| Horrid Henry: The Movie | |
| Director: | Nick Moore |
| Cinematography: | Sam McCurdy |
| Editing: | Simon Cozens |
| Distributor: | Vertigo Films |
| Runtime: | 93 minutes[1] |
| Country: | United Kingdom[2] |
| Language: | English |
| Gross: | $10.1 million[3] |
Horrid Henry: The Movie is a 2011 British 3D comedy film directed by Nick Moore[4] and produced by Allan Niblo, Rupert Preston, Mike Watts, and Lucinda Whiteley,[5] 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.[6] The film itself takes place before series 3 of the TV series.
Horrid Henry: The Movie stars Theo Stevenson, Richard E. Grant, Parminder Nagra, Kimberley Walsh, Mathew Horne, Siobhan Hayes, Dick and Dom, Noel Fielding, Jo Brand,[7] and Anjelica Huston. It was the first British film for children to be shot in 3D,[8] and was officially released in cinemas on 29 July 2011 in 2D, RealD 3D, and 3D formats by Vertigo Films in the United Kingdom.
Phase 4 Films and Entertainment One released the film in theatres in the United States and Canada on 22 December 2012.[9] The film received generally negative reviews from critics and audiences, who criticised its humour, use of 3D, acting, and low quality, but was positively received from fans of the books and the TV series. It 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.[10]
After failing to complete his homework yet again, Horrid Henry has his friend Brainy Brian forge a note from his mother claiming that his cat ate it. His teacher, Miss Battle-Axe, sees through Henry's scheme as the word "homework" is spelled correctly, something Henry is incapable of doing. While Henry is in detention, his friends join him to rehearse for a school talent contest; they are interrupted by Miss Oddbod, the Headmistress, and a pair of school inspectors.
Meanwhile, Vic Van Wrinkle, Headmaster of the expensive all-boys private academy, Brick House School, influences the school inspectors to close down Ashton Primary, the school Henry attends, hoping to make a fortune from the resulting influx of students. The inspectors encourage Henry's pranks, leading to Miss Battle-Axe and Miss Lovely being fired for failing to enforce discipline. Miss Oddbod also bans Henry's band, the Zero Zombies, from entering the talent contest.
With Ashton Primary on the brink of closing, Henry's Great Aunt Greta offers to pay for Henry to attend an all-girls private academy (thinking Henry is a girl) and his younger brother, Perfect Peter, to attend Brick House. Miss Lovely applies for a job at Brick House and spies on Van Wrinkle; she is captured, but passes notes about Van Wrinkle's plan to Peter. Meanwhile, Henry and Margaret (who has also been transferred to Henry's new school) are attacked by the students there and escape. Henry and the Zero Zombies compete in the talent contest, hoping that their win will make them famous enough that Ashton Primary will not close. The band wins the contest, but Miss Oddbod tells Henry that fame is irrelevant in this case.
Henry is later invited onto a game show known as 2 Cool 4 School and Margaret suggests that they use the cash prize to bribe the school inspectors to leave Ashton Primary alone. In the final round of the game, Henry is confronted by Miss Battle-Axe, who challenges him to spell "homework." Recalling Miss Battle-Axe's earlier admonitions and using "Oh, Henry" as a mnemonic device, he finally spells the word correctly and wins. Miss Battle-Axe reveals there has only ever been two winners of the show, herself and Henry.
Meanwhile, Peter and his friends try to rescue Miss Lovely, but are captured by Van Wrinkle. Miss Lovely tricks Van Wrinkle into explaining his plan while Peter has her mobile phone on a call with Miss Oddbod, who calls the police. Van Wrinkle attempts to escape, but falls over due to Peter tying his shoelaces together; he and the school inspectors are arrested. Henry offers the cash prize to Miss Oddbod, who declines it and explains that the school has already been saved; the money is instead used for a large party at Henry's house.
Horrid Henry: The Movie was filmed at London for seven weeks in November and December and was released in cinemas the next summer.
Horrid Henry: The Movie was theatrically released on 29 July 2011, in the U.K. by Vertigo Films.[11] It was later released on DVD and Blu-ray on 28 November, that same year, in the United Kingdom.
The film opened at #5 in the box office in the United Kingdom with £1.3 million, in a Top 10 led by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 and .[12] It was knocked down the next week to #7, by Super 8 and Mr. Popper's Penguins.[13]
The film received generally negative reviews from critics. Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports that 9% of 22 reviews for Horrid Henry: The Movie are positive; the average rating is 3.60/10.[14] Common criticisms included the unfunny, juvenile humour,[15] [16] [17] stuttering plot,[18] and unimaginative use of stereoscopy. The bright colour palette was widely praised, but generally said to be wasted, given the overall low quality of the film.
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 thespian talent, while its use of 3D is likewise less than imaginative.'
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". When interviewed on Desert Island Discs by Kirsty Young, Horrid Henry book author Francesca Simon stated: 'I haven't seen it (the film)...I had nothing to do with it.'[19] Sandie Angulo Chen of Common Sense Media gave this a film two stars out of five, describing as a "forgettable British kid comedy is pretty horrid indeed."[20]
| Horrid Henry: The Movie: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | |
| Type: | Soundtrack |
| Artist: | Various artists |
| Released: | 1 January 2011 |
| Recorded: | 2010 |
| Genre: | Film Soundtrack, pop rock |
| Label: | Universal Music TV |
| Producer: | Various artists |
The soundtrack was released on 1 January 2011, New Year's Day, by Universal Music TV.[21]
| Track | Song | Artists | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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" (Movie Soundtrack Edit) | 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 (Blink-182 cover)" | Jedward | |
| 20 | "I'm Horrid Henry" | Killer Boy Rats (Lucinda Whiteley, Matthew Corbett and Mike Wilkie) |
In an interview with Novel Entertainment, aired out in January 2020 after the success of Horrid Henry: The Movie being aired 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!'[22]