The film was released on July 6, 1990. It grossed $20.3 million on a budget of $8 million during its theatrical run, though it was considered a box office disappointment and received mixed to mostly negative reviews.[2] O'Hanlon and Blanc died during production of the film, which was dedicated to both their memories. Jetsons: The Movie was the last theatrical film to be directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera before their deaths, in 2001 and 2006 respectively. It serves as the series finale to the television show. It was also the final Jetsons production until the release of The Jetsons & WWE: Robo-WrestleMania! in 2017.
Although Warner Bros. Discovery owns the rights to the majority of the Hanna-Barbera library, including the rights to The Jetsons, the rights to this film are still owned by Universal Pictures. Coincidentally, both Warner Bros. and Universal also own the physical home media joint-venture division named Studio Distribution Services.[5]
Plot
In the late 21st century, Spacely Sprockets and Spindles has opened a new mining colony: The "Orbiting Ore Asteroid". The proposed project is meant to increase productivity at 1/10 the cost of making the items on Earth. However, the factory is mysteriously and continuously sabotaged. During a meeting, Cosmo Spacely (Mel Blanc), head of the company, learns from the robotic plant engineer Rudy-2 (Ronnie Schell) that the latest head of the factory Alexander Throttlebottom has fled in fear, making four vice presidents of the new plant that Spacely has lost so far.
Fearing for his company (and profits), Spacely abruptly declares George Jetson (George O'Hanlon) as Throttlebottom's successor and sends George and his family to the plant. While the family is thoroughly upset at being thrown from their normal lifestyle (and their upcoming weekly plans), they set up arrangements on the adjoining apartment community to the asteroid and its neighboring shopping complex, while it takes the family time to adjust.
Rudy-2 shows George around the plant as they prepare for the grand re-opening of the plant. Meanwhile, Jane (Penny Singleton) and Rosie (Jean Vander Pyl) befriend Rudy-2's wife Lucy-2 (Patti Deutsch). Judy Jetson (Tiffany) is having a hard time adjusting, and accepting the fact that she lost her chance at a date with rock star Cosmic Cosmo (Steve McClintock) which a friend of hers later takes, but soon feels better after meeting a teenaged boy named Apollo Blue (Paul Kreppel). Elroy Jetson (Patric Zimmerman) meets Rudy-2's son Teddy-2 (Dana Hill) with whom he first is at odds, but eventually befriends. Meanwhile, George, after orienting to his new job, figures that everything is ready; himself to start working, Mr. Spacely to see the plant working full-capacity, and its machines eventually able to churn out the one millionth Spacely sprocket. However, the opening-day festivities give way to panic and danger as the factory is sabotaged once again. Over the next several days, George and Rudy-2 try to fix things, but issues persist to the point that, fed up and thinking George is responsible, Mr. Spacely charters a flight to the asteroid to check on things personally. George stays overnight in the factory hoping to catch the saboteurs in the act, only to accidentally fall asleep and be taken away by the mysterious creatures. Elroy, Teddy-2, and their neighbor Fergie Furbelow (Russi Taylor) sneak into the plant and meet Squeep (Frank Welker), a member of a small furry alien race known as Grungees (Frank Welker).
Squeep (with Teddy-2 translating) reveals that the factory is actually drilling into and destroying his people's community, which is based inside the asteroid. Soon, Jane, Judy, Apollo, Rudy-2, and Astro show up and discover the threat the plant is incurring. George is found hog-tied in the Grungees' colony, and is eventually convinced as well. Spacely arrives, and seeing his factory at a stand-still, he angrily reactivates it (despite it being nighttime and after disabling Rudy-2, who tries stopping him), putting everyone still in the asteroid in jeopardy, and nearly burying Elroy and Squeep alive under rubble. Everyone safely escapes, and, finally standing up to Spacely, George manages to stop the factory for the final time, ironically through his very own sabotage, and exposes the catastrophe his boss blatantly created for profit. After George confronts him, Spacely (sheepishly and begrudgingly) comes to an agreement: the Grungees will run the plant, and create new Spacely sprockets through recycling old ones (thus stopping the further destruction of the Grungees' homes inside the asteroid).
Spacely Sprockets reaches the millionth sprocket at long last, and when George asks about being vice president, Spacely retorts, stating, "he's lucky that he'll be getting his old job back". Only when pressured by everyone else does he reluctantly promote him to vice president (without a raise). However, George knows that with the Grungees now running the plant, he is no longer needed as its director. With heavy hearts, the Jetsons then bid their new friends goodbye, including Fergie, who attempted to stow away aboard the Jetsons' car. As the family passes over the factory towards Earth, the Grungees arrange themselves to form the words "THANKS GEORGE", as a friendly goodbye to him for saving their home.
Michael Bell and Frank Welker as basketball coaches.
Bergman also does additional dialogue for George Jetson and Mr. Spacely after the deaths of O'Hanlon and Blanc who died during the production of this film.
Production
A film adaptation based on The Jetsons started development when Paramount Pictures first tried to film a live-action version around 1985, which was to be executive produced by Gary Nardino. However, the project never got far into production, putting the film into a turnaround.[7] Later on during the 1980s, Universal Pictures bought the film rights for The Jetsons from Hanna-Barbera Productions.
A problem that arose during the production of the film was the advanced age and poor health of many of the voice actors from the series; all of the major cast members except Don Messick (himself in his early 60s) were over 65 years old by this point. Daws Butler, the voice of Elroy, fell ill with a stroke and pneumonia in early 1988, before he could record any lines for the film, and ultimately died on May 18.[8][9] Though Butler had been training Joe Bevilacqua[10] and Greg Burson to succeed him,[11] voice coordinator Kris Zimmerman brought in her then-husband Patric, then a relative unknown, to fill the role of Elroy.[12]George O'Hanlon, who had already been in ill throughout the 1980s revival, died of a stroke on February 11, 1989 after he finished recording;[13] voice director Andrea Romano later recalled that he could record only an hour at a time and had his final stroke while at the studio.[14]Mel Blanc also died during the production of the film on July 10, 1989. Voice actor Jeff Bergman would later step in and fill in for both O'Hanlon and Blanc as George Jetson and Mr. Spacely to complete their dialogue in additional scenes of the film.[15]
Janet Waldo, the original voice of Judy Jetson, recorded the role for the film, but her voice was later replaced by singer Tiffany (though Waldo still provided the voice of a robot secretary and some of Judy's lines by Waldo remain in the film). Studio executives hoped that Tiffany's involvement would result in a stronger box office performance.[16] Displeased with the casting change, Romano attempted to have her own name removed from the finished film.[14] Tiffany said her singing voice was what initially drew the attention of Barbera.[17] Tiffany sang three songs used in the film ("I Always Thought I'd See You Again", "You and Me" and "Home"), which are on the soundtrack album along with "Jetsons' Rap" by XXL and tracks by other artists.[18] Tiffany did not write any of the songs, but she cited "I Always Thought I'd See You Again" as one of her favorites to sing.[19]
A behind-the-scenes featurette of the movie was showcased during the broadcast special Hanna-Barbera's 50th: A Yabba Dabba Doo Celebration that aired on TNT on July 17, 1989. The segment includes work in progress pencil tests, set designs of the environments and a recording session of the song "I Always Thought I'd See You Again" performed by Tiffany, the voice of Judy Jetson in the film.[21]
During the summer of the film's release, Kool-Aid had a tie-in where Kool-Aid points could be redeemed for a red Jetsons car featuring the cast. However, the promotion was not carried by some theaters, and instead of a red Jetsons car, the points were redeemed for a miniature film poster. Wendy's restaurants had a Jetsons kids' meal tie-in. When clips were shown on television, scenes with George had re-dubbed lines from an unnamed voice actor. The commercials showed Wendy's founder Dave Thomas either in a theater watching the movie or at his restaurant promoting the film.
The film was first released on home video on VHS, Betamax, and Laserdisc on October 25, 1990. In contrast to the theatrical release, the initial video release presented it in an open matte full screen format. On April 28, 2009, it received a region 1DVD release in its original widescreen format, with a re-release in new packaging art on September 8, 2015.[23] Prior to this, the film had only been released on DVD in international countries such as Europe and Australia in the early 2000s. It is also available via digital download on the Sony Entertainment Network and the iTunes Store.[24] A Region BBlu-ray was released on June 6, 2016,[citation needed] and in Region A on February 16, 2021 by Kino Lorber (under license from Universal).[25] This release included a commentary track by author and film historian Lee Gamber, an audio interview with Jeff Bergman, the option for viewers to listen to John Debney's music score in 5.1 DTS-HD and in lossless stereo, and the film's theatrical trailer.
Reception
Box office
The film opened at fourth place, behind Die Hard 2, Days of Thunder and Dick Tracy, with a weekend gross of $5 million from 1,562 theaters. The film then lost 43% of its audience in its second weekend, falling to tenth place with a second weekend gross of $2.9 million, and bringing its ten-day gross to $10.9 million. It ended up grossing just $20.3 million in the United States.[3] While made on a budget of $8 million, Universal spent $12 million on marketing, hurting its ability to turn a profit.[2]
Critical response
On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 27% based on 15 reviews, with an average rating of 4.4/10.[26] On Metacritic, it has a score of 46 out of 100 based on 17 reviews indicating "mixed or average reviews".[27]
Charles Solomon of the Los Angeles Times criticized the filmmakers for not deciding "whether they're making a with-it musical for teen-agers or re-creating the ingenuous humor of a '60s TV show". He also criticized the film's use of CGI, claiming it makes the 2D characters "look as though they stumbled in from another film. Their prominent shadows give them an odd, plastic texture, but don't help them fit into the computerized world."[12]Siskel & Ebert gave this film two thumbs down, citing both the story and the animation as having "no imagination whatsoever".[28]Roger Ebert later named it one of the ten worst films of 1990.[29]
Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote the film would "appeal only to small children, and only to the most patient among them. On the positive side, it has a bright, perky look and a few amusing gadgets, like the machine that bathes and washes George Jetson after ejecting him from his bed...On the other hand, the film isn't any more fascinating than the television cartoon series that inspired it. It's only longer."[30] William Thomas of Empire gave the film two out of five stars, stating "it's not nearly exciting enough and at an hour and twenty minutes is overlong for animation fans, yet by virtue of the fact it's a cartoon, it presents itself as too childish for older live action devotees."[31]
Melvin Jerome Blanc was an American voice actor and radio personality whose career spanned over 60 years. During the Golden Age of Radio, he provided character voices and vocal sound effects for comedy radio programs, including those of Jack Benny, Abbott and Costello, Burns and Allen, The Great Gildersleeve, Judy Canova, and his own short-lived sitcom.
The Jetsons is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. It originally aired in prime time from September 23, 1962, to March 17, 1963, on ABC, then later aired in reruns via syndication, with new episodes produced from 1985 to 1987. It was Hanna-Barbera's Space Age counterpart to The Flintstones.
Patric Laine Zimmerman is a retired American voice actor.
Jean Thurston Vander Pyl was an American voice actress. Although her career spanned many decades, she is best known as the voice of Wilma Flintstone for the Hanna-Barbera cartoon The Flintstones. In addition to Wilma Flintstone, she also provided the voices of Pebbles Flintstone; Rosie the robot maid on The Jetsons; Goldie, Lola Glamour, Nurse LaRue, and other characters in Top Cat; Winsome Witch on The Secret Squirrel Show; and Ogee on The Magilla Gorilla Show.
Janet Waldo was an American radio and voice actress. In animation, she voiced Judy Jetson in various Hanna-Barbera media, Nancy in Shazzan, Penelope Pitstop, Princess from Battle of the Planets, and Josie in Josie and the Pussycats. On radio, she was the title character in Meet Corliss Archer.
George O'Hanlon was an American actor, comedian and writer. He was best known for his role as Joe McDoakes in the Warner Bros.' live-action Joe McDoakes short subjects from 1942 to 1956 and as the voice of George Jetson in Hanna-Barbera's 1962 prime-time animated television series The Jetsons and its 1985 revival.
Hanna-Barbera's Superstars 10 is a series of 10 syndicated made-for-television animated films produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions as part of The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera programming block from 1987 to 1988, featuring the studio's popular animated characters: Yogi Bear, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Scooby-Doo, Huckleberry Hound and Top Cat. The first 8 films used traditional cels, while the last 2 films used digital ink and paint.
The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones is a 1987 animated crossover made-for-television film produced by Hanna-Barbera for syndication as part of the Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10 series. The two-hour special stars the cast of the Hanna-Barbera sitcoms The Flintstones and The Jetsons as they cross paths following a time travel experiment gone wrong.
Partridge Family 2200 A.D. is an American science fiction Saturday-morning animated series and a spin-off of the 1970–1974 ABC live-action sitcom The Partridge Family produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and Columbia Pictures Television and broadcast on CBS from September 7 to December 21, 1974, though, it would air in reruns until March 8, 1975. The band performed one of their pop hits in each episode.
Jeffrey Bergman is an American voice actor and impressionist who has provided the modern-day voices of various classic cartoon characters, most notably with Looney Tunes and Hanna-Barbera.
Scooby-Doo! and the Reluctant Werewolf is a 1988 animated comedy horror made-for-television film produced by Hanna-Barbera for syndication as part of the Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10 series. It marked Scrappy-Doo's last appearance as a protagonist in the Scooby-Doo franchise to date; he would not appear in a Scooby-Doo production again until the live-action Scooby-Doo film in 2002. It is also the last appearance of Shaggy's outfit from The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo until Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase.
The Hillbilly Bears is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. The series aired as a segment on The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show from October 2, 1965 to September 7, 1967.
The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera was a simulator ride at Universal Studios Florida and one of the park's original attractions. The story line tells that Dick Dastardly and Muttley have kidnapped Elroy Jetson. Yogi Bear and Boo-Boo give chase and the audience is in for the ride of their lives. The attraction opened on June 7, 1990 and closed on October 20, 2002.
Rockin' with Judy Jetson is a 1988 animated made-for-television film produced by Hanna-Barbera for syndication as part of the Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10 series.
Hanna-Barbera's 50th: A Yabba Dabba Doo Celebration is a 1989 American live-action/animated television special which premiered on TNT on July 17, 1989.
George J. Jetson is a fictional character from the animated television series The Jetsons. He is the patriarch of the Jetson family. He is the husband of Jane Jetson and the father of teenage daughter Judy and son Elroy.
The Jetsons & WWE: Robo-WrestleMania! is a 2017 American direct-to-video animated film starring The Jetsons. It is the fourth co-production between Warner Bros. Animation and WWE Studios.
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