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Crystal is a 2008 American computer-animated musical fantasy film produced by 20th Century Fox Animation and distributed by 20th Century Fox. It is the first installment in the Crystal franchise. Directed by Mike Minchin and co-directed by Phil Anderson, the film stars the voices of Avril Lavigne, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Christine Baranski, Wayne Brady, Ian McKellen, Megan Mullally, Sam Elliott, Whoopi Goldberg, and Ricky Gervais. The film follows the story of a lost and mysterious young girl with magical powers who really wishes to leave her own secluded tower to find a better and lively place. Against her mother's wishes, she accepts the aid of a young man to take her out into the world which she has never seen and falls in love with him along the way.
Crystal premiered at the Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood, California on November 11, 2008, and was released in the United States on November 26, 2008. The film was a critical and commercial success, earning acclaim from film critics and audiences and earning $505 million worldwide. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Score at the 81st Academy Awards, but lost to WALL-E. The success of Crystal launched a multimedia franchise and a series of three sequels, starting with Crystal: Coming of Darkness (2011). The film's success has also inspired other merchandise, including a video game and a television series.
Plot[]
Long ago, a magical crystal in a dark cave later became a blue flower fully capable of magnificent powers. Soldiers from a nearby village take the flower to a secret palace, where a woman uses it to be cured from a illness she currently has. Shortly afterwards, the woman gives birth to Crystal, where she is born with the magical powers from the flower. However, the village is then attacked by a evil anthropomorphic dragon named Walsmoke, where the woman then sacrificed herself puts Crystal in a small basket in a large river, luring Walsmoke's forces away from her.
Later, the basket heads towards a kingdom, where the Queen of the kingdom, finds the basket, and raises Crystal as the princess of the kingdom. A old woman named Valerie then discovers Crystal's magical powers, where she abducts the baby and raises her as her own daughter in an isolated tower. On the eve of her 19th birthday, Crystal, finding numerous ways to keep herself entertained during the day while Valerie is away. However, she longs to someday explore the outside world and see how she got her powers when she was born. Crystal requests to leave her tower and explore the outside world, but Valerie refuses, claiming that the outside world is a dangerous place. Meanwhile, an accident-prone peasant named Jake Turner, tries to catch an escaping pig from a farm, where the chase causes to destroy the kingdom's marketplace, causing him to get banished from the kingdom. Jake finds more trouble in the forest where he is chased by thieves before inadvertently discovering Crystal's tower. In the tower, Jake is suddenly knocked out by Crystal whom she uses a cooking pan to knock him out.
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Cast[]
- Avril Lavigne as Crystal, a young woman with magical powers.
- Fatima Serenity Minchin as young Crystal
- Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Jake Turner, an accident-prone yet brave and clever peasant who someday wants to become a warrior like his father. He is also Crystal's love interest and later boyfriend.
- Will Shadley as young Jake
- Christine Baranski as Valerie, Crystal's abusive and adopted mother who never lets her be free from her home.
- Wayne Brady as Niko, Crystal's talkative and wise-cracking pet raccoon.
- Ian McKellen as Walsmoke, an evil anthropomorphic dragon who is out for the destruction of the kingdom of Nuxvar.
- Megan Mullally as Queen Lingla, the queen of Nuxvar.
- Whoopi Goldberg as Bonia, a forest troll.
- Sam Elliott as Wareeka, the leader of the forest trolls who knows about Crystal's magic.
- Brad Garrett as Riganto, a strong thug who befriends Crystal.
- Ricky Gervais as Thriku, an giant treasure-hoarding iguana who lives in the Cave of Monsters.
Additional Voices[]
- Matt Adler
- Steve Alterman
- Phil Anderson
- Greg Baglia
- Maggie Baird
- Jared Brady
- June Christopher
- Brad Cuddyer
- Holly Dorff
- Richard Epcar
- Johnny Gidcomb
- Jeremy Glazer
- Mike Gomez
- Emily Hester
- Michael Hodge
- John Kassir
- Nick Kenway
- Luisa Leschin
- Susan Leslie
- Hope Levy
- Ryan Marshall
- Phillip Melton
- Scott Menville
- Mike Minchin
- Randall Montgomery
- Heidi Brook Myers
- Paul Pape
- Devika Parikh
- Courtney Peldon
- Philip Proctor
- Al Rodrigo
- Justin Shenkarow
- Jason Grant Smith
- Fred Tatasciore
- Dean Wein
- Claudette Wells
Production[]
Development[]
To be added
Writing[]
To be added
Casting[]
To be added
Animation[]
To be added
Music[]
The official soundtrack for the film was released on November 25, 2008 by Varèse Sarabande. The songs were written by Alan Menken and Marc Shaiman, while the score was written by Menken.
Marketing[]
- An exclusive 35-second teaser trailer was released and was attached in front of the theatrical release of Kate & Chris on September 28, 2007.
- Another teaser trailer was released on March 14, 2008, and was shown before Horton Hears a Who!, Dusk and Dawn 2, Nim's Island, Beastz, and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.
- The first official theatrical trailer was released on June 6, 2008, and was shown before Kung Fu Panda, WALL·E, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Meet Dave, Space Chimps, and Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
- The second theatrical trailer was released on October 3, 2008, and was shown before Beverly Hills Chihuahua, City of Ember, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, and Bolt.
- TV spots began to air in November 2008.
This film was planned on to be accompanied by a promotional campaign from Burger King. But it was scrapped after their contract with 20th Century Fox expired, leading the studio to shift accompanying promotional campaigns to McDonald's.
Release[]
Theatrical[]
Crystal had its United States premiere on November 11, 2008, at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. It was theatrically released on November 26, 2008, in the United States. The film was digitally re-mastered into IMAX DMR and released to 170 North American IMAX theatres, and approximately 60 IMAX theatres outside North America.
Home media[]
Crystal was released on DVD and Blu-ray/DVD combo pack in Canada and the United States on March 3, 2009. It was later released in the United Kingdom on DVD and Blu-ray on May 26, 2009. As of July 26, 2011, units sold for the DVD stand at more than 6.7 million copies and has grossed $143,443,566. Crystal was released on 4K Blu-ray on September 3, 2019.
Reception[]
Box office[]
In the United States, Crystal was released during the Thanksgiving weekend. The film played in 3,895 theaters and was also played in 100 IMAX theaters nationwide. It earned $10.6 million on its opening Wednesday, breaking the record for the largest pre-Thanksgiving Wednesday opening, a record previously held by Disney·Pixar's Toy Story 2, before being surpassed by Disney's Tangled in 2010. In its first weekend of release, it earned $56.4 million, finishing first at the box office. It marked the highest-grossing opening for a non-Blue Sky Fox computer-animated film at the time. Over the traditional Wednesday–Sunday Thanksgiving holiday period, it tallied $72.9 million, again finishing in first. During its second weekend (post-Thanksgiving), Crystal declined 51% to $22.7 million, although it remained in first place at the box office. The film was overtaken by Fox's own The Day the Earth Stood Still in its third weekend, while grossing $19.3 million, finishing second. The film later closed on April 23, 2009, earning $201,289,079 in North America, and $303,854,629 in other countries, for a worldwide total of $505,143,708.
Critical response[]
Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 90% of critics gave the film a positive review, based on 167 reviews from professional critics, with an overall rating average of 7.1/10. The website's critical consensus states, "Boasting dazzling animation, a script with surprising dramatic depth, and thrilling magical sequences, Crystal is a must-see choice for the whole family." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average rating of 77 based on 33 reviews from critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". CinemaScore polls conducted during the opening weekend revealed the average grade cinemagoers gave Crystal was "A" on an A+ to F scale.
Accolades[]
| Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kids' Choice Awards | Favorite Animated Movie | Nominated |
Expanded franchise[]
Coming soon!
Transcripts[]
Main[]
To see the main transcript of the film, click here.
Trailers[]
To see the transcript for the trailers of the film, click here.