Puyo Puyo (film)

Puyo Puyo (also known as Puyo Puyo: The Movie) is a 2003 live action/computer-animated comedy film directed by Kenneth Branagh and based on the video game series of the same name developed by Compile (later owned by Sega). It stars Jennifer Love Hewitt, Matthew Broderick, Helen Hunt, Kirsten Dunst, and Owen Wilson. It is the first live-action/animated film produced by Gingo Movies, and the first of two live-action/animated Puyo Puyo feature films. The film centers on a young female spellcaster who plays creatures against other people in order to defeat the Dark Prince.

Produced by Gingo Movies in co-production with Amblin Entertainment and The Kennedy/Marshall Company, Puyo Puyo was theatrically released by Universal Pictures on March 14, 2003 in the United States. Although the film received generally negative reviews from critics, it was a box office success, grossing $189.4 million worldwide on a budget of $60 million. A sequel, Puyo Puyo 2, was released on April 8, 2005.

Plot
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Live action actors
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 * Jennifer Love Hewitt as Arle Nadja
 * Matthew Broderick as Schezo Wegey
 * Helen Hunt as Draco Centauros
 * Kirsten Dunst as Rulue
 * Owen Wilson as The Dark Prince

Voice actors
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 * Ayame Kizuki as Carbuncle

Development
In May 1998, Universal Pictures and Gingo Movies officially announced that a live-action animated film adaptation of the Puyo Puyo video game series was in development as a joint venture with the series' developer Compile, although Variety noted that this was "after months of speculation". The success of both the direct-to-video anthology film One Weird Afternoon and the Puyo Puyo TV series, according to Gingo CEO Michael Wildshill (who also executive produced the show), "validated" the idea of creating a feature film.

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Filming
Principal photography began in Vancouver in April 2001.

Animation and visual effects
The visual effects are provided by Rhythm and Hues, Universal Digital Images and Industrial Light & Magic (ILM).

Music
The film's score was composed by Christopher Lennertz.

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Release
In the United States, Puyo Puyo was originally scheduled to be released on September 27, 2002, but was pushed up to April 18, 2003. The film was then pushed back to March 14, 2003, with The Whackems: One Big Movie taking its April 2003 slot.

Home media
Puyo Puyo was released by Universal Studios Home Video on VHS and DVD on August 19, 2003.

Box office
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Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 26% based on 124 reviews with an average rating of 3.4/10. On Metacritic the film has a score of 32 out of 100 based on 19 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".

Sequel
A sequel, Puyo Puyo 2, was released in 2005. A third film was planned, but cancelled after the poor critical and financial results of the second.

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.