Alaina Gleen: World's Most Wanted

Alaina Gleen: World's Most Wanted is a 2021 American computer-animated adventure comedy film produced by 20th Century Animation. It is the fourth and final installment in the Alaina Gleen CGI reboot franchise, following 2017's Alaina Gleen: Imaginary Vacation. Written and directed by series creator Thalia Ward and co-directed by Thurop Van Orman and written by Matt Lieberman, Peter Ackerman, Eyal Podell, and Jonathon E. Stewart. It will feature the voices of Kristen Bell, Bill Hader, Zac Efron, Emma Stone, Jim Carrey, Andy Samberg, Maya Rudolph, Danny McBride, Kiefer Sutherland, and Betty White reprising their roles from the previous films, joined by newcomers Rachel Bloom, Katherine Langford, Sam Rockwell, Awkwafina, Sterling K. Brown, Danny Trejo, Kelly Marie Tran, and Jake Johnson. The film's plot involves when Alaina Gleen and Max Hat get framed for stealing a historic gem in Paris, the two must reunite Alaina's friends and team up with a young police girl named Bianca to embark on a wild and dangerous journey around the world with the help of the Imaginary Resistance.

Alaina Gleen: World's Most Wanted had its world premiere at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on September 5, 2021, and was theatrically released in the United States on September 17 by 20th Century Studios. The film received generally positive reviews from critics with many considering it an improvement over its third predecessor and commended its humor, musical score, faithfulness to the original TV series, animation, and the vocal performances of Bell and Hader, although some were mixed on the film's plot for being cliché and derivative. The film was also a box office success and grossed $783 million worldwide.

Although marketed as a finale, a sequel is currently in development.

Plot
A world-class British thief named Peggy Carson infiltrates National Museum of Treasures in Paris, France and the steals the world's most famous valuable treasures. After being discovered, Carson flees and fakes her death, where she takes the stolen treasure to her secret hideout far away from France. In her hideout, Carson finds Alaina Gleen and her friends on the news for saving the world from Professor Hinkle Higgins once again. Carson then hatches a idea to ruin Alaina and her friends' reputation by framing them for stealing the world's valuable treasures. Meanwhile, in Applewood City, Colorado, Alaina wakes up and gets ready to start her day. Max Hat is overjoyed that Alaina is up, and fills their day with a full plate of things to do. However, Alaina tries to convince Max that she also wishes to spend time with her family and friends for a "Saving-Applewood-City-Once-Again" party that evening where Max understands.

More to be added soon.

Voice cast

 * Kristen Bell as Alaina Gleen
 * Bill Hader as Max Hat
 * Zac Efron as Jason Baxter
 * Emma Stone as Lucy Jones
 * Jim Carrey as Professor Hinkle Higgins
 * Rachel Bloom as Officer Bianca Cortez
 * Andy Samberg as Eddie Elephant
 * Jake Johnson as Chief Kyle Brooks, a police chief who wants to arrest Alaina and Max for (wrongfully) stealing the world's most famous treasures.
 * Katherine Langford as Peggy Carson, a smart and menacing world-class thief who frames Alaina Gleen and Max Hat for stealing the world's valuable treasures.
 * Kiefer Sutherland as Spy Squirrel
 * Maya Rudolph as Sally Gleen
 * Danny McBride as Roger Rumpkins
 * Kenan Thompson as Officer Bernie
 * Betty White as Betty Gleen
 * Brad Cuddyer as Josh / French Policeman #2
 * Alan Tudyk as Casino Croupier / News Reporter / Museum Worker
 * Eric Bauza as Casino Security Guard / Reginald / French Policeman #1 / Vlad
 * Chris Parnell as Brad the Cool Guy / Mel / Rodrigo
 * Kotono Mitsuishi and Takumi Yamazaki as Japanese Tourists
 * Hiroki Yasumoto as Sumo Fighter / Japanese Chef

The Imaginary Resistance

 * Sterling K. Brown as Dr. Everett McCoy, a doctor who is the creator of the Imaginary Resistance
 * Kelly Marie Tran as Melody McCoy, Everett's daughter.
 * Sam Rockwell as King Duke, the leader of the Imaginary Resistance.
 * Danny Trejo as Hugo the Hare, a hare cowboy who is one of the members of the Imaginary Resistance
 * Awkwafina as Firewest the Lizard, a fire-breathing lizard who is one of the members of the Imaginary Resistance.
 * Rhys Darby, Kevin Fowler, Colin Moody, and Kate Abbott as Fred, Frank, Marvin, and Moxie, four British dogs with tough fighting skills.

Additional voices

 * Stephen Apostolina
 * Kimberly Bailey
 * Dave Boat
 * Jen Cain
 * Oscar Camacho
 * June Christopher
 * Antonio Raul Corbo
 * David Cowgill
 * Wendy Cutler
 * Hudson D’Andrea
 * Grey DeLisle-Griffin
 * Jeff Fischer
 * Johnny Gidcomb
 * Jackie Gonneau
 * Daniel Kaz
 * Phil LaMarr
 * Lex Lang
 * Max Mittelman
 * Scott Menville
 * Heidi Brook Myers
 * Capri Oliver
 * Arthur Ortiz
 * Paul Pape
 * Jacqueline Pinol
 * Ben Pronsky
 * Maddix Robinson
 * Michelle Ruff
 * Justin Shenkarow
 * Warren Sroka
 * Shane Sweet
 * Fred Tatasciore
 * Randy Thom
 * Kari Wahlgren
 * ViviAnn Yee
 * Julian Zane

Production
On the possibility of a potential sequel, in January 2018, Thalia Ward, the creator of the series, stated that a fourth installment is already being considered. Six months later, Fox confirmed that the fourth installment is already moving forward from Fox Animation. Kristen Bell and Bill Hader have expressed interest in reprising their roles in the fourth film. On November 8, 2018, it was reported that Thurop Van Orman (creator of The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack and the director for the then-upcoming The Angry Birds Movie 2) is in talks to co-direct the fourth installment with Ward. Later that day, Orman confirmed in his interview that he will indeed co-direct the fourth installment. On November 22, 2018, Fox announced that the fourth film officially began production.

At the 2019 CinemaCon in April, further more details including the plot were announced with series creator Thalia Ward revealed that that the film will be released on December 11, 2020, as a commemoration to the 30th anniversary of the franchise, with Bell, Hader, Zac Efron, Emma Stone, Jim Carrey (since the 2013 sequel), and Andy Samberg reprising their previous roles, as Alaina Gleen, Max Hat, Jason Baxter, Lucy Jones, Professor Hinkle Higgins, and Eddie Elephant respectively, with Rachel Bloom and Jake Johnson joining them, while Matt Lieberman, Peter Ackerman, Eyal Podell and Jonathon E. Stewart would rewrite Ward's screenplay. Ward also expressed hope that it would be a better film than the previous installment. By October 2019, Awkwafina, Danny Trejo, Sterling K. Brown, and Kelly Marie Tran joined the cast. In January 2020, Katherine Langford joined the cast, making her animation debut. On March 6, 2020, Sam Rockwell was later cast as King Duke. By April 3, 2020, the release date was pushed back to April 16, 2021 as a result of Disney's updated slate due to the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic's impact on the film industry.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, production of the film shifted to people working at home. Fox also stated that the same newer animation technology systems used starting with The Pixelators: Level Two will be used for this film. The film was rendered with 20th Century Animation's Boom Rendering System with additional rendering under Pixar's Renderman.

Music
In July 2020, Henry Jackman returned to score the fourth film, having previously scored the third film with John Powell.

Theatrical
Alaina Gleen: World's Most Wanted had its world premiere at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on September 5, 2021, and was exclusively released in theaters by 20th Century Studios on September 17. The film was rated PG by the Motion Picture Association (MPA) for “rude humor, some thematic elements, and action/peril.” The film was originally scheduled to be released on December 11, 2020. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was delayed three more times: to April 16, 2021, August 13, 2021, October 22, 2021, before shifting forward to July 23, 2021 (with Ron's Gone Wrong taking its October slot), before eventually being delayed once again to its current September 2021 release date.

On August 20, 2021, Disney announced that the film would be released simultaneously in theaters and on digital platforms on the same day for a 45-day rental, in response to rising cases of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant in the United States. However, this was retracted due to the successful opening of Shang-Chi.

In theaters, the film was accompanied by The Last Donut, a short film based on The Simpsons franchise.

Marketing
A teaser trailer was officially released online on 20th Century Studios' YouTube channel on February 4, 2020. The film's official trailer was later released online on March 3, 2021. The film's final trailer was later officially released online on July 7, 2021.

20th Century Studios partnered with more than 100 licensing and promotional partners to market the film including General Mills, M&M's, Target, Fandango, Dodge,McDonald's, and Kraft.

A collaboration with Minecraft, featuring content from the film as well as content from the overall franchise, was released in the game's marketplace in August 2021. 7-Eleven had also brought back the limited-edition "Alaina's Special Slurpee" from the first film's promotion with the convenience store chain.

Home media and streaming
Alaina Gleen: World's Most Wanted was released on digital on November 30, 2021, and was released on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on December 21, 2021 by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. The film was later available for streaming on HBO Max and Disney+ on December 24, after Disney reached a deal with WarnerMedia for certain upcoming films from 20th Century Studios to be streamed between Disney+, HBO Max, and Hulu.

Critical response
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 77% based on 108 reviews, and an average rating of 7.4/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Although its story may leave fans off the edge, Alaina Gleen: World's Most Wanted is a wondrously wacky final outing in the reboot film series, that still retains the charm of the original television series with the fascinating use of its infectious energy, colorful atmosphere, and silly humor." On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating to reviews, the film has a weighted average score of 72 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.

Box office
Alaina Gleen: World's Most Wanted grossed $264.1 million in the United States and Canada and $519.2 million for a worldwide total of $783.8 million worldwide

In the United States and Canada, Alaina Gleen: World's Most Wanted was released alongside The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Cry Macho, Blue Bayou and Copshop, and industry tracking projected the film would gross $50–60 million from 4,074 theaters (playing in 2,200 3D theatres, 290 IMAX theatres, 447 premium large format screens, and an handful of Dolby Cinema and D-Box/4D-enhanced auditoriums) in its domestic opening weekend, the lowest in the CGI reboot franchise.

Beginning on September 7, 2021, in its first 24 hours of pre-sales, Alaina Gleen: World's Most Wanted became the best family film pre-seller during the COVID-19 pandemic on Fandango, while Atom Tickets reported it was their best-ever first-day sales for a family film during the pandemic as well as for an animated film outpacing Daniel: Bigger, Badder, and Meaner. However, after making $38.2 million on its opening day (including $12.2 million made from Thursday night previews), projections were increased to $85-90 million. The film ended up grossing $92.1 million in it's opening weekend the second best in the CGI franchise behind Alaina Gleen 2 and the best opening during the pandemic as well as for a family film. It dropped -62% and grossed $35 million in it's second weekend, the biggest drop of the franchise as well as for 20th Century Animation but remaining at the top. It dropped 55% in it's third weekend and grossed $13.2 million while dropping to third and it's in fourth weekend it grossed $7.2 million dropping to fourth.

In the United Kingdom, the film debuted to $19.1 million. By its third weekend in the country (where it made $5.5 million), the film had a running total of $35.4 million.

Sequel
After originally being marketed as the finale, Disney announced on February 8, 2023, that a fifth film would be released by 20th Century Animation.