Gabriel and the Wacky Pack

Gabriel and the Wacky Pack is a 2011 American 3D computer-animated comedy film loosely based on The Wacky Pack comic book series created by Geo G. Produced by Geo LTD. Animation and distributed by Universal Pictures, the film was animated by the award-winning Blur Studio, which was later acquired by Geo LTD. in 2012. It was directed by Jeff Fowler, co-directed by Geo, written by Erica Rivinoja, Kevin and Dan Hageman, and it stars the voices of Zachary Gordon, Geo G., E.G. Daily, Nicky Jones, Jake T. Austin, Jenny Slate, Sarah Jessica Parker, Nick Offerman, Amanda Bynes, and Alan Tudyk.

The film made its world premiere at the TCL Chinese Theatre on October 21, 2011, was released in the United States on November 27, 2011 and received generally positive reviews by both fans and film critics, with critics praising its humor and character development. It was also a box office success, grossing over $439 million in the United States and $538 million worldwide. After the commercial success of the film, it launched a franchise with a series of films, including a sequel in 2014, to be followed by a third film in 2017. A prequel/spin-off, titled Wacky Pack and Lars was released in 2016, and it focuses on the Wacky Pack.

Plot
Gabriel Garza is a boy who is the adapted owner of Roge, Leno, Cole, Loy and the Lars. He also had a midnight "party" in his room with them, which have so much fun.

One day, Roge, Leno, Cole and three Lars (Ted, John and Cody) were off at top of a cell tower, which was located at Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania, to take a photo for a "cell tower surfing" portrait. Suddenly, the surfboard that Roge, Leno, Cole, John and Cody were on starts to move slowly to the ledge and begins to surf without the water like in air. Their brother and scientist Loy gives Gabriel and the lars the safest moment to spring up being bipedal. After the Wacky Pack interrupt a meeting with his wild antics, Loy has a talk with his brother Roge and his partner Gabriel, in which he tells them that he's a scientist and inventor, and never be happy if Gabriel and the Wacky Pack just goof off. Gabriel and Roge ignore their advises and have fun with Leno and Cole. That same day, Roge meets a new yet imaginary girl named Blues.

That night, Gabriel and his gang throw a massive party in his room; all the imaginary friends including the lars are there except Loy, who is making a invention in his lab. Roge is assigned his shift along with him, but he talks himself out of it, saying that he's needed for a certain role in the midnight party room. Loy talks with Roge and says that he was called by people a "coolest scientist in the world." Roge is given the privilege to party out, and the thankful brother runs to Gabriel's room. Gabriel and the trio become "drunk" from partying around, and they fall asleep in Gabriel's room, experiencing hangover-like symptoms the morning afterwards.

The next morning, Gabriel woke up and was very tired due to having a party last night. His mother Christine exclaims to Gabriel that he would have sleep a little earlier. At school, Gabriel tries to stay focus but no avail. Despite the lack of focus, Gabriel was still able to focus afterwards.

More coming soon!

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
 * Jenny Slate as Blues
 * Sarah Jessica Parker as Christine Garza
 * Nick Offerman as Marvin Garza
 * Amanda Bynes as Desiree Garza
 * Alan Tudyk as Nicholas Garza
 * Frank Welker as Roxy and Kratos
 * Alex Borstein as Pat
 * Ariel Winter as Gaby
 * Kyla Rae Kowalewski as Bella
 * Hynden Walch as Nancy
 * Jeff Fowler as lars Jim, Tom, Dan, Jerry, Jack, Sam, Jeff and Max
 * David Stinnett as lars Gary, Ben, Peter and Ted
 * Michael Wildshill as lars John and Cody
 * Fred Tatasciore as TV announcer
 * Ryan Potter as a paranoid student who asks "who are you people?!?"
 * Michael Gough, Billy West, Corey Burton and Wally Wingert as Blues' all four minions Clef, Nob, Mikey and Joe

Production
Geo G. first pitched an idea for a Wacky Pack film in 2001, when The Autism Problem, which he directed, was released.

On May 7, 2008, it was announced that a 3D computer-animated feature film based on the comic book series is being developed by Blur Studio, in partnership with Geo LTD. Animation, with Jeff Fowler directing from the screenplay by Erica Rivinoja, Kevin and Dan Hageman. Ben Waisbren, Teresa Cheng, and Michael Wildshill produced the film while Geo G. would co-direct with Fowler. The film was originally titled The Wacky Pack Movie.

In February 2010, Geo LTD. confirmed that the film, retitled Gabriel and the Wacky Pack, was currently in production. On July 11, 2010, Blur officially released the very first rendered screenshot of the film. Production eventually wrapped up in October 2011. J. David Stem and David N. Weiss did an uncredited rewrite of the script.

Original script
The original script of the film, screenplay by Erica Rivinoja, Kevin and Dan Hageman, was dated on December 11, 2009, and was later uploaded online in 2012. Lots of concepts used here were dropped in the final cut of the film.

Deleted scenes
There are eight scenes that were were dropped in the final cut of the film. They were later added in the bonus features on the DVD/Blu-ray release of the film.

Release
Gabriel and the Wacky Pack was originally slated for a 2012 release, while The Wonderful World of Zak was scheduled for a 2011 release. However, Geo LTD. announced that Gabriel and the Wacky Pack would be released in fall 2011, while The Wonderful World of Zak was pushed back for a spring 2012 release. Contrary to speculation, co-director Geo G. stated the release date switch was because The Wonderful World of Zak was suffering from story rewrites. On April 12, 2011, Universal Pictures announced that the release date would be moved up by one weekend from its previously scheduled slot of November 23, 2011. However, to avoid competition with Arthur Christmas, the film would be released on Sunday, November 27, 2011.

The world premiere of Gabriel and the Wacky Pack took place on October 21, 2011, at TCL Chinese Theatre. The theatrical release was accompanied by Blur Studio's 2004 Academy Award-nominated short film Gopher Broke.

Marketing
Several merchandise were made for Gabriel and the Wacky Pack, such as toys and figurines. Universal teamed up with several major companies to promote the film, including McDonald's, who included 8 toys in their Happy Meals featuring the main characters, and Airheads, who made limited-edition flavors "Lar Flavor" and "The Wacky Pack's Strawberry Taste".

Home media
Gabriel and the Wacky Pack was released in the United States and Canada on DVD and Blu-ray on March 12, 2012, with a standalone single-disc DVD release being released on that same day. The United Kingdom release date was April 19, 2012, and the Australian release date was May 23, 2012. In addition to Gopher Broke, the release includes a new short film, titled How Gabriel Met Gabriela.

Gabriel and the Wacky Pack is available in 4 different packages: a 4-disc "Wacky Edition" combination package (3D Blu-ray, Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital Copy), a 3-disc "Wacky Edition" combination package (Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital Copy), a 2-disc "Wacky Edition" combination package (DVD and Digital Copy), and a single disc DVD. The "Digital Copy" included with the 3-disc combination package is a separate disc that allows users to download a copy of the film to a computer through iTunes or Windows Media Player software. The 3-disc combination package also comes with an hour of bonus features.

The film was re-issued on Blu-ray and DVD on October 5, 2014. It includes a movie ticket to Gabriel and the Wacky Pack 2.

Video game
A video game based on the film was published by Activision and released on November 22, 2011, for the Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, Universal Odyssey, Starfish Marin, PlayStation 3, and the Xbox 360.

Soundtrack
On June 16, 2010, it was announced that composer Heitor Pereira would compose the film's music. Geo LTD. Records released the soundtrack album on November 15, 2011.

Critical reception
Gabriel and the Wacky Pack has received positive reviews from critics. Based on 87 reviews, the film holds a 94% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the consensus stating "Gabriel and the Wacky Pack is an fun masterpiece for the whole family". On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film has an average score of 62 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Box office
The film grossed $68,368,836 on it's opening weekend, being released in 4,200 theaters, leaving it #2 during the weekend behind The Muppets. The film grossed $445,627,853 in North America and $84,942,573 in other countries, with a total gross of $389,300,952 worldwide, making the film a box office success.

Sequels
Because of its critical and commercial success, Gabriel and the Wacky Pack had launched a franchise. The first sequel, titled Gabriel and the Wacky Pack 2, was released on November 21, 2014.

On July 15, 2014, Geo LTD. announced a planned third film, titled Gabriel and the Wacky Pack 3, to follow Gabriel and the Wacky Pack 2, with a release date set for November 26, 2017.

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 11, 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.

Media
In August 2012, a manga version of Gabriel and the Wacky Pack was made by Hiromi Yamafuji and distributed in Kodansha's Monthly Shōnen Rival magazine in Japan; the manga was published in English by Tokyopop.

Television shorts
In 2012, Blur Studio created a series of shorts known as "Gabriel and the Wacky Pack Shorts" which were used as interstitials on NBC and Cartoon Network. They did not necessarily follow the continuity from Gabriel and the Wacky Pack, taking place before, during and after the events of the first film. They were aired roughly around the time of Gabriel and the Wacky Pack 's release to DVD and Blu-ray.

Television specials
Coming soon!