The Stuffies Movie (2016 film)

The Stuffies Movie is a 2016 American photorealistic computer-animated/live-action comedy adventure film directed by Josh Cooley. It is produced and distributed by Universal Studios. It stars Jack Black, Nick Kroll, Tom Kenny, Jason Sudeikis, and Finn Wolfhard, with Jessica Chastain, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Chris Pratt, Clancy Brown, Andy Bean, Winona Ryder, Bill Hader, and Matthew Lillard in supporting roles. It is also based on the 1995 television series with the same name,

The film was released theatrically in the United States on December 14, 2016. The film was also a box office success, grossing $153 million against a $50 million budget, and received generally positive reviews, with critics praising its plot, casting, performances, humor, animation, and heart, but with some criticizing the elements of the plot.

Plot
One Morning, a kid named Noah Walker (Finn Wolfhard) has to experience his first day of school. As he leaves and it upset that he can’t play with his stuffed animals, his stuffed animals throw a party shortly after he leaves. The King of Stuffies, King Bunny (Bill Hader) greets his stuffed animal friends with joy. He announces that his time as king will soon be over, due to his aging process as a stuffed animal, and he will leave the spot to his bully son Billy Brown, much to the other animals’ dismay.

Local bear Teddy (Jack Black) discusses with King Bunny about the problem, leading to King Bunny offending and upsetting him. Teddy goes to his hideout with his friends SpongeBob and Red (Tom Kenny, Jason Sudeikis) to discuss the problem. They tell him that he should keep an open mind about Billy, but he tells the story about how Billy bullied him as a kid. The three decide to leave the party and all return to their homes, much to King Bunny’s disappointment.

Noah tries to enjoy his first day at school, but is bullied by Richard Barber (Jeremy Ray Taylor), whom he immediately dislikes. The two get in a fight in front of Principal Dean (Andy Bean), who calls them both into the office. Noah’s mother Lilly (Winona Ryder) overheard the party and nearly ambushes it until Principal Dean calls her. She goes to the Office as Principal Dean tells her that he put thumbtacks on the teacher’s chair, much to Lilly’s disappointment as she grounds him.

Noah returns home to discover the party thrown by the stuffed animals, who knock him out in an act of self defense. Red wakes him up and tells him about the issue of him making the discovery, sending Red and SpongeBob to the living room to take the vacuum, which they believe is a mind eraser. Noah tells them about the mistake of the vacuum and they put it back where they found it. Teddy makes Noah promise to keep their aliveness a secret and he agrees, along with even keeping it a secret from his paranoid mother.

The Next Day, Noah goes to school as Richard continues to bully him. During the school day, Noah accidentally pours a cup of water on Richard, leading Richard to send his group of bullies after him. After School, Richard and his group of bullies bully Noah after Principal Dean leaves, leading Noah to accidentally reveal the truth about the stuffed animals. Richard knocks out Noah as Lilly picks him up and discovers the truth about the stuffed animals. Richard calls animal control, where his evil father works. His father, Butcher Barber, picks up the phone and tells Richard that he will destroy the stuffed animals, turning them into coal to power the train he’s planning on creating.

Teddy, Red, and SpongeBob lead the stuffed animals into Noah’s house as Richard arrives and attacks them. They all escape, with the exception of King Bunny, who died of old age and sacrificed himself to Richard. Red drives Lilly’s car off of a cliff as the stuffed animals land on a parachute and land in the Jungle. There, they meet Lion (Chris Pratt), the overpowered king of the jungle. As they try to explain their situation, Lion deems them a threat and attacks the group. Teddy convinces him of the truth, finally convincing him that they’re not a threat. Lion decides to join them in their adventure, sending them to the Old West to get help from Sheriff Dinkley (Matthew Lillard, uncredited) to discover the truth of why they’re even alive in the first place.

In the Old West, the stuffies meet up with Sheriff Dinkley, who reveals that they were created with a special and different material than most stuffed animals. They realize that this makes them special as Butcher arrives and kidnaps the stuffies, with the exception of Teddy, SpongeBob, and Red. The three decide to go on a journey to save their friends and family, making them the first stuffed heroes and outdoing Billy Brown in chances of being the new king. The three find their ways to the sewers, as they realize that is what leads to the warehouse that Butcher works in. The group goes through gray water and has a disgusting journey there, as SpongeBob throws up half of the time.

They find their way through the vents, with the exception of Red, as he and Teddy got into a fight along the way. Teddy and SpongeBob free their friends as Butcher realizes that they have arrived. As he is about to attack them, he drinks a potion that turns him into a stuffed animal. Teddy fights him as Red crashes a car through the wall and hits Butcher. The Stuffies all get into the car and prepare to return to their home. Butcher tries to attack them until the Stuffies try to escape again. Butcher grabs the car with his super strength, preventing them from escaping, until he falls into the stuff that turns stuffed animals into coal. The Stuffies return home to Noah, who has forgotten about the Stuffies being alive, and the Stuffies return back to normal, only Teddy becomes king of the Stuffies and starts dating Strawberry Teddy (Jessica Chastain), his crush.

Cast
Stuffed Animals


 * Jack Black as Teddy, a stuffed animal who goes on a journey of self discovery with his friends to save them from the Butcher.
 * Tom Kenny as SpongeBob, a stuffed animal based on the character with the same name and a friend of Teddy.
 * Jason Sudeikis as Red, a stuffed animal based on the character with the same name no a friend of Teddy.
 * Jessica Chastain as Strawberrry, a stuffed animal who is Teddy’s love interest.
 * Chris Pratt as Lion, a stuffed lion who rules the Jungle.
 * Clancy Brown as Mr. Krabs, the boss of SpongeBob and King Bunny’s apprentice.
 * Bill Hader as King Bunny, the king if the stuffed animals.

Live-action cast


 * Nick Kroll as Butcher Barber, the father of Richard and a stuffed animal murderer.
 * Finn Wolfhard as Noah Walker, the owner of the stuffed animals and the son of Lilly.
 * Jeremy Ray Taylor as Richard Barber, a bully and the son of Butcher.
 * Winona Ryder as Lilly Walker, the paranoid mother of Noah.
 * Andy Bean as Principal Dean, the principal of Noah’s school.
 * Matthew Lillard as Sheriff Dinkley

Production
The film was officially announced in March 2014, shortly after the release of The LEGO Movie. Jack Black, Tom Kenny, Jason Sudeikis, and Bill Hader were announced to have been cast the same month. In May, the rest of the cast was announced. Filming began in February 2015 and ended in December 2015. The film’s title and trailer were released in June 2015.

Reception
The film received generally positive reviews, with critics praising its plot, casting, performances, humor, animation, and heart, but with some criticizing the elements of the plot. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film received an 82% score, based on 80 reviews, with an average rating of 8.17 out of 10. The website’s critical consensus reads, “The Stuffies Movie easily lives up to its name with beautiful animation, silly humor, and a terrifying villain, though it still doesn’t hold up to the source material.”

Release
The film was released theatrically in the United States on December 4, 2016. It was also released digitally on February 28, 2017, and on Blu-Ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on March 14, 2017.

Future
Sequel

A sequel, titled The Stuffies Movie 2, was released theatrically in the United States on December 20, 2020.

Follow-up television series

A 2-D animated follow-up to the film, titled Stuffies: After the Movie, was released for Nickelodeon on May 12, 2017. However, none of the film’s voice cast returned, and the series received negative reviews from fans of the series, stating that it was “too babyish” for the franchise.