Bigfoot Family

2020 animated film

Bigfoot Family

Theatrical release poster

Directed by|

* Ben Stassen
* Jeremy Degruson

Screenplay by|

* Bob Barlen
* Cal Brunker

Story by| Ben Stassen
Based on|

A character

* Bob Barlen
* Cal Brunker

Produced by|

* Ben Stassen
* Caroline Van Iseghem
* Matthieu Zeller

Cinematography|

* Ben Stassen
* Jeremy Degruson

Music by| Puggy

Production
companies

* nWave Pictures
* Octopolis

Distributed by|

* Belga Films (Benelux)
* Apollo Films
* TF1 Studio (France)

Release dates

* 15 June 2020 (2020-06-15) (Annecy)
* 5 August 2020 (2020-08-05) (France)

Running time

| 97 minutes
Countries|

* Belgium
* France

Language| English
Box office| $11 million[1]

Bigfoot Family is a 2020 animated fantasy adventure comedy film directed by Ben Stassen and Jeremy Degruson, and written by Bob Barlen and Cal Brunker. An English-language Belgian-French co-production, it is the sequel to the 2017 film The Son of Bigfoot. In the film, Bigfoot has become famous after returning home and uses his fame to fight an oil company. When he disappears without a trace, it is up to Adam, his mother, and their animal friends to rescue him. It premiered at the 2020 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, before releasing in France and Belgium on 5 August 2020.

## Plot

[edit]

Two months after Bigfoot returns home,[a] Adam becomes overwhelmed with the attention his father's newfound fame has brought to the family. He is also struggling to confess his feelings to his crush, Emma.

Bigfoot wants to use his fame for a good cause. After some protesters send him a letter about trying to stop Xtract, an Alaska oil company that claims to have zero environmental impact on wildlife, Bigfoot decides to travel to Alaska to help them. Adam helps his father by uploading a promotional video to social media. Swathes of protesters arrive to support Bigfoot. One night, while trying to get a closer look at the company after hearing a loud rumble, Bigfoot mysteriously disappears. Adam and his mother Shelly journey with Wilbur and Trapper to Alaska in their van to find and rescue him.

Arriving in Alaska, Adam and Shelly meet with Arlo Woodstock, the protester who last saw Bigfoot. Shelly follows Woodstock while Adam, Wilbur, and Trapper stay behind. While waiting in the van, they are ambushed by Xtract guards who tranquilize Wilbur and Trapper, but Adam escapes. Adam encounters a wolf who threatens to hurt him, but he strikes a deal with Adam to help him.

The wolf guides Adam to Xtract's worksite before departing. Xtract is revealed to be destroying wildlife by using small explosions to excavate oil. Adam explores the inside of the company and finds Xtract CEO Connor Mandrake planning to set up a massive bomb so that he can excavate the oil easier, but this will destroy the valley. Adam records Mandrake on his phone to expose him. Afterwards, Adam is found by Woodstock, but Adam finds out that Woodstock actually works for Xtract and is responsible for taking Bigfoot and Shelly. Woodstock captures Adam and pushes him into the underground mines.

Mandrake prepares the bomb. After finding Shelly and freeing Bigfoot, Adam escapes with them through the mines. Xtract drones are sent to stop them, but Bigfoot destroys them. While they escape, Adam manages to upload the videos, exposing Xtract online, before losing his phone. Adam turns back and defuses the bomb, but Mandrake gets a backup bomb that cannot be turned off to trigger the explosion. With help from Wilbur and Trapper, Bigfoot takes hold of it and throws it in the air, creating a signal explosion. Mandrake confronts them, but the news shows up in a helicopter, as does the police. Mandrake attempts to escape but is interrupted by a moose and thrown into an oil puddle alongside Woodstock.

Some time later, Adam meets with Emma, who reveals that one of the videos he accidentally uploaded was the one exposing his feelings to her. He asks Emma out, and she accepts. Emma kisses Adam while his eavesdropping family congratulates him.

## Voice cast

[edit]

* Jules Wojciechowski as Adam, Bigfoot's son (voiced by Pappy Faulkner in the previous film)
* Roger Craig Smith as Dr. Jim "Bigfoot" Harrison, Adam's father who had genetically mutated into the mythical creature of Bigfoot (voiced by Chris Parson in the previous film)
* Grant George as Connor Mandrake, a greedy oil tycoon who is determined to destroy Rocky Valley
* David Lodge as Arlo Woodstock, one of the environmental protesters Bigfoot meets in Alaska who is later revealed to be Connor Mandrake's second-in-command
* Shyloh Oostwald as Emma, Adam's friend and love interest
* Lindsey Alena as Shelly, Adam's mother and Bigfoot's wife (voiced by Marieve Herington in the previous film)
* Sandy Fox as Tina, a red squirrel
* Joe Ochman as Trapper, a raccoon
* Joe J. Thomas as Steve, a European green woodpecker
* Laila Berzins as Weecha, a raccoon and Trapper's wife
* Michael Sorich as Wilbur, a kodiak bear
* Joey Camen as Principal Jones, the principal of Adams's school
* Chris Niosi, Della Saba, and Jessica Gee-George as students at Adam's school
* Dino Andrade as a drone operator for Xtract
* Kyle Hebert as an Xtract guard
* James Fredrick as an Xtract guard
* Jeff Rector as the news anchor
* Cyndia Scott as Doris, a feisty pilot who takes Bigfoot to Alaska
* George Babbit as Cy Wheeler, Becky's agent who arranges cheaply-made merchandise for Bigfoot

## Production

[edit]

Production for a sequel to The Son of Bigfoot, initially entitled  Bigfoot Superstar, began shortly before the release of nWave Pictures' seventh animated feature film, The Queen's Corgi.[2] The studio teased the production of the movie at the 2020 Paris Images Digital Summit.[3]

### Music

[edit]

After providing the score for its predecessor, music band Puggy returned to score the soundtrack of Bigfoot Family. Puggy collaborated with Sylvie Hoarau [fr] for the single "Out in the Open" with the authorization of Sony Music, which is featured in the film during Adam's road trip to Alaska.

## Release

[edit]

In June 2020, Bigfoot Family premiered at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in 15 June 2020.[4] At the festival, it was nominated for Best Animated Feature Film.[5] The film later released in France and Belgium on 5 August 2020.[1]

Bigfoot Family premiered on Netflix, where it premiered as a "Netflix Original" in select territories, on 26 February 2021. It topped as the #1 movie on Netflix in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK on its opening weekend, and remained as such in the US for six days in a row.[6][7]

## Controversy

[edit]

In March 2021, the movie was targeted by the Canadian Energy Centre, an agency created and funded by the government of Alberta to promote the oil industry and defend it from critics, including environmentalists.[8] The Canadian Energy Centre, also called the "energy war room," published a website that accused the movie and its American distributor, Netflix, of "brainwashing" children with misinformation. The website, which was titled Support Canadian Energy, included a petition, and 3,400 letters were sent to the movie company. The controversy increased viewership on Netflix, and the movie director thanked the CEC for the free publicity.[9]

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ As depicted in The Son of Bigfoot (2017)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Bigfoot Family Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
2. ^ "Ben Stassen Set to Direct 3D Animated Sequel "Bigfoot Superstar". Variety.com. 23 October 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
3. ^ "NWave attends Paris Images Digital Summit". 31 January 2020.
4. ^ ""Bigfoot Family" selected for 2020 Annecy Festival". nWave Pictures. 18 May 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
5. ^ "The Annecy Festival reveals the final part of its Official Selection and its juries!" (Press release). Annecy International Animation Film Festival. 18 May 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
6. ^ Calfee, Joel (1 March 2021). "Netflix's New #1 Movie 'Bigfoot Family' Is Basically 'The Lorax' Meets 'Finding Nemo'". PureWow. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
7. ^ "Bigfoot Family [2020]". FlixPatrol. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
8. ^ "Alberta's war room accuses Netflix cartoon Bigfoot Family of 'peddling lies' about oil industry". thestar.com. 12 March 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
9. ^ "'It's silly': Director of Bigfoot movie thanks campaign by Alberta's energy war room". CBC News. 28 March 2021.

## External links

[edit]

* Bigfoot Family at IMDb
* Bigfoot Family on Netflix
* Support Canadian Energy published by the Canadian Energy Centre

* v
* t
* e

nWave Pictures

Feature films|

* Fly Me to the Moon (2008)
* A Turtle's Tale: Sammy's Adventures (2010)
* A Turtle's Tale 2: Sammy's Escape from Paradise (2012)
* The House of Magic (2013)
* Robinson Crusoe (2016)
* The Son of Bigfoot (2017)
* The Queen's Corgi (2019)
* Bigfoot Family (2020)
* Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness (2022)
* The Inseparables (2023)

Television series|

* Sammy & Co.
* Presto! School of Magic

Portals:

* 2020s
* Film
* Belgium
* France
* Animation
* Cartoon
* Speculative fiction
* Fantasy
* Comedy

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template