| Regular Show: The Movie | |
| Director: | J. G. Quintel |
| Producer: | Ryan Slater |
| Music: | Mark Mothersbaugh John Enroth Albert Fox |
| Editing: | Bobby Gibis |
| Studio: | Cartoon Network Studios[1] |
| Distributor: | Cartoon Network Warner Bros. Pictures |
| Runtime: | 68 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Budget: | $3 million |
Regular Show: The Movie is a 2015 American animated science fiction comedy film based on the television series of the same name. Produced by Cartoon Network Studios, the film was directed by series creator J. G. Quintel and features the voices of William Salyers, Quintel, Sam Marin, and Mark Hamill reprising their respective roles from the series, with Jason Mantzoukas and David Koechner joining the cast. The film follows Mordecai and Rigby, along with their groundskeeping co-workers Benson, Pops, Muscle Man, Hi-Five Ghost and Skips, as they embark on a mission to save the universe, and their friendship, from a vengeful volleyball coach.
The film premiered on August 14, 2015 at The Downtown Independent theater in Los Angeles, where it was shown until August 20, 2015.[2] The film is the third film based on a Cartoon Network property to receive a theatrical release, after The Powerpuff Girls Movie and Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters; it was not released by Warner Bros. Pictures due to the failure of The Powerpuff Girls Movie. The film was released digitally on September 1, 2015, on DVD on October 13, 2015, and ultimately had its television premiere on November 25, 2015, on Cartoon Network.[3] The events of the film take place during the seventh season of the show. Regular Show: The Movie was the first Cartoon Network original film since 2009's Ed, Edd n Eddy's Big Picture Show.
In the distant future, Rigby, Benson, Skips, Hi-Five Ghost, Muscle Man, and Pops fight Lord Ross, a madman plotting to erase all of time. Aiding him is a cybernetic Mordecai who is estranged from Rigby for a past transgression. The entire team is killed except for Rigby, who escapes using a timeship, a time traveling space vehicle, to travel to the past, though not before Mordecai mortally shoots him.
In the present, Mordecai and Rigby barely convince Benson not to fire them after running late due to Rigby's idea to get breakfast burritos. Future Rigby then crashlands in the park. He says that when Mordecai and Rigby were in high school, they built a time machine that backfired and created a "Time-nado", a tornado able to travel through space and time. It was later harnessed and weaponized by their former science teacher and volleyball coach, Mr. Ross, who was held responsible for the incident and arrested. Before dying, future Rigby tells his present self that he will soon have to reveal a secret from his past to save the universe, even if it destroys his friendship with Mordecai. Mordecai explains they created the time machine because Rigby got into their dream college, College University, but he did not.
After preparing for the mission, the employees use the timeship to travel back in time, damaging the engines in the process. Skips, Muscle Man, and Hi-Five Ghost stay behind to fix them, while the others go to Mordecai and Rigby's old high school to destroy the time machine that their past selves are working on. Mr. Ross is angry at Rigby for costing his volleyball team the championship but is forced to let him do an extra credit assignment to pass his class. After an encounter with the volleyball team, who mistake Benson and Pops for spies from a rival school, Mordecai and Rigby meet their past selves and convince past Rigby to make a model volcano instead. They then destroy the time machine.
Believing their mission to be over, Mordecai, Rigby, Benson and Pops return to the timeship. After it is repaired, however, temporal ruptures begin appearing. It turns out that Rigby and Mordecai's past selves are about to finish a second time machine Lord Ross planted. The employees race back to the school but are held up by Lord Ross and future Mordecai, allowing past Mordecai and Rigby to botch the second time machine and create the Time-nado. Lord Ross then forces Rigby to admit the truth: he never got into College University, but Mordecai did. Unwilling to get separated from Mordecai, he created his fake rejection letter to maintain their friendship. Lord Ross then tries to kill Mordecai with a volleyball bomb. However, Future Mordecai, having a change of heart, jumps into the bomb's path, forcing Lord Ross to retreat.
Enraged at Rigby's duplicity, Mordecai ends his friendship with him. Heartbroken, Rigby runs off with the timeship, leaving the group behind. Before dying, future Mordecai gives his present self his timeship and advises him to patch things up, expressing regret over the corrupt path he chose. As the group tries to rebound, a distress call from future Gene the Vending Machine prompts them to help out. After a suicide attempt by flying into the sun, Rigby encounters Father Time, who is falling apart due to the Time-nado. He convinces Rigby to head to the future and apologize to Mordecai. At the Time-nado space station, Lord Ross intercepts Rigby and Mordecai. With Techmo's help, they defeat Ross and restore their friendship before using the plutonium from Mordecai's timeship to destroy the Time-nado. They later convince past Rigby to apologize to past Mr. Ross before the latter is imprisoned for life, ending the feud between them.
Returning to the present, Mordecai and Rigby agree to not let their friendship degrade into trying to kill each other. This alters the future and erases their dead future selves. The next day, as Benson catches them out of the park, the pair race back in the timeship from a fast food place, glad that they will "never be late again".
The film was first announced in February 2015 during the Cartoon Network upfront.[4] Series creator J. G. Quintel announced on June 11, 2015, via Twitter that the production of the film had been completed.[5] A trailer for the film was shown at the 2015 Comic Con International event on July 10, 2015[6] and was later released online on July 12, 2015. Despite the film being announced in February 2015, the film began production in 2014.
During production of the fourth season, the network asked the creator if he would like to do a forty-minute special episode. Quintel turned down the offer and asked to do a film instead. The network agreed. The idea was then put into development.[7]
Quintel confirmed that the film is canon to the events of the show, and is set between the first two episodes of season seven, "Dumptown U.S.A." and "The Parkie Awards".[7]
The sixth season of Regular Show was affected by the film. It was set to have 40 11-minute segments, but due to the production of the film, only 31 were produced, for a total of 28 episodes (the half-hour episodes take up two production codes). The seventh season featured 36 episodes.
The soundtrack for the film featured three real-life songs including, "March of the Swivel Heads", "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades" and "Pale Blue Eyes".
The film made its world premiere for a Downtown Independent debut screening on August 14, 2015, and continued to play there until August 20, 2015.[8] The film also screened at select Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas across the United States and it had a select showtime at the SVA Theatre of New York[9] and at the Cinema Montrereal CANADA during October 2015.[10]
Regular Show: The Movie premiered on Cartoon Network in the United States and Cartoon Network in Canada on November 25, 2015. It premiered on Cartoon Network in the United Kingdom and Ireland and Cartoon Network in Australia and New Zealand on November 28, 2015.[11] [12] The film premiered in Asia (including Philippines) on November 30, 2015, and in Central and Latin America on December 7, 2015. The film premiered in France on December 18, 2015, on Cartoon Network, and in Italy on March 24, 2016, also on Cartoon Network.
The film was released on digital platforms such as iTunes and Google Play Movies & TV on September 1, 2015. The movie was later released to DVD by Warner Home Video on October 13, 2015.[3] It includes an audio commentary, deleted scenes, movie animatics, the trailer, original board pitch, concept art and movie art galleries. Is estimated to have grossed $151,389 in domestic DVD sales.[13] [14]
Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media said in her review, "Regular Show: The Movie is full of far-fetched scenarios and story tangents. There's a lot of cartoon violence, including some fistfights, explosions, the use of hand-held blasters, and the disintegration of some characters. Language is marginal ("stupid," "butt," and the like), and the characters sometimes act on selfish or vengeful urges. That said, a main character realizes when his actions affect others in a negative way and attempts to set things right in the end."[15] Felix Vasquez Jr. of Cinema Crazed called it "a great treat for devotees of the series; it’s simple, very entertaining, and never loses sight of what makes the show so excellent."[16]
The movie was watched by 2.17 million viewers and received a 0.5 Nielsen rating in adults 18-49.[17]