“Foodfight!” Coming To DVD

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From the moment Cartoon Brew was established, no film has gotten the coverage that Threshhold Entertainment’s ill-fated CG animation feature, Foodfight, has recieved.

To recap: In 2004, CG animation studio Threshold Entertainment and Motion Picture Magic (a product placement company in Encino) teamed up to produce a “food” version of Toy Story. Foodfight would team 80 name-brand products and their associated characters, including Mr. Clean, Cap’n Crunch, Charlie the Tuna, the Engergizer Bunny and the Brawny paper towel man, in an adventure set in a supermarket city — with a voice cast including Charlie Sheen, Eva Longoria, Ed Asner, Chris Kattan and Christopher Lloyd. In 2007, Lionsgate announced they were picking up the film – for a release that never happened. In 2010, a Brew reader spotted some licensed merchandise from the film. Last year, International Film Gauarantors auctioned the film to the highest bidder when Threshold defaulted on their loans.

The latest word is that England’s Boulevard Entertainment has picked up the rights for DVD – in Europe. At least (and at last) we are a step closer to seeing how terrible this thing is. I can sleep easier now, knowing that paying consumers will soon enjoy this lost masterpiece!

(Thanks, Dave Silva)

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  • http://allofmyheroes.blogspot.com/ Jeaux Janovsky

    Holy Oswald! My eyes are burning!!! Make it stop!!!

  • Steve Menke

    Sorry “Foodfight!,” “Logorama” beat you to it (and has the benefit of brevity compared to feature length).

    Think Roger Ebert noted “titles ending in exclamation points” among his warning signs of bad movies.

    • Inkan1969

      It’s amazing how “Foodfight” and “Logorama” can start with the same premise and yield such different results.

      • Tom

        FoodFight was a regular supermarket and its brands coming to life while Logorama was the world of brands where the logos are everything and the mascots are the residents. They probably share each others characters (e.g. Mr. Clean).

    • Funkybat

      A good rule of thumb, but not universal. Aardman’s “The Pirates!” was pretty damn good.

      • http://mousetracksonline.com/blog.php Greg Ehrbar

        “Oliver!” was very good, too.

        But there might be a superstition among filmmakers about punctuated titles. I’ve always wondered why “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” didn’t have a question mark.

    • Julian

      Logorama struck me as a well written short film with an actual message that a few people put a lot of effort into over some brand pushing extended commercial being shoved down our throats as a “movie”.

    • Tory

      Airplane! was great!

  • Julian

    From this cover, it looks like some raunchy borderline porn rubbish from “Adult Party Cartoon” era spike TV. Yet they were going to sell those character audio books geared towards toddlers? Seriously, I am just speechless.

  • Rufus

    When Good Food dotdotdot GOES BAD!
    HAHAHAHAHA!

  • Chris Sobieniak

    Hopefully we won’t see it in the dollar bin anytime soon!

  • Scarabim

    Guess I’m weird, but I think it’d be interesting to see product icons like Chester Cheetah, the Trix Rabbit and the Morton Salt Girl get involved in a story that has nothing to do with selling grocery items. Remember that Linus the Lionhearted was created to sell cereal, but his cartoon show turned out to be pretty entertaining.

    • Chris Sobieniak

      Nobody sees full potential in advertising mascots.

    • James

      All I saw in the trailer was a Chester Cheetah-like character without any spots and that tuna fish mascot. No other mascot looked remotely interesting.

      And that trailer…dear God that trailer!

    • Sarah J

      It’s something I’d want to see, but ONLY out of morbid curiosity.

    • Ink Dipper

      I always thought there is a story that could be told involving cereal characters and other food mascots. A dark story, uncovering Frankenberry as a child molester and Count Chocula as a hopeless alcoholic (since the sales went down). The possibilities are endless. But somehow I don’t think the food companies would have a sense of humor about it.

    • Funkybat

      The concept could work. However, the decade-long “development” and bad-for-2004-level graphics do not bode well. Projects like this that end up taking five times as long to come to the screen than originally planned usually don’t end up in good shape by the end. Richard Williams’ “Thief and the Cobbler” is the closest thing to a “classic” to emerge from this kind of birth process.

  • http://www.youtube.com/user/Tigercat919 Michael F.

    Could this be part of what influenced Charlie Sheen to go psycho?

  • http://www.frankpanucci.com Frank Panucci

    Gee. At least two members of the voice cast have become infamous show-biz gossip-targets since 2004: Sheen and Kattan (Look it up). Will that help sell FOODFIGHT?

  • James

    The last thread had one insider clue us in as to the movie’s content

    “I doubt this film will ever come out btw since from the segment i saw, the sexual innuendo was almost laughable until you understood some sick fuck (owner of Threshold I believe) was sitting there coming up with these ideas knowing full well it was intended for kids, then it just became gross and creepy. I don’t get it, this film, if it ever sees the light of day will be a sad, sad testament to how far talentless hacks could rise. I’d say I’m not bitter but most wouldn’t believe me after reading this. I’m not, it’s just that this film embodies nearly everything that is depressing about working in this industry. Thank God I’ve had the chance to work on fun and creatively rewarding pics since then…”

    This has got to be a trainwreck of epic proportions.

  • Sarah J

    Oh, god… I remember seeing that trailer a while ago, but I thought it was some really bizarre, nonsensical dream and not anything real!

  • starss

    If it’s as bad as they say it it, it could reach The Room-level ubiquity!

    • http://www.youtube.com/user/Tigercat919 Michael F.

      Maybe, it’s odd how certain movies tend to become incredibly successful even for being as bad as they are.

      “I did not throw that food, I did NAHT! Oh hi doggie.”

  • Jody Morgan

    It features Hilary Duff? Oh wow, I’ve got to see it now!

  • Hank

    Was this directed by don blurh? Looks and sounds like his masterpiece rock-a-doodle: http://www.imdb.com/media/rm4191067648/tt0102802

    • Sarah J

      God no. This movie makes Rock-a-Doodle look smooth, dignified, and well put together.

  • Steve Gattuso

    I’ll be checking the 99 Cent Only Stores for it!

  • Jow

    “I’ll Sleep Easier Knowing Consumers Will Be Able To Enjoy This Lost Masterpeice!”
    Lost Masterpeice, My Butt! Speaking Of Which, Jerry, Will You Find A Copy Of This DVD And A Region Free DVD Player So You Can Let Us Know What You Think?

  • Jacob

    I really hope this makes it to American DVD shelves, or at least somebody puts a torrent of it online. I’ve been following this movie for about a decade, and every new bit of info made it look worse and worse. Count me in as one of the people who thinks (and hopes) this thing will be hilariously bad.

    • Tom

      The whole thing’s on Youtube

  • larry

    woohoo! delicious badness awaits, this is going to be hilarious.

  • John

    I saw one of the toys from this film in a claw machine a few weeks ago.

  • joe

    This sounds like someone took the basic premise from Book Revue and Have You Got Any Castles and then shot it in the head.

  • http://maketeanotwar.co.uk Gagaman

    Wow a UK DVD release? Never thought I’d see the day. Mind you Boulevard Entertainment also published “What’s Up?” here so that says a lot I guess. Does that mean we’ll eventually get Freaky Flickers as well? Hahahaha.

    Can’t wait till this shows up bargain bins/pound shop, the history behind this movie has always fascinated me and it’ll certainly be interesting to see what this messy production gave birth to. if the trailer is anything to go by this has cult “classic” written all over it.

    • Chris Sobieniak

      Go write a review when you finished!

  • Tim DeSoto

    Actually production on this film was well under way before 2004, three years prior back in 2001!

    • Michael Prymula

      Yeah, and production stalled in 2002 when the hard drives containing the film’s animation were stolen, so the animators had to start over from scratch, not to mention it took years just to license all of those mascots. I think this film could actually be pretty good, the trailer made me think of Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs, I hope it comes out in the U.S. sometimes this year.

  • Keegan Bucy

    Maybe this would make for an interesting “the making of” book.

  • Kevin L.

    The movie got a theatrical showing in the UK, at the VUE Cinema chain’s kids matinee (admission one and a half pounds). According to the poster at IMDB, people got up and walked out. (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0249516/board/nest/200538773 and
    http://www.myvue.com/latest-movies/view/all-times/filter/kids-am

  • Name Witheld

    Foodfight! will be released in America on DVD via Viva Pictures.
    http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/twinkies-live-on-in-film-foodfight-will-hit-screens-in-2013-from-viva-pictures-1728235.htm
    In addition, Foodfight! is leaked on the internet.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EyxLj7M1eU

  • http://www.facebook.com/andrew.campsey Andrew Campsey

    I saw the trailer for this two weeks ago in Reel Cinemas, Dubai Mall, to the collective sound of other cinema-goers’ dismayed jaws dropping into their popcorn. They’re showing it tomorrow. Vote now as to whether I go and see it and I promise a review, although there’s no guarantee I’ll be able to sit through all of it.

  • http://www.facebook.com/andrew.campsey Andrew Campsey