Sean Santos: Most Wanted

Sean Santos: Most Wanted is a 2022 American animated comedy film based on the Skyscore animated television series Sean Santos created by Sean Santiago, produced by Skyscore Movies and Spirit Animal Studios, and distributed by Universal Pictures. Serving as a standalone sequel to The Sean Santos Movie, it was directed by Wes Archer and Raymie Muzquiz from a screenplay by Conner Jones, Erica Rivinoja, and David I. Stern. The original voice cast from the series reprised their roles; including Nancy Cartwright, Rob Paulsen, E. G. Daily, Jeannie Elias, Pamela Adlon, Kath Soucie, Billy West, Jason Marsden, Grey Griffin, Greg Cipes, Charlie Adler, Tress MacNeille, Jim Cummings, and Jeff Bennett alongside Lauren Tom and Richard Kind. Joining the cast are Kathryn Hahn, Awkwafina, Josh Gad, Zooey Deschanel, Chloë Grace Moretz, Kristen Bell, and Seth MacFarlane. In the film, while Sean Santos and his friends are on the run from Vio, things change and get even more weirder when Vio's long-lost mother, Vickie, unexpectedly visits him. Meanwhile, Tam befriends a Soar-with-me-Elmo (a parody of Tickle-me-Elmo).

Production on a second Sean Santos feature film was announced in November 2019 following the successful revival of the television series a year prior, with series creator Santiago stating that the film would be the "very best creation out of Santos". New characters for the film were announced in December 2021 along with new cast members. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, much of the final production and animations were done from the crew's homes. The film marked the final film appearance of Betty White (the voice of Stella Santos), who died on December 31, 2021.

Sean Santos: Most Wanted was theatrically released in several countries beginning August 31, 2022, and in the United States on September 23, by Universal Pictures. It has received mixed reviews from critics, who praised it for its animation, voice acting, screenplay and humor, but criticized its story for being too predictable. The film grossed $212 million worldwide against a production budget of $70 million.

Plot
The film begins with a flashback set forty years ago, where a young Vio and his mother Vickie board a train to Seattle as the former is about to attend the Seattle Science School. Upon arrival, Vickie tells Vio that he should behave like a good boy so that she could love him no matter what. However, after a series of disastrous mischiefs, Vio ends up running away from an angry mob and completely forgets about his mother.

More to be added

Voice cast

 * Nancy Cartwright as Sean Santos
 * Rob Paulsen as Roge Santos, Loy Santos, and Clef
 * Jeannie Elias as Leno Santos
 * E. G. Daily as Claire Jones and Adam Feldman
 * Pamela Adlon as Cole Santos
 * Kath Soucie as Becky Wright and Young Vio
 * Billy West as Jan Soto, the Elves, and Mr. Loseit
 * Charlie Adler as Marvin Santos and Maxio
 * Tress MacNeille as Christine Santos
 * Jim Cummings as Vio
 * Jeff Bennett as Big Guy
 * Lauren Tom as Ichika
 * Jason Marsden as Kevin Feldman
 * Greg Cipes as Zach Howard
 * Grey Griffin as Abby Rogers, Tam Williams, and Lady at Zoo
 * Carolyn Lawrence as Mallory McDonnell
 * Jennifer Hale as Barbara Jackson
 * Richard Kind as Mio Evilsim
 * Kathryn Hahn as Vickie Evilsim
 * Awkwafina as Navy Peterson
 * Josh Gad as Otis Peterson
 * Zooey Deschanel as Debbie
 * Chloë Grace Moretz as Lebbie
 * John Goodman as Mayor Mockles
 * Kristen Bell as Laura Mockles
 * Seth MacFarlane as Mark
 * Dee Bradley Baker as Soar-with-me-Elmo
 * Jess Harnell as Frank Santos
 * Betty White as Stella Santos

ADR Loop Group

 * Carlos Alazraqui
 * Kimberly Bailey
 * Dave Boat
 * Chris Cox
 * Terri Douglas
 * Jeff Fischer
 * Kerry Gutierrez
 * Richard Steven Horvitz
 * Gina Kowerko
 * Phil LaMarr
 * Yuri Lowenthal
 * Scott Menville
 * Cassandra Morris
 * Michael Ralph
 * Michelle Ruff
 * Scott Setterberg
 * James Arnold Taylor
 * Kari Wahlgren
 * Diamond White
 * Scott Whyte
 * Debra Wilson

Development
On November 17, 2019, a year after the series revival, it was announced that Universal Pictures and Skyscore Movies were developing a new theatrical film featuring Sean Santos, which was scheduled for a May 13, 2022 release with Wes Archer and Raymie Muzquiz set to direct from a screenplay by Conner Jones, Erica Rivinoja, and David I. Stern. It was expected to be traditionally animated like the series.

Series creator Sean Santiago, who executive produced the film had said the film would be the "very best creation out of Santos". On September 28, 2020, Muzquiz said that the script was completed and accepted by the studios. On October 17 of that year, voice actress Nancy Cartwright confirmed that work on the film was being done remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while also revealing that recording for the film has already begun, with the cast reprising their roles from the television series. On July 28, 2021, the film's title was revealed as Sean Santos: Most Wanted, with Kathryn Hahn joining the voice cast as Vio's long-lost mother Vickie, a character who was only mentioned frequently throughout the series.

On June 23, 2022, following the release of the new poster and trailer, it was announced that Awkwafina, Josh Gad, Zooey Deschanel, Chloë Grace Moretz, Kristen Bell, and Seth MacFarlane were added to the cast, while recurring voice actors Jodi Benson, Lauren Tom, Gregg Berger, and Richard Kind would return.

Animation
As with the television series, the film was animated by Skyscore Animation in North Hollywood, California and Universal Television Animation in Glendale, with Rough Draft Studios in South Korea handling the finished animation overseas. While the film is traditionally animated, it also features some sequences made in computer-generated imagery (CGI) provided by Sony Pictures Imageworks in Vancouver.

Music
Mark Mothersbaugh composed the film's score. The film's soundtrack was released on September 13, 2022 by Back Lot Music.

Theatrical
Sean Santos: Most Wanted was theatrically released by Universal Pictures in several international markets, including France and the Netherlands on August 31, 2022 and in Australia and Brazil on September 8. The film had its world premiere at the Regency Village Theatre on September 10, 2022, and was theatrically released in the United States on September 23. The film was originally scheduled to be released on May 13, 2022, but was temporarily removed from the release schedule. It was then moved to December 21, 2022, and later to March 3, 2023 with Illumination's The Super Mario Bros. Movie taking over the date, before eventually shifting forward to its current September 2022 release date, taking over the release of DreamWorks Animation's Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. On September 5, when tickets went on sale for the United States, an early access screening was announced for September 21.

Home media and streaming
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment released Sean Santos: Most Wanted for digital download on October 25, 2022, and on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD on November 15. The film became available to stream on NBCUniversal's Peacock streaming service on November 8, 2022, 45 days after its theatrical release, and will stream on Peacock for four months as part of an 18-month deal. It will then move to Netflix for the following ten months, before returning to Peacock for the remaining four.

Box office
Sean Santos: Most Wanted grossed $76.3 million in the United States and Canada and $135.9 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $212.2 million. It has outgrossed the first Sean Santos film, which made $89.8 million worldwide.

In the United States and Canada, Sean Santos: Most Wanted was released alongside Don't Worry Darling, and was projected to gross $10–25 million in its opening weekend, with some estimates going as high as $40 million. The film earned $5.4 million on its opening day, including $425,000 from Thursday night previews. It went on to gross $16.6 million over its three-day opening weekend, placing third at the box office behind Princess Joanna and the Four Kingdoms and Don't Worry Darling. Among opening audiences, males made up 60%, those aged between 18 and 34 comprised 47% of ticket sales and those below 17 comprised 31%, and the ethnic breakdown was 42% were Hispanic/Latin American, 36% Caucasian, 22% African American, and 19% Asian or other. In its second weekend, the film made $8.9 million, finishing third.

Outside the United States and Canada, Sean Santos: Most Wanted opened in several international markets on August 31, 2022. In the United Kingdom, the film debuted to $4.7 million in its first weekend, $1.1 million in its second, and $1.2 million from 16 markets in its third. After screening in an additional 22 markets, the film earned $13.2 million in its fourth weekend which included a debut in the Philippines of $1.2 million.

Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 66% based on 117 reviews, with an average rating of 6.71/10. The website's consensus reads, "Despite its uninspired story and plot twists, Sean Santos: Most Wanted is a new delightful addition to the show and may as well add enjoyment and entertainment to the family." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 55 out of 100 based on 24 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported 91% of audience members gave it a positive score, with 78% saying they would definitely recommend it.

Accolades
To be added

Main
To see the main transcript of the film, click here.

Trailers
To see the transcript for the trailers of the film, click here.