior to the creation of Hitpig, Breathed had first attempted to adapt Pete & Pickles in 2010, as a computer-animated preschool series with Technicolor.[5]

In 2020, it was announced that the British animation firm Aniventure would produce the film, with Cinzia Angelini and Maurizio Parimbelli directing.[6] Shortly afterwards, Parimbelli would be replaced by David Feiss. Animation production was handled by Cinesite through its Montreal facilities as well as its Vancouver facilities.[7]

In 2020, it was announced that Peter Dinklage, Lilly Singh, Rainn Wilson, RuPaul, Hannah Gadsby and Dany Boon had joined the cast.[6] When David Feiss joined on as a director, Boon would exit the project, and would be recast by veteran voice actor and Feiss' former Cow and Chicken collaborator Charlie Adler, who also provides the voices for two other roles for the film.[8] On March 8, 2022, it was announced that Anitta would be providing the voice for the character Letícia dos Anjos.[9] In May 2024, it was reported that Jason Sudeikis would be playing the titular character, replacing Dinklage, while GFM Animation launched international sales.[10] Isabella Summers composed the score for the film.[11]

Release

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In August 2024, Viva Pictures acquired the United States rights and scheduled the film for a theatrical release on 1 November 2024.[12]

Reception

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Box office

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In the United States and Canada, Hitpig! was released alongside Here and Absolution. The film debuted with $1.2 million from 2,107 theaters in its opening weekend, finishing 13th at the box office.[13]

Critical response

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 55% of 20 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.3/10.[14] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[15]

References

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  1. ^ "Hitpig". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  2. ^ "Hitpig – Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  3. ^ Tapper, Joan (29 November 2014). "SB People: Berkeley Breathed: Cartoonist/Author/Scriptwriter". Santa Barbara Magazine. Santa Barbara, California: Smith Publish Group. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  4. ^ "DREAMWORKS HITPIG- Trademark Details". Trademarkia. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  5. ^ Desowitz, Bill (6 May 2010). "Sarnoff Talks Technicolor, Pete & Pickles". Animation World Network. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  6. ^ a b Wiseman, Andreas (22 October 2020). "'Hitpig': Peter Dinklage, Lilly Singh, Rainn Wilson, RuPaul, Hannah Gadsby & Dany Boon To Voice Animated Movie". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  7. ^ Amidi, Amid (18 March 2022). "Aniventure Debuts First Teaser For Action-Comedy 'HITPIG' – Exclusive". Cartoon Brew. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  8. ^ "About- Charlie Adler". Official Charlie Adler. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  9. ^ Diamond Sarto, Debbie (9 March 2022). "Brazilian Singer-Songwriter Anitta Joins 'Hitpig' Cast". Animation World Network. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  10. ^ Tabbara, Mona (14 May 2024). "GFM Animation launches sales on HitPig, with Jason Sudeikis, RuPaul among voice cast". Screen Daily. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  11. ^ "Isabella Summers to Score Cinzia Angelini's & David Feiss' 'Hitpig'". Film Music Reporter. 8 March 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  12. ^ Grobar, Matt (15 August 2024). "Viva Pictures Acquires Animated Feature Hitpig! Starring Jason Sudeikis For November Release". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  13. ^ "Domestic 2024 Weekend 44". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  14. ^ "Hitpig!". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  15. ^ "Home". CinemaScore. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
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