‘Ratchet & Clank’ Trailer Offers New Look At Their Bigscreen Debut

Gramercy Pictures released a trailer today for its Ratchet & Clank movie, based on Insomniac Games’ popular PlayStation franchise:

The film will be released into U.S. theaters on April 29th, 2016. Gramercy is a label that has been revived by Focus Features to release action, horror, and sci-fi genre films.

Ratchet & Clank is produced by Rainmaker Entertainment and Blockade Entertainment, and directed by Kevin Munroe (TMNT) and co-directed by cinematographer Jericca Cleland. The trailer suggests a by-the-numbers adventure story with the orphaned feline-esque lombax Ratchet and pint-sized robot Clank working to prevent an alien, Chairmen Drek, from destroying some galaxy or other. To save the universe, they’ll join forces with a team of heroes called The Galactic Rangers, and the synopsis promises that the characters will “learn about heroism, friendship, and the importance of discovering one’s own identity.” It’s written by Munroe, T.J. Fixman, and Gerry Swallow.

Perhaps the trailer plays differently for those who are familiar with the videogames, but for someone who has never played the games, the trailer did nothing to convince me that there’s a story or characters worth getting to know. Then again, viewers over the age of 10 clearly aren’t the target audience for Ratchet & Clank. Making an animated feature strictly for the kiddie set isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it’s an unconventional approach in an era where most studios aim for all-ages family films that attract broad audiences.