Computeropolis (franchise)

Computeropolis is a computer animated comedy film series and media franchise produced by Universal Animation and released by Universal Pictures. It features the adventures of Peri Dazz (voiced by Jesse McCartney), an intelligent and kind-hearted teenage boy, who is sucked into the eponymous fantasy and metropolis internet city from his computer, where he meets his character Nicky Kickzoo (voiced by David Spade), the star of Peri's computer game Frenzy. The duo unexpectedly embark on adventures that challenge and change them.

The franchise began with the 2004 film Computeropolis and its 2007, 2010 and 2018 sequels Computeropolis 2, Computeropolis 3 and Computeropolis: The Deep Web, with a fifth film titled Computeropolis: Webcation currently in production for a 2021 release. It also includes several short films, a simulator ride attraction, Computeropolis: A Technical Ride, at Universal Studios Florida and Universal Studios Hollywood, many video games, and a television series for the Gingo network titled Computeropolis: Adventures of Peri and Nicky, which premiered in the summer of 2008. A spin-off series, entitled Zola: Queen of the Deep Web, premiered on Universal Kids in early 2019.

The franchise has been highly acclaimed with its first two features being nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, in addition to the first film's nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Score. The series has now grossed over $3 billion, making it the 24th highest-grossing franchise of all time, the fourth highest-grossing animated franchise (behind Shrek, Despicable Me, and Ice Age), and the highest-grossing Universal Animation franchise.

Computeropolis and Computeropolis 2 received a "Certified Fresh" rating of 90% and 78% on Rotten Tomatoes, while Computeropolis: The Deep Web received a "Fresh" rating of 69%. However, Computeropolis 3 received a 43% "Rotten" rating, making it the lowest rated film in the franchise.

Computeropolis (2004)
Computeropolis, the first film in the franchise, was released on July 2, 2004, and focuses on a young computer designing expert named Peri Dazz, who attempts to publish his own game Frenzy to the Internet and suddenly stumbles into an eponymous online universe deep inside the realms of his computer. While finding a way to return home, Peri joins Nicky Kickzoo, the protagonist of the Frenzy game, on a risky mission to eliminate King Trojan, a virus capable of corrupting the entirety of the global system.

Computeropolis 2 (2007)
Computeropolis 2, the second film in the franchise, was released on July 6, 2007, and takes place two years after the first film, with Peri Dazz now being 16 years old. It focuses on Peri and Nicky entering an massively multiplayer virtual reality online sandbox game, during which Peri finds love. Soon, Computeropolis plunges into chaos when a group of cyberbullies try to hijack Peri's computer and take over Computeropolis.

Computeropolis 3 (2010)
Computeropolis 3, the third film in the franchise, was released on December 10, 2010. Peri, Nicky, Travis, and the rest of the gang face off against Jeff Bick, a ruthless nemesis of Peri who plans to melt the internal infrastructure of Internet. Meanwhile, Vinna pays a visit to her long-lost family, who abandoned her to find a new life. It is the first film in the series not to be released in July.

Computeropolis: The Deep Web (2018)
The Deep Web, the fourth film in the franchise, was released on June 1, 2018. Peri and his friends take a journey to the bootleg world known as the Deep Web led by Rulio, a bootleg knockoff mixture of Elmo and Mario, before Peri prepares to leave for college. During their adventure, Peri and the gang encounter many strange commodities of the Deep Web, such as toy and nursery rhyme channels for children. However, after rescuing a teenage girl named Zola from a mean-spirited group called the Darkers, they soon discover Rulio is responsible for making these bootlegs and plans to put a bootleg virus that could destroy Peri's computer, so they must stop him before it's too late.

Computeropolis: Webcation (2021)
On the possibility of a potential sequel, in May 2018, Audel LaRoque, director of the film, stated that a fifth installment is already being considered. The following month, LaRoque stated that he planned to include references to several of Universal Pictures' properties, including their own films, Illumination films, and DreamWorks Animation properties in the fifth film, when he and the crew saw the second trailer for Ralph Breaks the Internet.

In August 2018, LaRoque stated that he is unsure if he can direct another Computeropolis sequel due to his focus on directing Mechagirl. Jesse McCartney, the voice of Peri Dazz, has also stated about a possible fifth installment: "We'll see if plans for the fifth film go well." Three days later, Universal confirmed that the fifth installment is already moving forward from Universal Animation. McCartney and Spade have expressed interests in reprising their roles in the fifth film. While the fifth installment is in early development, LaRoque announced that he will not be directing the fifth film to work on his original movie Mechagirl instead, but will remain as an executive producer like he did in the third film and will still write the screenplay to the fifth film. On August 11, 2018, it was reported that Gary Hall (story supervisor of the first four Computeropolis films and co-director of Paradoria) is in talks to direct the fifth installment. Later that day, Hall confirmed in his interview that he will indeed direct the fifth installment. He explained that he found LaRoque's screenplay interesting and he has good discussions with LaRoque on whether Hall can direct this sequel and LaRoque later accepted Hall's decision.

On October 21, 2018, Universal announced that Computeropolis 5 will be released on May 21, 2021, with McCartney, Spade and Sarah Silverman reprising their previous roles, as Peri, Nicky and Vinna, respectively. By February 15, 2019, the release date was moved up a week earlier to May 14, 2021. It was also announced that Brandon Minez and Amy McNeill were reignited to produce the fifth installment of Computeropolis. Minez previously produced the first two films and McNeill previously served as associate producer of the first two films. According to Minez, he made his decision to produce this film because he hasn't been producing movies for many years since Computeropolis 2.

At the 2019 Annecy International Animated Film Festival in June, further more details including the plot were announced with Universal Animation CEO Michael Wildshill and president David Stainton revealed that Maya Rudolph would join the cast and that the film that many of the Universal characters (including Universal Pictures and Animation, Illumination, DreamWorks, and Gingo) would cameo with their respective actors and actresses. Further, Universal affirmed that Dan Fogler, Jon Lovitz, Jennifer Tilly, David Hyde Pierce, Jodi Benson, and Isabela Moner are set to reprise their roles, while Hall and Karey Kirkpatrick would rewrite LaRoque's screenplay. According to LaRoque, he returned after he received inspiration from Ralph Breaks the Internet in which he watched earlier while preparing for the script of Computeropolis 5. LaRoque also expressed hope that it would be a better film than the previous installment. In October 2019, Universal announced that the release date of Computeropolis 5 had been pushed back to November 5, 2021 as a result of Universal's updated schedule for its animated films. By March 8, 2020, the release date was pushed back two weeks later on November 19, 2021. On April 1, it was moved back to May 13, 2022 as a result of Universal's updated animation slate due to the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic's impact on the film industry.

Universal announced in June 2020 that the film officially began production. It also revealed the film's new title Computeropolis: Webcation. On November 9, 2020, it was announced that the release date was pushed back once again, this time two months earlier to March 4, 2022. By February 2021, it was announced that Antoine Guilbaud, a story artist on The Deep Web, has been added as co-director of Webcation. On March 4, 2021, a year before its proposed release, the film was moved back eight months earlier on July 2, 2021 (exactly 17 years after the first film was released), taking over the date set for Minions: The Rise of Gru.

Computeropolis: Adventures of Peri and Nicky
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Print 3D Errors (2004)
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Peri and Nicky Get a Flu (2007)
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The Chat (2011)
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Computeropolis Xmas (2011)
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Go Party! (2012)
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Zip (2017)
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Zola's Makeover (2018)
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Monkey Business (2018)
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Virtual Vinna (2020)
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Television

 * Note: A dark grey cell indicates character did not appear in that medium.

Theme park attractions
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