Paradoria 2 (released in some markets as Paradoria 2: Enchanted Realm) is a 2020 American computer-animated fantasy musical adventure film produced by Paramount Animation. It is the 70th feature film produced by the studio and the sequel to the 2016 film Paradoria, which in turn is loosely based on George MacDonald's fairy tale The Light Princess. The film was again directed by Nadia Hanson from a screenplay by Hanson, Laurie Craig, Jonathan Aibel, and Glenn Berger based on a story by Hanson, Craig and John Levine, with Alan Menken, Cinco Paul and Marc Shaiman returning for the songs while Menken also returns as composer. Voice cast AnnaSophia Robb, Jenny Slate, Patrick Stewart, Maya Rudolph, and Bryan Cranston reprise their roles from the first film, along with new additions including Tom Holland (replacing Finn Wolfhard), Zoe Saldana, Paul Giamatti, Madelaine Petsch, Gina Rodriguez, and Tom Cruise.
Plans for a sequel began in 2016 and were announced to be in the works in October following the critical and commercial success of the first film. Hanson, who directed the first film, agreed to return to direct the second film on the condition that she would be allowed to turn it into a saga. The new installment went through three different scripts before the filmmakers settled on the final plot, while Hanson also wanted to include some unused ideas from the first film. By mid 2017, much of the original cast confirmed they had signed on, with new cast members added in 2018.
Paradoria 2 was originally set for a worldwide theatrical release on November 4, 2020 by Paramount Pictures, but in response to the COVID-19 pandemic causing the closure of theaters across the globe, Paramount made the film available to own digitally in the United States on the same date it was planned to be released in theaters. However, the film was later released theatrically in selected territories later on in 2021. The film received universally positive reviews from critics, who commended its humor, characters, screenplay, animation, and the vocal performances of Robb and Holland, although some were mixed on the film for "playing it safe" and said it was not as "fresh" as the first film. At the 93rd Academy Awards, it was nominated for Best Animated Feature (losing to Soul) and Best Original Song for "Cutest Dreams".
Plot[]
Four years after the events of the first film, Princess Keena and her childhood fiancée Jamo are expected to get married as they are fully grown adults now, but their guardians, Keena's parents King Clint and Queen Melly of Paradoria and Jamo's adoptive mother Verra, are not ready for their marriage yet. Jamo is teased by some children by calling him "tree boy" due to his greenish hair and learns from Verra that she found Jamo as an infant on the shore and adopted him. Jamo remains unsatisfied with the story, wondering how and why he ended up in Paradoria. Meanwhile, Clint's old rival Hugo, a mysterious conqueror, intends to overthrow the Paradorian kingdom by placing a spell that poisons Clint, allowing Hugo to take over his place as the king of Paradoria. Later, Melly warns Keena and Jamo that Clint has been poisoned by Hugo. Clint offers Keena and Jamo a new quest to find a potion in a mysterious palace called the Enchanted Realm, in which the pair accepted.
Keena and Jamo head off to the Enchanted Realm along with the neets, where they find a small boat that goes through the Enchanted Realm. However, things don't go well when the boat Keena and Jamo ride crashes into rocks, causing them to walk on a long trail to the realm. They later encounter a handsome archer named Vicktor, who helps them reach the realm. When they eventually enter the Enchanted Realm, Keena and Jamo are brought by Falia, a young native woman with magical powers who gets romantically close to Vicktor, to the realm's leader and empress Londa, whom Keena instructs her to find a potion in the Enchanted Realm so they can heal Clint. When Londa encounters Jamo, she realizes that he is her long-lost biological son and the Enchanted Realm turns out to be Jamo's birthplace. They eventually reunite and bond with each other, much to the jealousy of Keena. As the potion will take a few days to be made, Londa encourages Keena and Jamo to explore the Enchanted Realm and spend time together there.
Meanwhile, back at the kingdom of Paradoria, Melly, Verra, and the rest of their fellow Paradorians are forced to work under Hugo's reign. Melly hopes that Keena and Jamo will come back from the Enchanted Realm to heal Clint if they get the potion. Without getting caught by Hugo, Melly sneaks up into the castle to go check Clint in his bedroom but turns out he is presumed dead. Hugo later caught Melly and threatens to punish her. In the meantime, at the Enchanted Realm, Jamo, Keena, Londa, Vicktor, Falia and the other Enchanted Realm members defend the realm from Hugo's army.
Londa suddenly remembers that Hugo used to be a resident of the Enchanted Realm and a former proposed mate of Londa. As Jamo became concerned, she explains to him that before Jamo was born, she and her colony used to live in Paradoria peacefully until one day, Hugo, who was hoped to become king, grew out of frustration when Clint was picked as the king, so he wanted to plot to eliminate Clint to take over as the king by attacking the village, causing one colony led by Londa to separate from Paradoria. After many days of searching, Londa and her tribe found a mountain that they could call home. Meanwhile, Hugo and his small army had been banished from Paradoria when his plans to take over as king of Paradoria failed. At the new built Enchanted Realm, Londa and her husband gave birth to Jamo and they all lived peacefully until one day, Keena and Jamo's old nemesis King Kakas and his army invaded the Enchanted Realm, Londa and her mate sacrificed themselves to save their son from them, Londa hid Jamo in a small boat and lured Kakas' forces away from him, allowing Jamo to realize why Londa abandoned him and that he has lived a happy and peaceful life despite his tragic past. Londa also explains that Kakas and his orc-like army were believed to be created by Hugo under a spell.
With the potion completed, Keena and Jamo return to Paradoria and try to heal Clint, only to discover that the kingdom is now taken over by Hugo and his forces and the pair are captured by Hugo's guards and taken to the castle. Melly, now imprisoned, tells the two that it is too late to heal Clint as he is dead because of the poison. As a result, Hugo then orders Keena and Jamo to work with the other Paradorians, but they refuse. Jamo explains to everyone else in the castle including Verra that the Enchanted Realm was his birthplace, he found his birth mother Londa and she told him about Jamo and the realm's origins. After hearing Jamo's speech, Hugo makes a choice for Jamo: work with Keena and the others in Paradoria or go back to the Enchanted Realm and never return to Paradoria. Fearing that working as a slave would torture his whole life and never be safe for him, Jamo chooses to stay with Londa at the Enchanted Realm, but Keena is undeterred and wants to be with Jamo. Jamo assures her that no matter what, she will always love him right before he leaves the castle, leaving a tearful Keena heartbroken.
Jamo returns to the Enchanted Realm with Londa, who encourages him to replace Keena with another girl who looks exactly like her, Leena and even marry her, but Jamo has more heart in Keena. Afterwards, Jamo begins to worry about Keena, realizing that she will get tortured and killed by Hugo if she refuses to work so does everyone else in Paradoria, and manages to convince Londa, Vicktor, and Falia to head to Paradoria to help him save Keena and the other Paradorians from Hugo. Back at Paradoria, Keena readies herself to be beheaded, but Jamo, Londa, Vicktor, and Falia arrive, defeat Hugo and his army and rescue Keena and the Paradorians. However, Hugo pursues Jamo and tries to kill him, but Londa attacks Hugo with her magical scepter and throws him out to his death, while Hugo's army flees.
With Hugo gone and Paradoria back to normal, Keena and Jamo finally get married and are declared king and queen of Paradoria, bringing new life to the kingdom and renewing the life in Paradoria.
Voice cast[]
- Main article: List of Paradoria characters
- AnnaSophia Robb as Princess Keena, the 18-year-old daughter of Queen Melly and King Clint, and Jamo's childhood fiancée and later wife.
- Tom Holland as Jamo, the adoptive 17-year-old son of Verra, and Keena's boyfriend and later husband.
- Finn Wolfhard reprises his role as 13-year-old Jamo.
- Zoe Saldana as Londa, the leader of the Enchanted Realm who is Jamo's long-lost biographical mother.
- Paul Giamatti as Hugo, a mysterious conqueror and former member of the Enchanted Realm who intends to overthrow the Paradorian kingdom by placing a spell that poisons Clint, allowing Hugo to take over his place as the king of Paradoria.
- Madelaine Petsch as Falia, a member of the Enchanted Realm with magical powers who happily greets Keena and Jamo when they visit the Enchanted Realm.
- Maya Rudolph as Melly, the queen of the Paradorian kingdom and Keena's mother.
- Patrick Stewart as Clint, the king of the Paradorian kingdom and Keena's father.
- Jenny Slate as Verra, Jamo's adoptive mother who runs an inn.
- Bryan Cranston as Noalus, a Paradorian who serves as Clint's adviser.
- Gina Rodriguez as Leena, a mysterious girl who looks exactly like Keena.
- Tom Cruise as Vicktor, a handsome, muscular archer who helps Jamo, Keena and the Neets on their adventure, and is Falia's fiancée.
- John Levine as Cookie and the Neets, small creatures that resemble a mouse and a rabbit and are friends with Keena and Jamo.
- Levine also voices a Paradorian guard, a chair, and Hugo's servant.
- Wendie Malick as Maggie, a caretaker for the Paradorian children.
- Chris Parnell as Eugene, Clint's loyal lieutenant.
- Dawnn Lewis as Canna, a Paradorian elder who has various neets who follow and communicate with her.
- Julie Young as Elderly Woman, Mother and Witch
- Daniel Ross as Guard #1 and Tree
- Dallas Sharp as Guard #2, Clock and Baker
- Alan Rodgers as Guard #3
- Laurie Craig as Flower Shop Owner
- Maddie Hanson as Sweet Girl #1
- Theresa Rose Farwell as Sweet Girl #2
- Sam Lavagnino as Little Boy
- Clancy Brown as Captain
- Conrad Vernon as Enchanted Realm Villager
- Lauren Tom as Villager's Wife
- Roger Craig Smith as Norb
- Rob Riggle as King Kakas (via flashbacks)
Additional voices[]
- Carlos Alazraqui
- Steve Blum
- Cam Clarke
- Robert Clotworthy
- Debi Derryberry
- Terri Douglas
- Jeff Fischer
- Jennifer Crystal Foley
- Eddie Frierson
- Sophia Hall
- Carter Hastings
- Bridget Hoffman
- Mia Sinclair Jenness
- Logan Kishi
- Lex Lang
- Joanna Leeds
- Yuri Lowenthal
- Alexandra Farwell
- Scott Menville
- Heidi Brook Myers
- Alicyn Packard
- Bryce Papenbrook
- Courtney Peldon
- Lilly Rodgers
- Emma Shannon
- Dennis Singletary
- Warren Sroka
- Shannon Stein
- Tara Strong
- Diamond White
- Wally Wingert
- Shelby Young
- Lynnanne Zager
Production[]
Development[]
Before the release of the first film, Paramount Pictures chairman Jim Gianopulos hinted in April 2016 that there were ideas of a media franchise including potential sequels. In a August 2016 interview with Cartoon Brew, Paramount Animation CEO Julie Young was asked about the possibility of a sequel, stating "I think they are working on something else, but I cannot tell what it is for now." In the same month, AnnaSophia Robb, the voice of Princess Keena, expressed interest in reprising her role. In December, director Nadia Hanson said that she and writer Laurie Craig already did a couple of script drafts for a sequel.
On October 14, 2016, following the success of Paradoria, Tom Dooley, the CEO of Paramount's parent company Viacom, officially announced that a sequel film was in development and slated for a November 27, 2019 release date with Hanson, Craig, and producers John Levine and Don Bluth returning, saying that "We will be releasing a Paradoria sequel at the end of 2019.". In March 2017, Paramount moved the film's release date a year later to December 4, 2020, while its fall 2019 slot was given to Twin, Duo, & Forever. On April 30, 2017, it was reported that Finn Wolfhard was willing to reprise his role as Jamo in the sequel. In August 2017, it was reported that Kung Fu Panda and Trolls co-writers Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger had been hired to rewrite the script. In May 2018, the release date was pushed up one month from December 4, 2020, to November 6, 2019.
At the CinemaCon in April 2019, it was revealed that the sequel would focus on "Keena and Jamo finding a mysterious realm far away from Paradoria".
Writing[]
Coming soon!
Casting[]
Most of the previous voice actors, including AnnaSophia Robb, signed on to reprise their roles. Robb stated in February 2017 that she had recorded her first lines for Keena. On August 10, 2018, it was announced that Tom Holland, Zoe Saldana, Paul Giamatti, and Madelaine Petsch had joined the cast in the sequel, with Holland replacing Finn Wolfhard as Jamo. However, Wolfhard did return to voice Jamo, but only as his younger self. According to Hanson, Paramount found Wolfhard's casting as an adult Jamo in the sequel "unfitting", so the studio contacted Holland to record new lines for Jamo.
In May 2019, Tom Cruise announced that he will be making his animation debut in the sequel. Hanson also stated that announcement after she and producer John Levine saw his performance in Mission: Impossible – Fallout. In August 2019, Gina Rodriguez joined the cast.
Animation[]
The film contains over 140 unique sets and 4723 assets, the most for a film by Paramount Animation.
Music[]
- Main article: Paradoria 2/Soundtrack
On February 14, 2019, Alan Menken was revealed to be returning for the sequel's score, while he, Cinco Paul, and Marc Shaiman would also return to write new songs for the sequel. During the 2020 Annecy International Animated Film Festival in June, it was revealed that there will be 6 new songs; including "Cutest Dreams" for Keena and Jamo. The complete tracklist was revealed on September 30, along with the announcement of pre-orders; the soundtrack was released by Paramount Music on November 4.
Release[]
Theatrical[]
Paradoria 2 was originally set for November 27, 2019, but was pushed back to December 4, 2020, and then November 6, 2020. On April 23, 2020, as a result of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, Paramount announced that the film's theatrical release had been cancelled and it would instead go straight to digital via premium video on demand on the originally scheduled theatrical date. It was later released in IMAX 3D theaters in Russia, China, and Thailand only. The film was eventually reissued in North American theaters staring on September 10, 2021.
On September 1, 2022, it was announced that a sing-along re-issue will be released in theaters for a limited time only starting on September 2.
Marketing[]
The first teaser trailer for the film was released by Paramount Pictures on February 12, 2020, which was shown with Sonic the Hedgehog. It received 122.9 million views in its first 24 hours, becoming the most viewed trailer for an animated film, dethroning Incredibles 2 (113.6 million views) as the seventh most-viewed trailer overall, as well as surpassing the one-week-old record of Frozen II (116.4 million views). An interview with the cast was released on February 16, 2019, which revealed the two undisclosed characters' names voiced by Zoe Saldana and Madelaine Petsch. The second trailer (and official trailer) of the film was released on May 28, 2020. The third and final trailer was released on September 23, 2020.
Paramount partnered with more than 100 licensing and promotional partners to market the film including Mattel, Sprint Corporation, Xfinity, McFarlane Toys, McDonald's, and Ziploc.
Home media[]
Paradoria 2 was released by Paramount Home Entertainment on Blu-ray, Ultra HD Blu-ray, and DVD on February 16, 2021. All releases include three mini-movies: The Next Spirit, Birth, and Falia's Challenge.
Reception[]
Box office[]
To be added
VOD sales[]
Paradoria 2 was the top-rented film on Prime Video, Google Play, FandangoNow, Vudu, YouTube, DirecTV Now, Spectrum, and the iTunes Store in its opening weekend. Although Paramount did not report actual figures, the film had a higher sales count than Trolls World Tour and Scoob!. It remained the top-rented film across all services in its second weekend, then on three of four services in its third. In its fourth week it remained #1 on FandangoNow, while falling to second on Amazon Prime and fourth on the iTunes charts. In its fifth weekend of release Paramount lowered the price from $19.99 to $14.99, and the film finished third on FandangoNow, Amazon Prime, and Spectrum, and sixth on iTunes.
Critical reception[]
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 96% based on 350 reviews, with an average rating of 7.4/10. The website's critical consensus states, "Paradoria 2 may not live up to the mountain-traveling voyage of its 2015 predecessor, but its heartfelt moments, colorful atmosphere, and the iconic couple should nonetheless outweigh its flaws." On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating to reviews, the film has a weighted average score of 75 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, down from the first film's "A+".
Peter Debruge of Variety called the film "very cute and remarkable", and also writing "If you loved the original film, your kids will appreciate having more fun to Keena and Jamo's experience on their riveting, silly, and fascinating fantasy adventure." Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times praised the lightweight tone as a treat and a breath following the "dark and dramatic tones" of Twin, Duo, & Forever. He also praised the cast, especially Holland and Saldana, as well as the visual effects and perfect usage of action sequences in the film.
On the negative side, Alonso Duralde of TheWrap said the film "The whole movie seems to be on fast-forward, with crushingly brainless dialogue, hollow and scary images and no way of slowing down the febrile action or making sense of the chaotic plot." The Hollywood Reporter called the film "loud, lazy, long, laugh-starved cash-grab sequel that was pointless." Barbara VanDenburgh of The Arizona Republic said, "Pop-culture jokes ricochet off the heads of younger viewers to tickle the world-weary adults in the audience, with just enough sentimental goo applied at the end to unite the generations. Parents will dab their eyes while the kids roll theirs." Betsy Bozdech of Common Sense Media gave the movie 4 stars. She said, "The script is witty, the satire and music surprisingly pointed, and the animation tactile and imaginative."
Accolades[]
Coming soon!
Sequel[]
In September 2020, in an interview with CNN, Hanson hinted that a third film would be possible, saying, "we would like to show more stories featuring these unique and special characters. But you may have to wait a bit for it to happen as we are far from finished with these characters." On January 29, 2020, due to the overperformance of the film's VOD worldwide, it was announced that a sequel is in development with Hanson stating that "it'll be the best installment of the series and possibly the final one." In March 2021, Hanson announced she will not direct the film. In October 2021, it was announced it'll be a two-parter with two sequels being produced and animated back to back.
Transcripts[]
Main[]
To see the main transcript of the film, click here.
Trailers[]
To see the transcript for the trailers of the film, click here.