Produced by Walt Disney Pictures,[a]Cheaper by the Dozen had its world premiere at the El Capitan Theatre on March 16, 2022, and was released on Disney+ on March 18. The film was met with mixed reviews.
The film was removed from Disney+ on May 26, 2023, but was later made available digitally on September 26, 2023.[3][4]
Plot
The Bakers, a blended family, began with Paul and Kate Baker, who had daughters Ella and Harley. After their friends died in a car accident, they took in their godson, Haresh. Kate eventually divorced Paul, but they stayed friends, with Kate occasionally babysitting.
Zoey married football player Dominic "Dom" Clayton and had two children, Deja and DJ. However, due to Dom's celebrity lifestyle, Zoey divorced him, gaining custody. She met Paul at his restaurant and suggested making the menu breakfast-themed all day. They married, expanded the restaurant into Baker's Breakfast, and had two sets of twins: Luca and Luna, and Bronx and Bailey.
Dom remains involved in Deja and DJ's lives, intimidating Paul, who was rarely present. As Deja prepares for her USC basketball scholarship, DJ feels a stronger connection with Paul than Dom. Paul secures a meeting with a major company to expand his restaurant and successfully gets his famous sauce on store shelves. He uses the earnings to move the family and their dogs, Bark Obama and Joe Bitin', from Los Angeles to a bigger house in Calabasas, in a gated community.
Zoey feels the effects of racial profiling after meeting her neighbor, Anne. Paul receives a call that his sister Rachel is in rehab, so he takes in his nephew Seth, whom Ella and Harley label a criminal. Seth bonds with Haresh, who is bullied for his ethnicity, teaching him self-defense while making monster spray for his cousins. Deja, rarely used on the Calabasa Hornets basketball team, sneaks out to see her new boyfriend Chris.
Paul travels to find new restaurant locations as investors Melanie and Michele push for changes to cut costs. He misses time with family, upsetting Zoey, who divorced Dom for similar reasons. Haresh and Seth are suspended for a week after fighting bullies, leading Zoey to ground them. On DJ's birthday, Paul rushes home, but the party spirals when DJ changes his look for a girl. Anne investigates a string of break-ins involving Zoey's family. Upon arrival, Deja reveals she quit the basketball team and the family's unhappiness in Calabasas. Concerned about Zoey and Paul's ability to parent, Dom announces he will seek full custody of Deja and DJ.
Harley and Ella accuse Seth of the break-ins after Haresh claims he saw him stealing from the cash register. Though Seth returned the money, he storms out in anger. Paul and Zoey tell them the money is from DCFS, given to Seth, and that someone broke into Anne's house during the party while Seth was grounded. Realizing their mistake, the Bakers, Kate, and Dom find Seth, apologize, and admit he is part of the family, though he rejoins them reluctantly at first.
At home, Paul and Dom reflect on their upbringings. Paul doesn't know disadvantage, while Dom realizes his absence from his kids has made him distant. Understanding his family's importance, Paul breaks his company deal to manage the restaurant himself. The Bakers relocate to Los Angeles, buy a new house, and the kids return to their old schools, with Deja rejoining her basketball team. During breakfast for dinner at Baker's Dozen Breakfast, Paul unveils a new sauce bottle design that includes Seth.
Dom, Paul, and Zoey invested their sauce and went national. Kate invented bird yoga. Seth moved back in with his mom after rehab but still spends time with his cousins. Deja and Chris started freshman year together. Ella became the social manager for Harley's punk band and went viral after performing at her school talent show. Luna and Luca won the national under 12 tennis division, reminiscent of Venus and Serena Williams. DJ, Talia, and Dom bonded at Comic-Con.
Gabrielle Union as Zoey Baker, the matriarch of the Baker family.
Zach Braff as Paul Baker, the patriarch of the Baker family and proprietor of the restaurant Baker's Breakfast.
Erika Christensen as Kate Baker, the ex-wife of Paul and owner of a yoga studio who still watches her kids on occasion.
Timon Kyle Durrett as Dom Clayton, a football player who is the ex-husband of Zoey.
Journee Brown as Deja Clayton, the daughter of Zoey and Dom who is a basketball player with dreams of being a starting point guard for USC.
Kyrie McAlpin as 8-Year-Old Deja Clayton
Kylie Rogers as Ella Baker, the first daughter of Paul and Kate who is a self-described future influencer.
Andre Robinson as DJ Clayton, the son of Zoey and Dom who dreams of being the world's greatest Lego designer and comic book artist.
Elias Murphy as 3-Year-Old DJ Clayton
Caylee Blosenski as Harley Baker, the paraplegic second daughter of Paul and Kate who is an expert musician in her punk band where she plans to have them go viral.
Annalyn Black as 4-Year-Old Harley Baker
Aryan Simhadri as Haresh Baker, the godson of Paul and Kate who they adopted after his parents died in a car accident caused by a drunk driver and dreams of being a player. He later started styling his name with a $ in place of an S.
Mark Jirgis as Baby Haresh Baker
Niam Saharan as 3-Year-Old Haresh Baker
Leo Abelo Perry as Luca Baker-Clayton, the first son of Paul and Zoey, fraternal twin brother of Luna, and the half-brother of Deja, Ella, DJ, Harley, and Haresh.
Mykal-Michelle Harris as Luna Baker-Clayton, the daughter of Paul and Zoey, fraternal twin sister of Luca, and the half-sister of Deja, Ella, DJ, Harley, and Haresh.
Christian Cote as Bailey Baker-Clayton, the second son of Paul and Zoey, identical twin brother of the Bronx, brother of Luca and Luna, and the half-brother of Deja, Ella, DJ, Harley, and Haresh.
Sebastian Cote as Bronx Baker-Clayton, the third son of Paul and Zoey, identical twin brother of Bailey, brother of Luca and Luna, and the half-brother of Deja, Ella, DJ, Harley, and Haresh.
Luke Prael as Seth Baker, the nephew of Paul and paternal cousin of Ella, Harley, and Haresh.
Cynthia Murell as Rachel Baker, the sister of Paul and mother of Seth who has Paul watch over Seth while she is in rehab.
Lola Raie as Thalia, a goth girl and inhabitant of a Calabasas gated community who is DJ's love interest.
Sierra Swartz as Kimmy Baron, an inhabitant of a Calabasa gated community and member of the Calabasa Hornets basketball team whose parents donated a gym to the school.
Matthew Bellows as the Calabasa Hornets Coach
Abby Elliott as Tricia, an inhabitant of a Calabasas gated community that befriends Zoey.
John O'Brien as Principal
Christina Anthony as an Airline Attendant that Paul tries to bribe into letting him on an airplane back to Calabasas.
In 2016, it was reported that Kenya Barris would work with 20th Century Fox on a remake of Cheaper by the Dozen.[5] On August 6, 2019, following the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that a reboot of Cheaper by the Dozen was in development and that it would premiere on the company's streaming service, Disney+.[6] Gail Lerner was set to direct the film with a script co-written by Kenya Barris and Jenifer Rice-Genzuk Henry. Lerner had worked for Barris as a writer on the television series Black-ish and appreciated that he saw her not only as a writer but also a director.[7] Principal photography was scheduled to commence on July 13, 2020, in Los Angeles, California.[8] After filming was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Disney's new CEO Bob Chapek announced that filming had resumed in November 2020.[9] The film was revealed at the Disney Investors Day, along with the casting of Gabrielle Union.[10][11]
In January 2021, Zach Braff joined the cast.[12][13][14][15][16] In February 2021, Journee Brown, Kylie Rogers, Andre Robinson, Caylee Blosenski, Aryan Simhaldri, Leo Abelo Perry, Mykal-Michelle Harris, Christian Cote, Sebastian Cote, and Luke Prael joined the cast as the pair's children.[17]Erika Christensen would be added to the cast in April.[18] Filming had begun in Los Angeles by April 2021.[19]
Lerner thought it was important to adjust the film to accommodate the actors, and not have young performers speaking lines or expressions that did not come across as natural for them. Lerner said Zoey is the heart of the film, she praised Union for not falling into tropes or stereotypes, and not wanting to be pigeonholed as the stern mom and the finger-wagger. Union also served as an executive producer.[7]
Also, Brandy and her daughter, Sy'Rai, recorded an original song "Nothing Without You" for the film. It was played during the end credits.
Release
On November 12, 2021, the film was revealed to be released in March 2022.[22] On February 7, 2022, with the release of the official trailer, it was revealed that it would be digitally released on March 18, 2022, on Disney+.[23] The film had its world premiere at the El Capitan Theatre on March 16.[24] Following its removal from Disney+, it was made available on other streaming platforms, including Amazon Prime Video, Vudu and Google Play, on September 26, 2023.[4]
Reception
Audience viewership
According to Whip Media, Cheaper by the Dozen was the 5th-most-streamed movie across all platforms in the United States during the week of March 18, 2022, to March 20, 2022.[25]
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 35% of 37 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.1/10.The website's consensus reads: "Cheaper by the Dozen adds some modern twists to its oft-adapted story, but fresh laughs are few and far between."[26]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 42 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[27]
Variety stated: "Despite some of this movie’s missteps, the heart behind its messages is in the right place. Sentiments dealing with co-parenting after divorce and prioritizing family above monetary success may seem old fashioned on the surface. Yet it goes deeper, exploring and challenging our societal system’s gross inequities and injustices in a thoughtful, meaningful manner."[28]IGN rated the movie 6 out of 10, stating, "Disney's latest reboot of Cheaper by the Dozen, starring Zach Braff and Gabrielle Union, can be as haphazard as its premise."[29]The Guardian rated the movie 3 out of 5 stars, stating, "As with the 2003 film, the gist of Disney Plus’s remake is cheerful domestic chaos molded into light didacticism: the importance of the nuclear family (albeit a blended one, in this update) with reminders to not get blinded by financial success or the lure of growth."[30]Screen Rant gave the movie 2.5 out of 5 stars, saying "Cheaper by the Dozen is a fluffy family drama that ultimately doesn’t amount to anything. [...] It is great that this blended family is so diverse, but if there is no thoughtful integration of their stories, they remain merely set dressing."[31]
1 2 The film was produced by Walt Disney Pictures but the copyright is registered with 20th Century Studios, the latter who originally produced the film.[1]
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