Telethon (film)

Telethon is a Kuboian computer-animated film and the fourth film produced by Scopescreen Media. Notably, the film was directed by Keith-James Ringtone, though Charm Walkers still helped with production whilst Justin Kreme helped with the screenwriting. With a development period of just 15 months, the film was released in Kuboian cinemas on 30th September, 2003, being released elsewhere in October and November that year. The film was released direct-to-video in the United States and Canada on 4th October, 2004. The film received mixed reviews from critics.

Cast

 * TBA as Cruz, a red duck
 * TBA as Narvaez, a blue duck
 * TBA as Agron, a green duck
 * TBA as a yellow duck, who gets called "Odd", "Weirdo" and "Four" throughout the film
 * TBA as Ray, a pink pig-like creature
 * TBA as Anita, a purple pig-like creature
 * TBA as Onkruid, a green pig
 * TBA as Kokain, a white pig

Development
Telethon is notable for only having a development period of fifteen months - from January 2002 to April 2003.

Keith-James Ringtone, the director of the film, had been a fan of the A Vision In Kids telethon since its introduction, and thought it would be interesting to make an animated feature which imitates the idea of a telethon. Ringtone purchased several ' and ' in 2001 and watched every episode several times to draw inspiration from the shows.

According to Ringtone, the animation for the film took seven months, was done entirely by him, and was made with cheap software.

Critical reception
Telethon received mixed reviews from critics. The film has a 45% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 14 reviews, with an average score of 4.2 out of 10. On Metacritic, the film has an average rating of 51 out of 100. Reviews enjoyed the unique concept and approach, as well as some of the characters, but criticised the shallow plot, low budget and long runtime.

Controversy
Two of the characters in the film, Onkruid and Kokain, are named after illegal drugs in Dutch and German respectively. Ringtone said this was done for fun, and thought it would be overlooked by most English viewers. This meant that name changes had to be made in some regions:
 * In the German and Dutch versions of the film, Onkruid was renamed to "Varken" and Kokain was renamed to "Schwein".
 * When the film was released to home media in North American regions, the characters were renamed to "Pig" and "Pog".

Soundtrack
The film’s official soundtrack, titled Telethon: Songs From The Blockbuster was released on 17th October, 2003. The soundtrack includes the film’s main theme song, "Watch Your Step" by Action Pack.

Theatrical

 * Kuboia: 30th September, 2003
 * Jetania: 10th October, 2003
 * United Kingdom: 10th October, 2003
 * Alexonia: 1st November, 2003
 * El Kadsre: 1st November, 2003
 * Japan: 1st November, 2003
 * France: 4th November, 2003
 * most of Europe: 7th November, 2003
 * Italy: 8th November, 2003

Direct-to-video

 * United States: 4th October, 2004
 * Canada: 11th October, 2004

Trivia

 * Telethon is the only film by Scopescreen Media to receive a "G" rating by MPAA in the United States.