Banjo Kazooie

Banjo Kazooie is a 2001 animated adventure fantasy film based on the 1998 video game by RareWare, animated and produced by Robert Animation Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures

Plot
Above the mountains of Spiral Mountain, in the evil lair of Gruntilda the witch, we see Gruntilda beckoning in the cauldron asking “Who’s the nicest looking wench”. The cauldron reveals a little girl named Tooty is the nicest looking of them all. Stricken with envy, Gruntilda goes out to capture Tooty and steal her beauty.

As a bear named Banjo was sleeping, his sister, Tooty, said she wanted to go on an adventure with him. But he wouldn’t budge, saying he was tired. Kazooie chimed in with Tooty and said that she wanted to go too. He told them 10 more minutes and Tooty said she’d wait outside for them. As Tooty walks out the door and talks to Bottles, Gruntilda swoops out of her lair and flies around in search of Tooty. She spots her and Tooty tries to evade her. Banjo & Kazooie hear the commotion and immediately head out to see Tooty running and hiding from Gruntilda. He tries to save Tooty, but Gruntilda catches her and takes her to her lair. Banjo follows behind her onto the top of Spiral Mountain leading to the bridge connected to the entrance of Gruntilda’s Lair.

With Tooty in her possession, Gruntilda prepares to steal her beauty. She orders Klungo to prepare the Beauty Transfer Machine, but the machine isn’t working. It was covered with cobwebs, the structure was rusted, and the wires were flying around it. Furious that she wasn’t informed of this, Gruntilda orders him to refurbish the machine before they get to the climax. Tooty, frightened, prays for Banjo to save her before it’s too late. Meanwhile, Banjo & Kazooie go through the lair looking for Tooty, but they’re stopped by Gruntilda’s announcement towards Banjo. Irked, Banjo yells at her to give him back his sister. Suddenly, someone nearby speaks about his business. Banjo turns to see Brentilda, Gruntilda’s nicer sister, who wishes to help Banjo in saving his sister. Banjo & Kazooie reluctantly accept it and she informs them they can find their way through the lair by collecting little puzzle pieces called Jiggies, used to open doors to different locations. She demonstrates by using a Jiggy to opening the door to Mumbo Mountain. But as the two enter, they end up in a dark cavern. They suddenly hear noises calling out for help. They investigate to find a Jinjo wrapped in a chain. Banjo is then captured by Grublins and knocked unconscious.

When Banjo regains consciousness, he finds himself stuck in a cage in front of the Beauty Transfer Machine to see Gruntilda as she steals Tooty’s beauty in front of him. As he desperately struggles to get himself out, Klungo turns the machine on and Tooty screams for Banjo. After a few seconds, the machine opens to reveal Gruntilda’s new hot looks and Tooty’s monstrous disfigured form. Banjo is horrified and is about to faint, when suddenly, he wakes up to see he’s not too late and that he, Kazooie, and the Jinjo were locked in a cage at Mumbo’s Mountain. The Jinjo goes on about how he and his friends were being imprisoned by Gruntilda and her minions, but Kazooie could care less, mostly because he got them in this mess. But before they can try to find a way out, Bottles comes in out and Banjo and Kazooie request their help. But he refuses at first on account of how they said they didn’t need his help. Banjo apologizes for that and agrees to help them find a way out. As Mumbo and the Grublins are preparing for the cooking fire, one of them goes to get Kazooie, but she and Banjo break free and attack. They sound the alarm they chase them down and corner them on a cliff. Mumbo orders the Grublins to take them out, but one of them screams and disappears. Everyone looks around and all of a sudden, they’re being attacked by termites. They all fight back, but they’re all out matched. As the Grublins retreat, Banjo and Kazooie attempt to make a run for it. But they see Mumbo is struggling for his life, so they immediately run back to help him. But the termites surround them as they stand helplessly. Mumbo then resorts to drastic measures and begins to pull out a magic bag, transforming them into termites as they sneak past the termites without them noticing.

After escaping the termites, Mumbo praises Banjo for trying to saving his life and agrees to help him and Kazooie is stopping Gruntilda and save Tooty. He expresses how he and the Grublins were suffering under Gruntilda’s control and how he wishes to take her down and become the hero he once was. But little did he know that Gruntilda overheard his words and warns him and Banjo that they’ll never make it past the rest of her lair. She then turns to a frightened Tooty and cackles on about her and how it’ll soon be hers. She turns to Klungo and asked how things are going with the machine. He informs her it’s almost ready for testing. Tooty prays for Banjo to hurry and save her before it’s too late.

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Cast

 * Mark Hamill as Banjo
 * Nika Futterman as Kazooie
 * Leslie Jones as Gruntilda
 * Dakota Fanning as Tooty
 * Betty White as Brentilda
 * Kevin Michael Richardson as Klungo
 * Tom Kenny as Bottles
 * Jim Cummings as Mumbo Jumbo
 * Tara Strong, Rob Paulsen, & Russi Taylor as The Jinjos
 * Michael Wolf as Cheato

Release
The film was released worldwide on August 9, 2001.

Reception
The film was well-received by critics and audiences for its characters, humor, and animation and praised by fans for its faithfulness to the original game. The film would gross $227 million dollars and received an 86% on Rotten Tomatoes with the consensus stating “Banjo Kazooie is a fantastic film for fans of the original game and even newcomers of the game”, and as of March 2022, it holds the record for the highest rated video game film adaptation alongside Werewolves Within.

Accolades
The film was one of the first Academy Award Nominees for Best Animated Feature Film of 2001, but unfortunately lost to DreamWorks Animation’s Shrek.