Princess Joanna and the Four Kingdoms

Princess Joanna and the Four Kingdoms is a 2022 American computer-animated adventure fantasy musical comedy film produced by 20th Century Animation for 20th Century Studios. It is a spin-off/prequel and the fifth installment overall in the Puppet Pals franchise. The film was directed by Pamela Porter with co-direction by Ash Brannon and written by Maya Forbes, Wallace Wolodarsky, Dan Fogelman, and Rob Tucker. Anne Hathaway reprised her respective role as Princess Joanna, and was joined by Justice Smith, Hailee Steinfeld, Ben Schwartz, Ian McShane, Keanu Reeves, Octavia Spencer, Jodie Comer, Martin Freeman, Jenny Slate, Marc Maron, Gina Rodriguez, Cheech Marin, Keegan-Michael Key, Minnie Driver, and John Cleese.

Princess Joanna and the Four Kingdoms premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles on September 4, 2022, and was released in the United States on September 16 by 20th Century Studios. It received critical acclaim, many of whom considered it the best Puppet Pals film since the second film in 2010 as well as praising its animation, screenplay, characters, music, and vocal performances, particularly of Hathaway, Smith, Steinfeld, Schwartz, Reeves, and McShane with many critics deeming the film superior to the main Puppet Pals films. The film has grossed over $1.7 billion worldwide, breaking many box office records including being the highest grossing 20th Century Animation film.

Premise
Set before the events of the Puppet Pals movies and after the ending of Joanna: Princess of Tinywood, Joanna and her friends must leave Tinywood with her friends to travel to mysterious kingdoms full of enchanting landscapes where she must stop Darius and his evil forces from destroying her own city.

Voice cast

 * Anne Hathaway as Princess Joanna, a beautiful young woman who is the princess of Tinywood.
 * Justice Smith as Warren Ratcliffe, the guard of Tinywood who is Joanna's right hand man in any situation she's in.
 * Hailee Steinfeld as Lucy Miller, Joanna's best friend.
 * Ben Schwartz as Josh Barlows, a young wizard in Tinywood. Schwartz reprises his role from the series.
 * Ian McShane as Darius, a outcast of Tinywood who despises magic.
 * Jodie Comer as Annabelle, a teenage sorcerer who lost both of her parents.
 * Octavia Spencer as Starlica, a mysterious dragon.
 * Minnie Driver as Queen Lila
 * John Cleese as King Floyd
 * Dave Franco as Edwin, Joanna's underachieving cousin. Franco replaces Zac Efron from his role in Puppet Pals 3.
 * Keanu Reeves as Wesley, an older and retired knight who served for Queen Lila when she was a princess.
 * Zoë Kravitz as Terri, Darius' young daughter.
 * Kevin Bacon as Tim, a knight in charge of the Tinywood army.
 * Martin Freeman as Billy, Joanna's technical services person for Tinywood's army who makes the weapons.
 * Marc Maron as Poppa, an older short temper dragon who is Starlica's father.
 * Stephanie Beatriz as Maria, Annabelle's girlfriend.
 * Keegan-Michael Key
 * Cheech Marin
 * Jenny Slate as Mora
 * Eric Bauza as Rayne
 * Kevin Michael Richardson as Bronto
 * Bill Hader as Ferno
 * Patton Oswalt as Steve Smiley
 * Chris Wedge (uncredited) as Slippy the Dog
 * Jesse McCartney as Nathan Ritter, a pampered man who is the future boyfriend of Princess Joanna that wanders into Tinywood.
 * Josh Peck as Toby, a magical and geeky lizard.

Development
The film had been in development since 2007, a year after the first Puppet Pals film was released. As a Puppet Pals spin-off, it was initially planned for release sometime in 2012 as a direct-to-video film. By March 2010, the original film had eventually been cancelled due to the film having story problems.

In April 2018, five months before the release of the franchise's fourth film, Puppet Pals Forever, rumors arose that the Princess Joanna spin-off film would be revived at 20th Century Fox, shortly after Craig Gutierrez announced an spin-off television series centered on Joanna and her adventures, before even meeting the Puppet Pals. Jesse McCartney, who voiced Nathan Ritter in the films, said that Puppet Pals Forever (2018) would be the final installment in the franchise, but producer John Cohen disclosed a possibility of a fifth film, as 20th Century Animation was not ruling out that possibility. After the massive box-office success of Puppet Pals Forever, 20th Century Animation CEO Stuart Snyder officially announced that the Princess Joanna spin-off film was back in production on May 21, 2019. It was also reported that Pamela Porter would be the film's director, marking her directorial debut for a feature film. Alaina Gleen: Imaginary Vacation screenwriters Maya Forbes and Wallace Wolodarsky were asked by Fox to write the script for the spin-off film to help emphasize a witter and dramatic tone.

In October 2019, Craig Gutierrez, who had created the Joanna television series, had been brought on board as an executive producer on the film, and said that the film would tie-in with the TV series. By June 2020, Dan Fogelman (of Cars and Tangled fame) and Rob Tucker (who wrote some episodes of the Princess Joanna spin-off series), came to do rewrites on the original screenplay by Forbes and Wolodarsky. In October of that same year, Hathaway said the script was under restructuring. She also hinted at the possibility of Nathan and Toby appearing in the film.

In December 2020 at a Disney Investor Day meeting, the film's title was revealed as Princess Joanna and the Four Kingdoms, with Anne Hathaway reprising her role as the titular character, and depicting Joanna's own adventure before the Puppet Pals films. By February 2021, Walt Disney Animation Studios CCO Jennifer Lee had been brought on board as an executive producer of The Four Kingdoms.

Animation and design
To be added.

Casting
To be added.

Music
In August 2021, Christophe Beck was offered to score the film, and he accepted. The film's director, Pamela Porter, announced in December 2020 that the film would be a musical, with the songs being written by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, who they wrote the songs for Disney's Frozen films. During the 2022 Annecy International Animated Film Festival in June, it was revealed that there will be 5 original songs for the film.

Marketing
The marketing campaign for Princess Joanna and the Four Kingdoms began on November 17, 2021, with the teaser poster being released on that day. The teaser trailer was officially released online a day later on 20th Century Studios' YouTube channel on November 18 and was viewed 365.2 million times in its first 24 hours becoming the most-viewed animated trailer as well as overall trailer of all time in that time period. On April 27, 2022, Disney premiered a new trailer of the film at the studio's CinemaCon panel, with it releasing online about a day later. Disney had also showcased the first 10 minutes of the film at their CinemaCon panel as well to a well received reception from the audience with critics calling it the best of the franchise as well being described as a "beautifully animated" start. The film's final trailer debuted at San Diego Comic-Con on July 24, 2022 and was released online on 20th Century Studios' YouTube channel a day later.

A four-part documentary featurette entitled The Magic of Princess Joanna and the Four Kingdoms was released on the Disney+ streaming service on Disney+ Day, September 8 in anticipation of the film's release, chronicling the conception and production of the film. A collaboration with Minecraft, featuring content from the film as well as content from the overall Puppet Pals franchise, was released in September 2022.

After the underperformance of fellow Disney spin-off film, Pixar's Lightyear (2022), the marketing was shown to be related to the main films. The film had a total promotional marketing value of $200 million, the most expensive for 20th Century Studios.

Theatrical
Princess Joanna and the Four Kingdoms was released in theatres in the United States on September 16, 2022 in IMAX, RealD 3D, 4DX, and Dolby Cinema. The film had its world premiere at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles on September 4, 2022, and was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8. On August 29, when tickets went on sale for the United States, an early access screening was announced for September 14. The film is rated PG by the Motion Picture Association (MPA) for “action/peril, some thematic elements, and brief mild violence".

In theaters, Princess Joanna and the Four Kingdoms was preceded by Snowbell, a six-minute short film which had previously been screened at the 2022 Annecy International Animated Film Festival on June 14.

In addition to being released in most international markets, the film was banned in the Arab world (including Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the United Arab Emirates), as well as in Malaysia and Kazakhstan, due to the inclusion of an LGBT character as well as in China after Disney declined The Republic of China's request to cut scenes. In Singapore, as a result of the couple, the film was allowed for only people above 16 years of age.

The film was originally scheduled to be released on April 21, 2023 by 20th Century Studios. On July 28, 2021, the film was moved up to September 16, 2022 as a result of Disney's updated film slate.

Box office
As of November 7, 2022, Princess Joanna and the Four Kingdoms grossed $691.2 million in the United States and Canada and $1.009 billion in other territories for a worldwide total of $1.706 billion worldwide. It is currently the highest grossing animated film of 2022 and the highest grossing film of 2022 as well.

The film's $651.1 million opening is the second biggest of all time behind Avengers: Endgame ($1.2 billion) and the biggest for an animated movie as well as PG-rated film while also surpassing the entire lifeline overseas gross of $377.8 million made by the original Puppet Pals film which also includes it's 3D release. It was the fastest animated movie to make $600 million (5 days), $700 million (6 days), $800 million (8 days), and $900 million (10 days) worldwide. It made $1 billion worldwide on September 24, 2022, making it fastest animated film to reach $1 billion in 11 days as well as the second film in the Puppet Pals franchise to reach this. On October 26, 2022, the film passed the $1.663 billion made by the 2019 remake of The Lion King to become the highest grossing PG-rated film worldwide as well as the second highest grossing animated film. On October 30, 2022, the film surpassed Cool Spot: Spot Goes to Hollywood ($1.684 billion), to become the highest grossing animated film of all time as well as the highest grossing film by 20th Century Animation.

On September 30, 2022, its 17th day in release, the film made $1.207 billion, surpassing Puppet Pals Forever 's $1.204 billion worldwide gross to become the highest grossing Puppet Pals film worldwide.

United States and Canada
Three weeks prior to its release, industry tracking projected the film would gross $160–175 million in its domestic opening weekend, although some insiders saw those figures as conservative and expected a $175–190 million debut all which would be the best for a September release even by the lowest end. By the week of release, projections were raised to $175–190 million with some going to $195 million. However after the film made $89.3 million on it's opening day (including $39.3 million from Thursday night previews and $8 million from Wednesday screenings, the best for an animated film), which is the second best for an animated film behind Cool Spot: Spot Goes to Hollywood 's $103.8 million, projections were increased to $210–220 million. The film ended up making $227.9 million in it's opening weekend, the biggest in the franchise, the biggest for the month of September, and the second biggest opening for an animated film behind Cool Spot: Spot Goes to Hollywood ($232.5 million) with the film's Sunday gross of $63.8 million being the biggest for an animated film as well. Moreover, it also had the largest opening weekend for a prequel, breaking the previous record held by Minions (2015).

The film set September weekday records for its Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday grosses, making $25.2 million, $33.5 million, $21.9 million, and $15.7 million beating the $21.4 million, $24.2 million, $16.5 million, and $10.5 million grosses made by Puppet Pals Forever for those respective days. By Tuesday, its fifth day of release, the film had grossed $286.7 million, topping the entire lifeline gross of Puppet Pals ' $280.7 million, including re-releases and Thursday, it's seventh day in release, it made $324.4 million, surpassing Puppet Pals 3 ($310.9 million). In it's second weekend, it remained at number one, making $85.7 million that weekend, the second best second weekend for an animated film, while dropping -62.4%, the biggest drop in the franchise, and surpassing $400 million, the fastest in the franchise to do so as well as surpassing Puppet Pals 2 ($362.9 million). It surpassed Twentieth Toons: Quest for the Toon Temple ($415.5 million) on it's 11th day of release to become the highest grossing animated film of 2022 domestically. The film once again topped box office in its third weekend with $72.6 million and dropping only -15.4% while surpassing $500 million domestically, the fastest film in the franchise to do so. It surpassed The Lion King ($543.6 million), on October 4, its nineteenth day in release with $544.2 million, to become the highest grossing musical of all time domestically. In it's fourth weekend, the film once again topped box office with $42.6 million, dropping -41.3%, while surpassing Puppet Pals Forever to become the highest grossing film in the franchise.

On October 10, 2022, the film surpassed $600 million becoming the first Puppet Pals film to do so as well as the second 20th Century Animation film to surpass this mark after 2021's Cool Spot: Spot Goes to Hollywood and the third animated film in general after Incredibles 2 and Spot Goes to Hollywood. It later surpassed Incredibles 2 to become the highest grossing PG-rated film domestically on October 12, 2022, it's 27th day in release. It made $30.1 million in it's fifth weekend, dropping -29.2% and falling to second behind newcomer Halloween Kills and made $15.8 million in its sixth weekend. It later dropped -54.2% in it's seventh weekend and made $7.2 million.

Internationally
Worldwide, the film was projected to gross $325–350 million overseas in all territories except Japan, for a worldwide opening weekend total of $500–540 million. In France on its opening day, it broke the record for the biggest animated opening day with $8.2 million as well as in Italy and Korea with its respective $3.2 million and $2.9 million opening day. The film ended up overperforming and made $423.2 million in it's overseas opening for a worldwide opening of $651.1 million, the second biggest of all time. The film had record breaking openings in the United Kingdom, where it made $41.2 million in it's opening weekend the biggest for an animated movie there, in Brazil the film opened up to $23.2 million, while in Australia, Germany, and Poland, the film made $24.2 million, $19.2 million, and $8.9 million respectively in record breaking openings the best for an animated film as well as for 20th Century Studios beating all records set by Cool Spot: Spot Goes to Hollywood. The film was number one in all territories it opened in as well. The film remained in first in it's second international weekend, making $178.9 million including $19.8 million in Japan, the biggest opening for an animated film there while also surpassing the entire lifeline gross of Puppet Pals Forever there as well. It once again remained in first in it's international weekend with Japan crossing $60.2 million after its second weekend while surpassing $800 million overseas. In it's fourth weekend, it made $66 million overseas while crossing $900 million in it's overseas gross.

As of October 3, 2022, the best markets are Japan ($86.2 million), South Korea ($70.8 million), United Kingdom ($65.2 million), Australia ($64.3 million), and France ($63.2 million).

Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 97% based on 361 reviews, with an average rating of 8.7/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Brilliantly animated, smartly written, wholly witty, and stocked with dazzling songs, Princess Joanna and the Four Kingdoms is a visually stunning, thoroughly worthy addition to the line of animation that'll catch its family-friendly audience off-guard." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 81 out of 100, based on 84 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a rare average grade of "A+" on an A+ to F scale, the first and only Puppet Pals film to receive this grade and the second for 20th Century Animation after Cool Spot: Spot Goes to Hollywood. PostTrak reported 98% of audience members gave it a positive score, with 96% saying they would definitely recommend it.

Industry response
Singer/actor Pharrell Williams who is the main writer of the Cool Spot franchise along with being the voice of the titular character praised The Four Kingdoms calling it "one of the best animated films [he has] ever seen", while Anne Hathaway the voice of Princess Joanna herself described it as "an emotional rollercoaster along with it's light-hearted and humorous moments" and also called it the best film of the Puppet Pals franchise. Walt Disney Animation Studios' president Clark Spencer also praised the film, calling it "a masterpiece and the finest work of animation" while also citing Princess Joanna as one of the best films made by 20th Century Animation. Actor Tom Holland, who voices Bryce Jones and Splish in The Pixelators and Cool Spot franchises respectively, stated in an interview that the film blew his expectations off the roof and called it "one of 20th Century Animation's finest movies". Pete Docter, writer and director of 2015's Inside Out and the chief creative officer of Pixar, described the film as "the Toy Story 3 of the Puppet Pals franchise", and also believed that this would influence a new wave of animated films by sister studio 20th Century Animation. Docter continued saying that, "This film should be seen on the biggest screen you can find" and also added stating that "the musical numbers fit into each part of the film and gives out a good experience". Kevin Lima, who directed 20th Century Animation's previous film, Twentieth Toons: Quest for the Toon Temple, named the film as one of his favorite films of all time. Quest for the Toon Temple co-director Mike Mitchell and Alaina Gleen creator Thalia Ward both loved the film as well. The Walt Disney Company's former CEO Bob Iger called the film "beautiful" and praised it's musical moments.