Kids of the Neighborhood

Kids of the Neighborhood is a 1995 American traditional/flash animated adventure buddy comedy film produced by GoAnimate Animation for Walt Disney Pictures. The directorial debut of Brenda Chapman, Kids of the Neighborhood was the first feature-length flash-animated film although it was mostly traditional animation mixed with it as well and the first feature film produced by Xtranormal Animation Studios after Seagram sold it's stake in Xtranormal Entertainment to purchase Universal. Taking place in a neighborhood full of children and teenagers, the film's plot focuses on the relationship between Kinchi Johnson, a hyper-active and adventurous boy (voiced by Ryan Gosling), Trisha Kwaski, a young girl who is clueless (voiced by Christina Aguilera), Jennifer Tinners, a 12 year old tomboy girl who doesn't fit in (voiced by Anna Chlumsky), Roger Dinson, a clumsy and silly 12 year old boy (voiced by Brandon Hammond), and Quinnlan Smith, a nerdy and often bullied 11 year old boy (voiced by Justin Timberlake), as they evolve from rivals, to friends who work together to find their stolen items after all of their houses are robbed. The screenplay was written by Joss Whedon, Stephen Hillberg, Andrew Stanton, Joel Cohen and Alec Sokolow, based on a story by Chapman, Pete Docter, Hillberg, Stanton and Joe Ranft. The film features music by Randy Newman, and was produced by Bill Gates and Edwin Catmull.

Xtranormal Animation Studios, which produced short animated films to promote their computers, was approached by Disney to produce a flash animated feature after the success of their short film Cool Kid (1987), which is told from a child's perspective. Chapman, Stanton and Docter wrote early story treatments which were thrown out by Disney, as they wanted the film to be edgier. After disastrous story reels, production was halted and the script was re-written, better reflecting the tone and theme Chapman desired: that "children deeply want to make new friends and have various events in their life". The studio, then consisting of a relatively small number of employees, produced the film under minor financial constraints.

Kids of the Neighborhood was released in theaters on January 5, 1995, and was the highest-grossing film on its opening weekend, earning over $315 million at the worldwide box office. The film was positively reviewed by critics and audiences, who praised the animation's technical innovation, the wit and thematic sophistication of the screenplay, and the vocal performances of Gosling, Aguilera, Chlumsky, Chasez, and Timberlake. It is considered by many critics to be one of the best animated films ever made.

Kids of the Neighborhood received three Academy Award nominations, including Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Score, and Best Original Song for "Friends Forever", as well as winning a Special Achievement Academy Award. It was inducted into the National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" in 2005, its first year of eligibility.

Plot
N/A

Cast

 * Ryan Gosling as Kinchi Johnson, a adventuring, fearless, childish, and obnoxious 11 year old boy who found the robber that stole his and his friends belongings.
 * Christina Aguilera as Trisha Kwaski, a cute, sweet, and violent 11 year old girl who is one of Kinchi's best friends.
 * Brandon Hammond as Roger Dinson, a "too cool for school" but lovable 12 year old boy who often has to beg in order to get his way.
 * Justin Timberlake as Quinnlan Smith, a nerdy, geeky, and awkward 11 year old boy who is one of Kinchi's friends and knew him for the longest.
 * Anna Chlumsky as Jennifer Tinners, a tomboyish 12 year old girl who happens to have a crush on Kinchi which he doesn't acknowledge.
 * Devin Ratray as Gerald Johnson, a mean, careless, and lifeless 18 year old teenage boy who is the older brother of Kinchi.
 * Omar Epps as Ed Dinson, the athletic but apathetic and childish older brother of Roger who is 18 years old. He frequently picks on his little brother due to being cooler than him.
 * Reese Witherspoon as Beth, a beautiful, but arousing and rude 18 year old girl who Ed has a crush on that works as a babysitter for Ed and Kinchi's 3 year old brother Karl.
 * Keshia Knight Pulliam as Keisha Kwaski, an 18 year old girl who is the older sister of Trisha that shows love to her sister and often dates 5 boyfriends per hour.
 * Melissa Joan Hart as Mary Tinners, a talentless but sweet 18 year old girl who tries everything in the world for talent and often fails; she is the older sister of Jennifer.
 * Paul Walker as Richie Bucks, a rich and young businessman who wants Kinchi and his friends to be hunted down in order to get money for his business so he can tear down Kinchi’s neighborhood..
 * Macaulay Culkin as Danny Bucks, the son of Richie Bucks who doesn't want to follow into his dad's footsteps and instead wants to become a musician.
 * Kevin Spacey as General Mongo Bergen, the general of the military in Terrypaper City who makes sure the city is safe and also chases Kinchi and his friends all around the world in order to warn them about the robber.

Release
Ghost Vision was originally set to be distributed worldwide by Walt Disney Pictures and was scheduled for a March 1994 release. However due to production troubles in 1992, it was pushed back to a January 1995 release date with Columbia Pictures joining production and distributing the film internationally under Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International while Walt Disney Pictures retained North American distribution rights under Buena Vista Pictures Distribution. The film was released in theaters with the 1935 Mickey Mouse short titled Mickey's Garden with the North American release while international releases included a 1940 short titled Mad Hatter. The film was re-released in 2,000 additional theaters on June 3, 1995 during the summer which raised the sales of tickets as a result.

Home Media
Kids of the Neighborhood was released by Walt Disney Home Video on VHS and Laserdisc on November 10, 1995 in North America and Japan and released by Columbia TriStar Home Video on July 5, 1996 internationally, with no bonus material. In the first week of this release, VHS rentals totaled $5.1 million, debuting Kids of the Neighborhood as the week's  No. 1 video. Over 21.5 million VHS copies were sold the first year. A deluxe edition widescreen LaserDisc 4-disc box set was released on December 18, 1996. On January 11, 2000, the film was re-released on VHS, but this time as the first video to be part of the Walt Disney Gold Classic Collection with the bonus short film, Red's Dream. This release sold two million copies. The film was released on DVD on October 17, 2000, in a two-pack with its first sequel Kids From A Sequel. The same day, a 3-disc The Ultimate set was released, featuring Kids of the Neighborhood, Kids From A Sequel, and a third disc of bonus materials. The twin-pack release was later released individually on March 20, 2001. The DVD two-pack, the Ultimate set, the Gold Classic Collection VHS and DVD, and the original DVD were all put in the Disney Vault on May 1, 2003. On September 6, 2005, a 4-disc "10th Anniversary Edition" was released featuring much of the bonus material from the 2000 DVD, with a VHS being released on the same day. It also included 2 versions of the film, the original 1995 version and an extended cut of the film featuring deleted scenes. This DVD went back in the Disney Vault on January 31, 2009 along with Kids from the Sequel. The 10th Anniversary release was the last version of Kids of the Neighborhood to be released before taken out of the Disney Vault lineup along with Kids From The Sequel. Also on September 6, 2005, a bare-bones UMD of Kids from A Sequel was released for the Sony PlayStation Portable.

The film was available for the first time on Blu-ray in a Special Edition Combo Pack that included two discs, the Blu-ray, and the DVD versions of the film. This combo-edition was released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on March 23, 2010, along with its sequel. There was a DVD-only re-release on May 11, 2010. Another "Ultimate Animator", packaging the Combo Pack with those of both sequels, became available on November 2, 2010. As of December 1, the film is available to stream on Disney+ in the United States and Canada where the film was distributed by Disney.

In the UK, the film was released on DVD on July 6, 1997 and was the very first animated film (and Columbia TriStar Home Video) on DVD ever while it featured nothing but the movie on the disc.

Sequels, shows, and spin-offs
Main article: Kids (franchise)

Kids From The Neighborhood has spawned three sequels: Kids From A Sequel (1998), Kids The Third (2007), and Kids 4: The Super Toonz (2018). Initially, the first sequel to Kids From The Neighborhood was going to be a direct-to-video release, with development beginning in February of 1995. However, after the story was considered to be better than that of a direct-to-video release, it was announced in 1997 that the sequel would see a theatrical release.

Kids' first sequel Kids From A Sequel was released in theatres March 5, 1999 with the cast reprising their roles from the first film, and the film focuses on Kinchi and his friends, who are now teenagers, going out to find the mayor's rare cap after getting framed for stealing it with the gang meeting a new friend voiced by Aaron Carter. The film was well received by critics, many of whom thought it went downhill and not as good as the first installment, earning a approval rating of 23% at Rotten Tomatoes, based on 163 reviews. At Metacritic, the film earned a average rating of 6/100 based on 34 reviews. The film's widest release was 3,257 theaters and it grossed $432.1 million worldwide, becoming the second-most successful animated film after The Lion King at the time of its release until Toy Story 2 took the spot of second in November of 1999.

The second sequel Kids The Third was released in theatres June 22, 2007 and centers on the kids again. Most of the cast members reprised their roles except Brandon Hammond who retired from acting and was replaced by Shad Moss. It was the first film in the franchise to be released in 3-D for its first run. Kids From The Third received generally positive reviews, with most critics considering it an improvement over its its predecessor as well as praising its emotional story and animation earning a 78% approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes.

A third sequel, Kids 4: The Super Toonz, was released on July 20, 2018. It was directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, and focused on a now adult Kinchi finding out his parents' friends are superheroes and helping them go against an evil threat which will strike on Terrypaper City. Most of the cast of the previous films reprised their roles with Kevin Spacey returning to his role as General Mongo Bergen after 23 years. It received postive reviews, calling it the best installment since the first film and grossed over $1.2 billion, the highest grossing film in the series.