Dusk and Dawn 2: The Belt of Venus

Dusk and Dawn 2: The Belt of Venus (also simply known as Dusk and Dawn 2 or Dusk and Dawn: The Belt of Venus) is a 2009 American 3D computer-animated fantasy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The sequel to 2003's Dusk and Dawn, it was directed by Tim Johnson and written by William Davies and Michael J. Wilson. The film features Josh Peck, Zooey Deschanel, Anthony Hopkins, Christine Baranski and Dan Aykroyd reprising their roles from the previous film, with newcomers James Woods, Isla Fisher, Nicole Kidman, Jeff Garlin, and Bill Nighy joining the cast. In the film, Dusk and Dawn's new life turns upside down when the Belt of Venus overtakes their home, and they attempt to get rid of the Belt of Venus unless they want to make peace with him.

Production on a sequel to Dusk and Dawn began in February 2004 following the box office success of the first film. New ideas for the film were conceived including some unused ideas from the first film, as well as Dawn being the main focus of the new story. Hans Zimmer returned to compose the film's score, albeit without co-composer John Powell. It was released in the United States on May 15, 2009. The film was originally intended for release in 2006, and has had several additional release dates since it was first announced. Despite receiving mixed reviews, it was a box office success, grossing $314 million worldwide against a budget of $160 million, making it the seventh highest-grossing film of 2009.

Plot
To be added

Cast

 * Josh Peck as Dusk
 * Harrison Fahn as a young Dusk
 * Zooey Deschanel as Dawn
 * Olivia Mattingly as a young Dawn
 * Anthony Hopkins as Twilight
 * Christine Baranski as Sun
 * Dan Aykroyd as Light
 * James Woods as the Belt of Venus
 * Isla Fisher as Blue
 * Nicole Kidman as Golden
 * Jeff Garlin as Morning
 * Bill Nighy as Evening
 * Eric Darnell as Keeper
 * Christopher Knights as Elder Jo
 * Erika Thomas as Elder Ji
 * Kevin Michael Richardson as Elder Ja
 * Conrad Vernon as Mark, Teacher Ted
 * Steve Blum as Terminator
 * Fred Tatasciore as Noon
 * David P. Smith as Lin
 * Ariel Winter as Little Girl
 * André Sogliuzzo as Scout
 * Jack Blessing as Sam
 * David Soren as Josh

ADR Group

 * Newell Alexander
 * Rosemary Alexander
 * Steve Alterman
 * Mitch Carter
 * June Christopher
 * Robert Clotworthy
 * David Cowgill
 * Makenna Cowgill
 * Wendy Cutler
 * Holly Dorff
 * Spencer Lacey Ganus
 * Jackie Gonneau
 * Nicholas Guest
 * Bridget Hoffman
 * Matthew Ford Holt
 * Hope Levy
 * Michelle Ruff
 * Georgia Simon
 * Harry Van Gorkum
 * Lisa Wilhoit

Production
A sequel to Dusk and Dawn was announced by DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg in February 2004. William Davies and Michael J. Wilson were hired to write the script for the sequel. Eric Darnell, the director of the first film, returns as executive producer only as he was already directing Madagascar and its sequel. Co-director Cody Cameron also revealed in an interview that he was set to write and direct but dropped out of the project when he left DreamWorks to work at Sony Pictures Animation in 2004, stating "it did well, but I couldn't be able to continue it since I was moving to Sony." Following Cameron's departure, Tim Johnson took over as director of the sequel while he was still directing Over the Hedge for 2006.

In January 2005, character designer Geo G. that the sequel would be more of a "coming-of-age" movie that focuses more on Dawn as well as introducing new characters and locations into the universe first established in Dusk and Dawn. While he was not in a position to offer further details about the plot and characters, which remained unknown until the months before the film's release, he expressed hope that it would be a more complex sequel. He also said he wanted to include some unused ideas from the first film.

Like the other DreamWorks Animation films that began production in 2009, Dusk and Dawn 2 was produced in DreamWorks' stereoscopic 3-D technology of InTru 3D. IMAX 3D, RealD and 2D versions were released.

Soundtrack
The film's soundtrack, featuring the original score by Hans Zimmer, was released on May 12, 2009 by Sony Classical. However, John Powell, who co-composed the first film with Zimmer, did not return for the sequel due to scheduling conflicts.

Release
Dusk and Dawn 2: The Belt of Venus was theatrically released in the United States on May 15, 2009. It was originally set to be released in November 2006, before being delayed to November 2007, to avoid Shrek 3, and then to November 2008, to avoid Bee Movie. It was delayed to March 27, 2009, with Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa taking its November 2008 slot, and was later pushed back to May 15, 2009, switching places with Monsters vs. Aliens.

Home media
Dusk and Dawn 2: The Belt of Venus was released on DVD and Blu-ray on November 3, 2009, accompanied with an all-new short titled Before and After Dawn.

Box office
Dusk and Dawn 2: The Belt of Venus grossed $102.5 million in North America and $212.2 million in other territories for its worldwide total of $314.7 million.

Critical reception
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 56% based on 162 reviews. The critical consensus says, "Dusk and Dawn 2 doesn't shine particularly as bright as the original, but for older fans and younger newcomers, its spectacular visuals and affectionate performances make it a welcoming return." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 48 out of 100 based on 34 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" of an A+ to F scale.

Accolades
To be added

Possible sequel
In May 2009, DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg said that he has kept the possibility for Dusk and Dawn 3 open, stating "Of course, I have a lot of stories to tell, so we're [starting to] prepare for it." In June 2012, Eric Darnell, who co-directed the first film, said he would do a third film if he could create a good story for it.

In December 2014, Geo G., the film's character designer, stated that, if DreamWorks asked him to, he would be more than happy to bring Dusk and Dawn back, alongside Niz Chicoloco. On June 15, 2016, nearing NBCUniversal's acquisition of DreamWorks Animation, NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke discussed plans to revive other DreamWorks films, including Dusk and Dawn. In July 2016, it was reported that DreamWorks was in talks with Universal Animation Studios CEO Michael Wildshill about a possible way of bringing Dusk and Dawn, Niz Chicoloco and Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas back. In November 2019, Josh Peck expressed interest on reprising his role as Dusk if a third film ever materializes.

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

Trailer transcripts
To see the transcripts for the trailers of the film, click here.