Star Kid | |
---|---|
Directed by | Manny Coto |
Written by | Manny Coto |
Produced by | Jennie Lew Tugend |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Ronn Schmidt |
Edited by | Bob Ducsay |
Music by | Nicholas Pike |
Distributed by | Trimark Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 101 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $12 million [1] |
Box office | $7 million [2] |
Star Kid (originally titled The Warrior of Waverly Street) is a 1997 American superhero film directed and written by Manny Coto and starring Joseph Mazzello, Richard Gilliland, and Corinne Bohrer.
In the film, an ordinary schoolboy acquires an extraterrestrial exoskeletal-suit with its own artificial intelligence. He melds with the suit and has to adjust to his new superhuman abilities.
The life of a shy, seventh-grader Spencer Griffith, who has a crush on a schoolmate named Michelle Eberhardt, changes one night when he sees a mysterious meteorite, as it crashes down into a nearby junkyard. Sneaking out of his house to investigate, he discovers the meteorite to actually be a small rocket carrying a "Cybersuit", a prototype exoskeletal-suit with artificial intelligence from another galaxy. He decides to try it on and melds with it, but requires some time to adjust to the experience, including the new speed and strength, and then starts testing out its various primary functions and abilities, deciding to call it "Cy".
He proceeds to go around town doing whatever he wants, starting with getting back at bully Manfred "Turbo" Bruntley, then saving Michelle and her friends from a damaged Rock-O-Plane and ordering food from a fast-food restaurant drive-thru. He also endures the hilarious antics of trashing part of his house after getting his head stuck inside the refrigerator, discovering the unappealing way that it will allow him to eat his take-out food, and finding a way to pee when it won't let him out to do so.
Meanwhile, Earth is visited by a Broodwarrior, a member of an alien race of world-conquering insectoids that are currently waging a war against Cy's creator, Tenris De'Thar, and his fellow Trelkins, who developed it as a weapon to turn the tide of the war, but was forced to launch it into space due to a Broodwarrior attack. The Broodwarrior's mission is to find and capture it so his race can analyze it. After first encountering the Broodwarrior, Spencer escapes, forces Cy to let him out, and abandons it, afraid he might not "live to see his next birthday" if he "engages" the Broodwarrior. Back home, after looking over one of his comic books titled MidKnight Warrior and thinking about what the title character, in his situation, would do, he goes back out to find Cy. He unexpectedly finds himself accompanied by Turbo, who gradually becomes his friend, only to find the Broodwarrior has taken Cy. They head to the junkyard, where it is about to be taken off-world by the Broodwarrior, and create a plan to distract it long enough to allow Spencer to rescue Cy. Spencer does so and begins battling the Broodwarrior.
During the battle, the Broodwarrior gets the upper hand, and Cy is bashed multiple times by the Broodwarrior's mace, severely damaging it, and forcing it to eject Spencer before it goes completely offline. Spencer covers it with scrap metal to hide it from the Broodwarrior, takes a piece of it, and continues to fight the Broodwarrior, who had started trying to chase down Turbo. Spencer confronts the Broodwarrior before getting chased himself and is suddenly cornered inside a junked ice cream truck. Just when the Broodwarrior is about to dispose of Spencer, Turbo finds a control panel and activates the car crusher the truck is sitting in, revealing the chase into it to be part of a trap. Spencer escapes while the truck is compressed into a solid metal cube, killing the Broodwarrior.
With the Broodwarrior now destroyed, Spencer and Turbo return to Cy but it appears that they were too late to save it. Just as Spencer begins to lose hope, Tenris De'Thar and a small group of Trelkin soldiers appear from a giant UFO orbiting Earth and quickly repair Cy, reviving it. After Spencer says goodbye to Cy, the head alien soldier gives him a badge for his bravery and courage before their departure back to their home-world, and the long, eventful night finally comes to an end. The next day at school, a now confident Spencer, encouraged by Turbo, starts up a conversation with Michelle.
The film was part of an effort by Trimark to enter into larger films. At the 1995 American Film Market, it was positioned as Trimark's flagship product when it was previewed to foreign distributors under its original title, The Warrior of Waverly Street [3]
The film grossed a domestic total of $7,029,025, making it a box office bomb from its estimated $12 million budget.
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 43% with an average rating of 5.37/10 based on 14 reviews. [4] In his review for the Chicago Sun-Times , Roger Ebert (who gave it 3 out of 4 stars) said, "Star Kid, written and directed by Manny Coto, has a sweet heart and a lot of sly wit, and the symbiosis between boy and cyborg is handled cleverly. For kids of a certain age, it pushes the right buttons." [5]
In the United States, the film was released on VHS and DVD format in 1998. It was also released on VHS in the UK and is now available on DVD. [6]
All tracks (with the exception of the first two tracks) were composed by Nicholas Pike. The soundtrack was released on compact disc by Sonic Images (January 27, 1998) and further released for download through BSX Records (January 29, 2013) with modified cover art.
Star Kid (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) | |
---|---|
Film score by Nicholas Pike | |
Released | January 27, 1998 |
Genre | Soundtrack |
Length | 70:13 |
No. | Title | Notes | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Magic Carpet Ride" | Steppenwolf cover by Edgar Winter | 4:22 |
2. | "Shadow in the Shade" | Performed by Theresa Musser | 4:21 |
3. | "Battle on Trelkas" | 5:07 | |
4. | "Another Fun Day at School" | 1:04 | |
5. | "Turbo Trouble" | 4:19 | |
6. | "The Cybersuit Arrives" | 6:20 | |
7. | "Turbo Takes a Spin" | 3:07 | |
8. | "In the Fairground" | 4:41 | |
9. | "Mom" | 2:03 | |
10. | "Rearranging the Kitchen" | 1:58 | |
11. | "Broodwarrior Arrives" | 1:43 | |
12. | "On the Bridge" | 4:40 | |
13. | "Anyone for Tennis" | 1:31 | |
14. | "Home Improvement" | 6:31 | |
15. | "Joyride in the Junkyard" | 3:35 | |
16. | "Cy Runs Out of Steam" | 6:49 | |
17. | "Trelkins Arrive" | 2:46 | |
18. | "Farewell to the Trelkins" | 2:35 | |
19. | "Finale" | 2:41 | |
Total length: | 70:13 |
A prequel was released in comic book form, written by Manny Coto with art by John Stokes. It was published by Dark Horse Comics, first as a two-issue miniseries under the film's original title of The Warrior of Waverly Street in 1996 [7] [8] and later as a one-shot titled Star Kid in 1998. [9]
Usagi Yojimbo is a comic book series created by Stan Sakai. It is set primarily at the beginning of the Edo period of Japanese history and features anthropomorphic animals replacing humans. The main character is a rabbit rōnin, Miyamoto Usagi, whom Sakai based partially on the famous swordsman Miyamoto Musashi. Usagi wanders the land on a musha shugyō, occasionally selling his services as a bodyguard.
Fray is an eight-issue comic book limited series, a futuristic spin-off of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Written by Buffy creator Joss Whedon, the series follows a Slayer named Melaka Fray, a chosen one in a time when vampires are returning to the slums of New York City, and the rich-poor divide is even greater. Volume one is drawn by Karl Moline (pencils) and Andy Owens (inks).
Power Rangers Turbo is a television series and the fifth season of the Power Rangers franchise. The show was prefaced with the franchise's second film, Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie.
"Azati Prime" is the eighteenth episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise, the 70th overall. The episode was written by Manny Coto from a story developed by Coto, Rick Berman and Brannon Braga. It was directed by Allan Kroeker, his second of the season. The episode featured several guest actors, including those playing members of the Xindi Council, as well as Matt Winston who reprised his role of Temporal Agent Daniels for the second time this season.
"Similitude" is the tenth episode from the third season of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise. It first aired on November 19, 2003 and was the 62nd episode in the series. Captain Archer orders a short-lived clone of Trip Tucker to be made to save Tucker's life. This episode won an Emmy for musical composition.
Steven Bauer is an American actor.
"Storm Front" is the title of the first and second episodes of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise. They were first broadcast on October 8, and October 15, 2004, respectively, on UPN in the United States. They were written by executive producer Manny Coto, and directed by Allan Kroeker. The episodes resolved the cliffhanger at the end of the third season finale, "Zero Hour". It was Coto's first episodes as the new show runner for the series.
"Daedalus" is the tenth episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise. Set in the 22nd century, the series follows the adventures of the first Starfleet starship Enterprise, registration NX-01. In this episode, as the crew of Enterprise help Doctor Emory Erickson conduct experimental transporter tests, a dangerous anomaly is detected on board.
300 is a 1998 comic book limited series written and illustrated by Frank Miller with painted colors by Lynn Varley.
Manuel (Manny) Hector Coto was a Cuban-born American screenwriter, television and film director, and producer on various films and television programs.
"In a Mirror, Darkly" is the eighteenth and nineteenth episodes of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise, and originally aired on April 22 and 29, 2005. This installment was developed to be a sequel to The Original Series episode "The Tholian Web" and a prequel to "Mirror, Mirror". The decision to set an Enterprise episode in the mirror universe originated with a pitch to enable William Shatner to appear in the series. The teleplays for both parts of the episode were written by Mike Sussman, with Manny Coto contributing the story for the second part.
"Terra Prime" is the 21st episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise, and originally aired on May 13, 2005. The story was developed by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, along with André Bormanis, and developed into a script by the Reeves-Stevenses and show runner Manny Coto. The episode is the second of a two-part story, which started in "Demons". The episode was directed by Marvin Rush, his second for the series.
"Demons" is the twentieth episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise, and originally aired on May 6, 2005, on UPN. The episode was written by showrunner Manny Coto and directed by LeVar Burton. "Demons" is the first part of a two part story, concluding with "Terra Prime".
GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords is a 1986 American animated science fiction action film based on the GoBots line of toys. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and released to theaters in 1986 by Clubhouse Pictures, the last film the company released. It featured the first appearance of the Rock Lords, who were given their own toyline after the film.
Joseph Francis Mazzello III is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Tim Murphy in Jurassic Park, Roarke Hartman in The River Wild, Eugene Sledge in the HBO miniseries The Pacific, Dustin Moskovitz in The Social Network, and Queen bass player John Deacon in the biopic Bohemian Rhapsody.
Dr. Giggles is a 1992 American slasher film directed by Manny Coto, starring Larry Drake as Evan Rendell Jr., the eponymous Dr. Giggles, and Holly Marie Combs as Jennifer Campbell. The film co-stars Cliff DeYoung and Glenn Quinn. It is based on the comic book series of the same name published by Dark Horse Comics. It was released on October 23, 1992.
John Stokes is a British comics artist who has largely worked for IPC and Marvel UK and is best known for his work on Fishboy.
Mike Richardson is an American publisher, writer, and producer. In 1986, he founded Dark Horse Comics, an international publishing house located in Milwaukie, Oregon. Richardson is also the founder and President of the Things From Another World retail chain and president of Dark Horse Entertainment, which has developed and produced numerous projects for film and television based on Dark Horse properties or licensed properties.
Turbo Kid is a 2015 post-apocalyptic superhero film written and directed by François Simard, Anouk Whissell, and Yoann-Karl Whissell. The film stars Munro Chambers, Laurence Leboeuf, Michael Ironside, Edwin Wright, Aaron Jeffery, and Romano Orzari. The film follows the adventures of a teenage comic book fan turned superhero in an alternate 1997 post-apocalyptic Earth where water is scarce. He teams up with a mysterious girl and an arm-wrestling cowboy to stop a tyrannical warlord. Epic Pictures Group released the film in the United States on August 28.