Gabriel and the Wacky Pack 2

Gabriel and the Wacky Pack 2 is a 2014 American 3D computer-animated comedy crossover film produced by Geo LTD. Animation for Universal Pictures. Animated by Blur Studio, it is the second installment in the Gabriel and the Wacky Pack franchise, and the sequel to the 2011 film Gabriel and the Wacky Pack, which was loosely based on Geo G's comic book series The Wacky Pack. It was directed again by Jeff Fowler with co-direction by Geo G., written by Geo, Erica Rivinoja, J. David Stem and David N. Weiss, and produced by Teresa Cheng, Michael Wildshill, and John Cohen. Gabriel and the Wacky Pack 2 was the first computer-animated sequel by Geo LTD. Animation to be released three years after its predecessor and the first Geo LTD. sequel to be animated by Blur Studio.

Zachary Gordon, Geo G., E.G. Daily, Nicky Jones, and Jake T. Austin reprised their roles as Gabriel, Roge, Leno, Cole and Loy, respectively. New cast members include Scarlett Johansson as Hatsune Miku, Kristen Schaal and Zac Efron as Kagamine Rin and Len, Elizabeth Banks as Megurine Luka, Elijah Wood as Kaito, America Ferrera as Meiko, Rob Corddry as Mr. Leek, and Jonathan Morgan Heit as Jan Soto.

The film premiered on October 15, 2014 at the 2014 Annecy International Animated Film Festival and was released in the United States and Canada on November 21, 2014. Like its predecessor, Gabriel and the Wacky Pack 2 was met with positive reviews, with critics praising its storyline and humor, and was a commercial and critical success. It was also a box office hit, having grossed over $86 million worldwide, making it the highest grossing animated film of 2014 as well as the eleventh highest-grossing film of the year overall. It was nominated in the 2015 Annie Award for "Best Animated Feature", but lost to Big Hero 6.

A prequel/spin-off, titled Wacky Pack and Lars was released in 2016, and it focuses on the Wacky Pack. A third film, Gabriel and the Wacky Pack 3, is set for November 26, 2017.

Plot
A mysterious vehicle steals and eats all of the leeks from a village of leeks in Antietam Creek. Loy, Roge, Leno and Cole's brother, his new assistant Hatsune Miku and the Vocaloids try to recruit Gabriel, Roge, Leno and Cole, to find out who ate the leeks. Gabriel refuses to help, claiming he is the adapted owner of Roge, Leno, Cole and the Lars. After Roge and Cole tell Gabriel and the Lars that they started the midnight party at Gabriel's room way back, they are distracted when they see that Leno will try to high jump with Roge's umbrella from the top of Gabriel's house. As Gabriel goes with Roge and Cole to the top of his house to save Leno from his act of daredevilry, he tries a long jump, but ends up crashing into the ground. Then Christine's (Gabriel's mother) car arrives, which almost hits Leno.

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Cast

 * Further information: List of The Wacky Pack characters


 * Zachary Gordon as Gabriel Garza
 * Geo G. as Roge
 * E.G. Daily as Leno
 * Nicky Jones as Cole
 * Jake T. Austin as Loy
 * Scarlett Johansson as Hatsune Miku
 * Kristen Schaal and Zac Efron as Kagamine Rin and Len
 * Elizabeth Banks as Megurine Luka
 * Elijah Wood as Kaito
 * America Ferrera as Meiko
 * Rob Corddry as Mr. Leek
 * Sarah Jessica Parker as Christine Garza
 * Nick Offerman as Marvin Garza
 * Ginnifer Goodwin as Desiree Garza
 * Frank Welker as Roxy
 * Emma Thompson as Celia
 * Freddie Benedict as Adan
 * Julie Lemieux as Jannie
 * Jonathan Morgan Heit as Jan Soto
 * Jeff Fowler as Jim the Lar, Tom the Lar, Sam the Lar, Jeff the Lar, Max the Lar, Additional Lars, Dark Lars, Hachune Miku and Tako Luka
 * David Stinnett as Additional Lars and Dark Lars
 * Ryō Hirohashi as Japanese Leno

Several other characters from the first film (such as Blues, Nicholas, Kratos, and Pat) are only briefly mentioned.

Japanese meme cameos and references
In addition to the spoken roles, Gabriel and the Wacky Pack 2 contains a number of other Japanese meme references, including characters and visual gags. The Japanese memes during the battle with Mr. Leek and the Dark Lars, in addition to those mentioned above, include: Haruhi Suzumiya, Ronald McDonald, Characters from Touhou Project, Characters from Sailor Moon, Angry German Kid, Konata Izumi from Lucky Star, Spider-Man (aka Japanese Spider-Man, Spy-Darma, Supaidā-Man, or Toei Spider-Man) from the 1970s tokusatsu television series in Japan, Bob Ross, and many others. Additionally, Naruto Uzumaki and Goku are referenced, but not seen.

Production
On December 5, 2011, Universal Pictures announced a sequel for a theatrical release date of November 21, 2014, with Erica Rivinoja returning to write the screenplay for the sequel. It was also announced that Jeff Fowler is returning to direct the sequel, along with Teresa Cheng and Michael Wildshill producing the film.

On June 20, 2012, it was announced J. David Stem and David N. Weiss had been hired to do rewrites on the original screenplay by Erica Rivinoja. The co-writers for the first film, Kevin and Dan Hageman, insisted the film to be a traditional sequel, but after disagreements with the producers, they left the project and were replaced by co-director Geo G. His writing of the film was inspired from Toy Story 3, with the help of director Jeff Fowler for the film, who had spent most of the film's production in Culver City while Geo spent most of the time with the voice actors in Los Angeles, California.

On August 19, 2012, it was announced that the Vocaloids would be having roles as supporting characters in the film. By late October 2012, the first draft of the script was completed. In September 2012, Rob Corddry was cast to voice the villain, while Scarlett Johansson was in early negotiations to voice Hatsune Miku in the sequel. Fowler tweeted in November 2012 that Johansson had been cast in the film.

On December 15, 2012, Universal and Geo LTD. announced that Zachary Gordon, Geo G., E.G. Daily, Nicky Jones, Jake T. Austin, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Nick Offerman were reprising their roles in the sequel. The role of Desiree Garza, Gabriel's sister, was taken over by Ginnifer Goodwin, since Amanda Bynes was unable to return due to her retirement from acting.

On January 16, 2013, Emma Thompson was cast in a supporting role of Celia. On February 1, 2013, Elizabeth Banks, Elijah Wood, and America Ferrera joined the cast of the film. In March 2013, actress Kristen Schaal was cast in a role. That same month, Fowler confirmed that they have begun the animation. Zac Efron, Freddie Benedict and Jonathan Morgan Heit joined the cast during the production. In June, a teaser banner was revealed at Licensing Expo 2013.

Marketing
A viral marketing campaign for the film launched on September 14, 2013 included a lar website called Lars' World. The film's first teaser poster was released on September 25, 2013.

At the San Diego Comic-Con International held on October 1, 2013, Universal Pictures and Geo LTD. Animation released the first footage from the sequel, as part of their presentation at Hall H, with E.G. Daily, the voice of Leno in the film, hosting the panel. The film's first official teaser trailer was released on October 4, 2013, and was attached to Geo, also by Blur Studio. Another teaser trailer was attached to The Graffiti Brothers, another Geo LTD. film, on April 18, 2014. The film's first full trailer was released on July 18, 2014. Throughout the year, trailers and 20 second teaser posters of the movie were shown.

Several merchandise were made for Gabriel and the Wacky Pack 2, such as toys and figurines. Universal teamed up with marketing partners in the United States and Canada to promote the film through McDonald's Happy Meals with a set of 13 toys. Eight books were released for the film: The Junior Novel, The Movie Storybook, Lars, Hachune, and Tako, Going Japan, Miku and Friends, Meet Roge and the Gang, Coloring and Activity Book, and Where's Jim?. A hardcover book, called The Art of Gabriel and the Wacky Pack 1 & 2, published on October 26, 2014 by authors Sharon Gosling and Adam Newell, and a foreword by Geo G. and shows the detail of the artwork that went into the making of the first two films, with storyboards, research photographs and character sketches.

A video game based on the film, titled Gabriel and the Wacky Pack 2, was released on November 19, 2014. Developed by Papaya Studio and published by Sega, the game was released for the PlayStation 3, Universal Odyssey, Starfish Marin, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Nintendo 3DS, Wii and Wii U. On December 16, 2014, Geo LTD. made a own PC port of Gabriel and the Wacky Pack 2 published by Sega and developed by Exient Entertainment. A mobile game, titled Gabriel and the Wacky Pack Run, was released on October 12, 2014 for iOS and Android. It is an endless running game based on the film and is similar to Temple Run and Despicable Me: Minion Rush.

Theatrical release
Gabriel and the Wacky Pack 2 was released by Universal on November 21, 2014. The film premiered on October 15, 2014, as a special screening at the 2014 Annecy International Animated Film Festival. The film was digitally re-mastered into IMAX 3D format and released in select international IMAX theatres. The film is accompanied by the short animated film Burger Paradise.

The film was released on November 7, 2014 in the United Kingdom, Iceland, Mexico, and Taiwan and on November 19, 2014 in Japan as Gabriel and the Wacky Pack 2: Shutsuen Gesuto Hatsunemiku Ya Yūjin (ガブリエルとワッキーパック2：出演ゲスト初音ミクや友人, Gaburieru to wakkīpakku 2: Shutsuen gesuto hatsunemiku ya yūjin, lit. "Gabriel and the Wacky Pack 2: Guest Starring Hatsune Miku and Friends"). The film was also released on November 20, 2014 in Australia and the Netherlands.

In Hungary, the largest cinema chain called Cinema City could not agree with Universal, and as a result it opened on November 26, 2014 on 52 screens, significantly fewer than similar big-budget productions. However, the film still managed to top the weekend box office chart of the country beating Dracula Untold, which had been leading the chart for three weeks (on 113 screens distributed by UIP Duna).

International releases
It was announced on November 30, 2014 that Universal Pictures would release the film in China on February 27, 2015 in IMAX 3D.

Home media
Gabriel and the Wacky Pack 2 was released digitally on February 23, 2015, and was released by Universal Studios Home Entertainment on Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray, and DVD on March 17, 2015. The theatrical short, Burger Paradise, was included. The Blu-ray combo pack and digital release is accompanied by a new animated short film The Wacky Time Has Past. A Target exclusive Blu-ray/DVD combo pack includes limited edition Lar and Hachune Miku toys. According to Nielsen VideoScan, it subsequently became the best-selling home video release for the week.

The film has been released on Blu-ray and DVD in the United Kingdom on March 30, 2015 and in Austraila on April 7, 2015.

Soundtrack
In December 2013, it was announced that Heitor Pereira, who scored the first film, had signed on to score the sequel.

Box office
Gabriel and the Wacky Pack 2 has grossed $124,234,671 in North America and $781,682,761 in other territories for a worldwide total of $732,235,258. The film is the highest-grossing animated film of 2014, behind How to Train Your Dragon 2 and surpassing Rio 2 and The Lego Movie, and the eleventh highest-grossing film of the year in any genre. It also was the highest-grossing opening for a Geo LTD. Animation film of 2014.

Gabriel and the Wacky Pack 2 was released on November 21, 2014 across North America in 3,967 theaters of which 3,133 locations were in 3D. It earned $5.2 million from midnight screenings (Thursday) from 2,750 theatres. The film remained number one at the box office for a second week earning $36 million (down 50%). In its midnight preview, it collected $4.2 million as compared to The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 's $2 million, and on its opening day collected $34.3 million at number one, overshadowing The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, which was second with just $9.7 million. Its opening weekend is also the seventh-largest of November. In its second weekend the film maintained to No. 1 spot earning over $58.1 million and set a record for the fourth-highest 5-day Thanksgiving gross with $95.2 million behind The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 ($82.6 million), The Hunger Games: Catching Fire ($109.9 million) and Frozen ($93.6 million).

Gabriel and the Wacky Pack 2 earned $42.7 million during its opening weekend internationally from 3,864 screens in 26 markets where it opened at #1 in 14 of those. International opening weekend tallies of more than $5 million were witnessed in the UK ($11.84 million), Mexico ($16.96 million), Korea ($10.6 million), Russia ($9.99 million), Brazil with ($9.5 million) and Australia ($6.6 million). The film topped the box office outside North America for two non-consecutive weekends. Earning a total of $400 million, it is the highest-grossing 2014 film distributed by Universal Pictures.

Critical response
Gabriel and the Wacky Pack 2 has received generally positive reviews. On review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a score of 96% based on 275 reviews with a rating average of 8.4 out of 10. The website's consensus reads: "Gabriel and the Wacky Pack 2 supplies a coolest animated sequel to its predecessor." On review aggregator Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average, the film has a "generally favorable" rating score of 84 out of 100 based on 56 reviews.

Guy Lodge of Variety said, "Gabriel and the Wacky Pack 2 is a good looking sequel to 2011′s better-than-expected “Gabriel and the Wacky Pack,” and it has lot of huge humor than the first one. It's more funnier than Despicable Me 2 and it's also fun for both kids and adults. The movie is awesome because it has some special things such as Hatsune Miku, her friends and more. It's way fun than its predecessor." Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter stated that the film "was great and give laughter to everyone. It's one of the greatest sequels ever, along with Toy Story 2 and Shrek 2." Drew McWeeny of HitFix said, "The script by J. David Stem and David N. Weiss is about what funny things happening in this movie. Wacky Pack 2 has too much laughter and was made by the same team who made The Simpsons Ride at Universal Studios. The known script was the Vocaloids and awesome stuff."

A.O. Scott of The New York Times praised the film for being able to balance out the sequences and animation with storytelling, writing that "Gabriel and the Wacky Pack 2 may be the best film to have its beautiful animation with sequences and storyline, it is not the worst concept ever made since Foodfight!, but this film will be fun for the whole family." Tom Russo of The Boston Globe gave the film a negative review, saying "The first one wasn't bad enough, but this one looks boring." Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film three out of four stars, saying "The first movie wasn't too much wacky for kids, but this one looks kind of okay."

In February 2015, The National Post's Chris Knight listed Gabriel and the Wacky Pack 2 on his "best films of 2014".

Accolades
Coming soon!

Sequel
On July 15, 2014, Universal announced a third film with a release date of October 20, 2017. Puss in Boots writer Tom Wheeler was hired to write the third film's screenplay. In September 2014, Geo LTD. announced that Frans Vischer, a storyboard animator on the first two Gabriel and the Wacky Pack films, will direct the third film. In November 2014, Zachary Gordon will not return to voice Gabriel in the third film as his voice has deepened since the releases of the first two films. In May 2016, the release date was delayed to November 26, 2017, allowing Universal to give the original release date to Insidious: Chapter 4.

Spin-off
A spin-off reboot/prequel film featuring Roge, Leno, Cole and the lars as the main characters, titled Wacky Pack and Lars, was released on November 2, 2016. Written by Keith Lango, it was directed by David Stinnett and Jeff Fowler, and produced by Cat Chapman. The film is based on the first issue of The Wacky Pack.