Horrid Henry: The Movie
Horrid Henry: The Movie is a 2011 British 3D children's musical adventure comedy film directed by Nick Moore[3] and produced by Allan Niblo, Rupert Preston, Mike Watts and Lucinda Whiteley,[4] who wrote it. In the film, Henry and the Purple Hand Gang fight to prevent the closure of their school by an evil private school headmaster. It is based on the fictional character Horrid Henry from the children's book series of the same name by Francesca Simon.[5]
Horrid Henry: The Movie | |
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United Kingdom theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Nick Moore |
Produced by |
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Written by | Lucinda Whiteley |
Based on | Horrid Henry by Francesca Simon |
Starring |
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Music by |
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Cinematography | Sam McCurdy |
Edited by | Simon Cozens |
Production company |
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Distributed by | Vertigo Films |
Release date |
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Running time | 93 minutes[1] |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Box office | $10.1 million[2] |
It stars Theo Stevenson, Richard E. Grant, Parminder Nagra, Kimberley Walsh, Mathew Horne, Siobhan Hayes, Dick and Dom, Noel Fielding, Jo Brand[6] and Anjelica Huston. It was the first British film for children to be shot in 3D. The film was officially released in cinemas on 29 July 2011 in 2D, RealD 3D, and 3D formats by Vertigo Films in the United Kingdom. The movie is now aired on Netflix.
Phase 4 Films and Entertainment One released the film in theatres in the United States and Canada on 22 December 2012.[7] The film received generally negative reviews by critics for its script, quality and humour. It has an approval rating of 9% on Rotten Tomatoes and grossed $10.1 million worldwide. Horrid Henry: The Movie was released on DVD and Blu-ray on 28 November 2011 in the United Kingdom. Horrid Henry: The Movie has sold over 750,000 DVD copies in the UK.[8]
Horrid Henry: The Movie aired on Nicktoons in October 2019. The film had a share of 9.2% and ranked number 1 in its time slot.[9] The film has 4.5 stars out of 5 on Amazon Prime.[10]
Plot
Horrid Henry uses his magnetic yoyo to steal cookies from Moody Margaret's Secret Club. Before he can eat them, his mother tells him to do his homework. The next morning, Henry searches for his homework, only to find that after he left it on the dining room table, the other members of the household variously spilled milk on it, stepped on it, and squashed it into the couch, leaving it a mess.
He leaves it behind and has his friend Brainy Brian forge a note from his mother saying his cat ate it. His teacher, Miss Battle-Axe, realizes that this note is forged and that Henry did not do it himself, since Brian spelled "homework" correctly, something Henry is incapable of doing. With Henry in detention, his friends join him to practice for a talent contest. Miss Oddbod, the headteacher, and a pair of school inspectors walk in on their rehearsal.
Vic Van Wrinkle, headteacher of the exorbitantly expensive Brick House School, has been bribing the school inspectors to put pressure on Ashton Primary, the school Henry attends, in order to justify closing the school. Van Wrinkle stands to make a fortune from the resulting influx of pupils. Horrid Henry and Moody Margaret's misbehavior prompts Miss Oddbod to fire Miss Battle-Axe and Miss Lovely for failing to enforce discipline, and the school inspectors encourage Henry's pranks.
With Ashton Primary on the brink of closing, Henry's Great Aunt Greta volunteers to put up the money to transfer Henry to an all girls school (since she thinks Henry is a girl) and his younger brother Peter to Brick House. Miss Lovely gets a job at Brick House, where she notices the school inspectors. Peter distracts the staff and pupils by performing numerous arrangements of "Frère Jacques" so that Miss Lovely can spy on Van Wrinkle and the inspectors. She is caught by Van Wrinkle, but covertly passes notes about his plan to Peter.
Meanwhile, Henry's new schoolmates immediately realize he is a boy and begin hunting him. Margaret, who has also been transferred to the school, comes to Henry's aid, and the two escape. The traumatic experience motivates them to work together to save Ashton Primary. Henry decides to win the talent contest with his Zero Zombies band, hoping that this will make them famous enough that they won't shut the school down.
After the band wins the contest, Miss Oddbod informs Henry that fame is irrelevant in this case. Henry is later invited game show known as '2 Cool 4 School', with the intention of using the prize money to bribe the school inspectors to leave Ashton Primary alone. In the final round of the competition, he is confronted with Miss Battle-Axe, who challenges him to spell "homework." Recalling Miss Battle-Axe's early admonitions and using "Oh Henry, you horrid boy" as a mnemonic device, he correctly spells "homework" with two "o"s for the first time.
Meanwhile, Peter and his friends try to rescue Miss Lovely, but are captured by Van Wrinkle. Miss Lovely tricks him into explaining his plan while Peter has her mobile phone call the school so that Miss Oddbod can hear. Miss Oddbod calls the police and Van Wrinkle attempts to escape, but falls over due to Peter tying his shoelaces together and is later arrested. Henry returns and offers the cash prize to Miss Oddbod, who declines it and explains that the school has already been saved. At Margaret's suggestion, the money is instead used for a large party.
Cast
- Theo Stevenson as Horrid Henry
- Richard E. Grant as Vic Van Winkle
- Anjelica Huston as Miss Battle-Axe
- Scarlett Stitt as Moody Margaret
- Ross Marron as Perfect Peter
- Emma Tate reprises her role from the TV series as Perfect Peter during the operatic version of "Frère Jacques".
- Mathew Horne as Dad
- Siobhan Hayes as Mum
- Rebecca Front as Miss Oddbod
- Parminder Nagra as Miss Lovely
- Lloyd Howells as Rude Ralph
- Jack Sanders as Aerobic Al
- Reuben Lee as Brainy Brian
- Billy Kennedy as Weepy William
- Connor O'Mara as Beefy Bert
- Helena Barlow as Sour Susan
- Nikita Mistry as Gorgeous Gurinder
- Ela Warburton as Lazy Linda
- Nethra Tilakumara as Singing Soraya
- David Schneider as Soggy Sid
- Metin and Timur Ahmet as the School Inspectors
- Helen Lederer as Rich Aunt Ruby
- Noel Fielding as Ed Banger
- Kimberley Walsh as Prissy Polly
- Dick and Dom as themselves
- Prunella Scales as Great Aunt Greta
- Frank Kauer as Spotless Sam
- Joshua-James Thomas as Goody Goody Gordon
- Gabriel Werb as Tidy Ted
- Tyger Drew-Honey as Stuck-up Steve
- Tamsin Heatley as Miss Impatience Tutu and Fang the Hamster.
- Philip Pope as Moody Margaret's Dad
- Kia Pegg as Vicious Vicky
- Grant Logan as Wheely Walter
- Lily and Sasha Demetriou Ottaway as Vomiting Vera
- Elizabeth Waterworth-Santo as Nitty Nora.
- Waterworth-Santo also reprises her voice of Henry from the TV series during the song "When I'm King".
Soundtrack
Horrid Henry: The Movie: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | |
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Soundtrack album by Various artists | |
Released | 1 January 2011 |
Recorded | 2010 |
Genre | Film Soundtrack, pop rock |
Label | Universal Music TV |
Producer | Various artists |
Singles from Horrid Henry: The Movie: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | |
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The soundtrack was released on 1 January 2011, New Year's Day, by Universal Music TV.[11]
Track | Song | Artists |
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1 | "Too Cool for School" | Theo Stevenson |
2 | "Everybody Dance" | Kimberley Walsh |
3 | "Boys and Girls" | Pixie Lott |
4 | "Party Rock Anthem" | LMFAO featuring Lauren Bennett and GoonRock |
5 | "(Gonna Be a) Rockstar" | Theo Stevenson |
6 | "Beat of My Drum" | Nicola Roberts |
7 | "One Time" | Justin Bieber |
8 | "Shine a Light" (Radio Edit) | McFly ft. Taio Cruz |
9 | "When I'm King" | Emma Tate, Tamsin Heatley, Wayne Forester and Theo Stevenson |
10 | "Get Down" | Twenty Twenty |
11 | "Special Brew" | Bad Manners |
12 | "Horrid Homework Haze" | Killer Boy Rats |
13 | "I Gotta Feeling" (Edit) | The Black Eyed Peas |
14 | "Rock Down" | Free Amigos |
15 | "Ego" | The Saturdays |
16 | "Underdog" | You Me at Six |
17 | "Monster" | The Automatic |
18 | "Dynamite" | Taio Cruz |
19 | "All the Small Things" | Jedward |
20 | "I'm Horrid Henry" | Killer Boy Rats |
Release
Horrid Henry: The Movie was theatrically released on July 29 in the U.K. by Vertigo Films.[12][13] It was released on DVD and Blu-ray on November 28, 2011 in the United Kingdom.
Reception
The film opened at #5 in the box office in the United Kingdom with £1.3 million, in a top ten led by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 and Captain America: The First Avenger.[14] It was knocked down the next week to #7, by Super 8 and Mr. Popper's Penguins.[15]
Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 2 out of 22 critics gave the film a positive review; the rating average is 3.62 out of 10.[16] Common criticisms included the unfunny, juvenile humour,[17][18][19] stuttering plot,[17][19][20] and unimaginative use of stereoscopy.[17][18][19] The bright colour palette was widely praised, but generally said to be wasted given the overall low quality of the film.[17][18][20]
Leslie Felperin of Variety stated, "Thinly scripted, even for a kidpic, but luridly colored enough to keep even nap needing tots (or parents) awake, this sophomore effort by Brit helmer Nick Moore (“Wild Child”) reps something of a waste of its impressive roster of supporting thesp talent, while its use of 3D is likewise less than imaginative."[17]
Derek Adams offered the film mild praise in Time Out: "‘Horrid Henry’ is indelibly flawed and disorderly in tone but not devoid of rambunctious charm."[20] When interviewed on Desert Island Discs by Kirsty Young, Horrid Henry book author Francesca Simon stated that "I haven't seen it (the film)...I had nothing to do with it."[21]
Sequel
In a January 2020 interview with Novel Entertainment after the success of Horrid Henry: The film's airing on Nicktoons, executive producer Lucinda Whiteley said she was "absolutely (working on a sequel)! And not just one but two sequels, as the story of how Henry ends up saving the world needs more than just 90 minutes!".[9]
See also
References
- "HORRID HENRY - THE MOVIE (U)". British Board of Film Classification. 20 July 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
- "Horrid Henry: The Movie". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
- Cooper2011-05-05T13:05:00+01:00, Contributing Editor Sarah. "Horrid Henry: The Movie". Screen. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
- "Profile: Lucinda Whitely - Transforming Horrid Henry". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
- "Horrid Henry to be made into film". 23 June 2010. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
- "All-Star Cast Announced for 'Horrid Henry: The Movie'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
- "News". Phase4films.com. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
- http://novelentertainment.co.uk/productions/horrid-henry/
- "Fantastic Viewing Figures for Horrid Henry: The Movie's First Outing on Nicktoons | Novel Entertainment". www.novelentertainment.co.uk. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
- www.amazon.co.uk https://www.amazon.co.uk/Horrid-Henry-Movie-Theo-Stevenson/dp/B00IKEW9C0. Retrieved 14 January 2020. Missing or empty
|title=
(help) - "Horrid Henry: Various artists: Amazon.co.uk: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
- "Horrid Henry: The Movie 3D". Express & Star. 30 July 2011. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
- "News". Phase4films.com. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
- "Harry Potter beats Captain America". BBC News. 2 August 2011. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
- "Weekend box office 5th August 2011 - 7th August 2011". www.25thframe.co.uk. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
- "Horrid Henry: The Movie (2013)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
- Felperin, Leslie (26 July 2011). "Review: Horrid Henry: The Movie". Variety. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
- Munroe, Shaun (31 December 2011). "Worst 20 Films of 2011". What Culture. Archived from the original on 21 February 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
- Young, Graham (29 July 2011). "Film Review: Horrid Henry - The Movie 3D". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
- Adams, Derek (26 July 2011). "Horrid Henry: The Movie". Time Out. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
- This was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on 11 November 2011.