Sausage Party

Sausage Party
Theatrical release poster
Directed by
Produced by
Screenplay by
  • Kyle Hunter
  • Ariel Shaffir
  • Seth Rogen
  • Evan Goldberg
Story by
Starring
Music by
Edited by Kevin Pavlovic
Production
companies
Distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing[1]
Release date
  • March 14, 2016 (2016-03-14) (SXSW)
  • August 12, 2016 (2016-08-12) (United States)
Running time
 89 minutes[3]
Country
Language English
Budget $19 million[6][7]
Box office $140.7 million[8]

Sausage Party is a 2016 American–Canadian adult computer-animated black comedy film directed by Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon and written by Kyle Hunter, Ariel Shaffir, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. It features the voices of Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Jonah Hill, Bill Hader, Michael Cera, James Franco, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, Paul Rudd, Nick Kroll, David Krumholtz, Edward Norton and Salma Hayek. A spoof of Disney and Pixar films,[9] the film centers on an anthropromorphic sausage named Frank who tries to discover the truth about his existence and goes on a journey with his friends to escape their fate while also facing his own nemesis, a psychopathic douche who wants to kill him and his friends.

It is the first American fully 3D CGI-animated film to be rated R by the MPAA.[10][11][12] The film's rough cut premiered on March 14, 2016, at South by Southwest and the film was theatrically released in the United States and Canada on August 12, 2016, by Columbia Pictures.[13]

The film received positive reviews from critics, with many particularly praising the humor, animation design, voice acting, screenplay and direction. It also became a box office success, grossing more than $140 million and topping South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999) as the highest grossing R-rated animated film of all time.

Plot

A supermarket called Shopwell's is filled with anthropomorphic grocery items that believe that the human shoppers are gods, who take groceries they have purchased to a utopia known as the Great Beyond. Among the groceries in the store is a sausage named Frank, who dreams of living in the Great Beyond with his hot dog bun girlfriend Brenda and of finally consummating their relationship.

Frank and Brenda's packages are chosen by a woman named Camille Toh to leave Shopwell's. A returned jar of Bickle's Honey Mustard tries to warn the groceries that the Great Beyond is a lie; nobody listens except for Frank. Honey Mustard tells Frank to seek out a bottle of liquor named Firewater, and then commits suicide by falling on the store floor. This creates an accidental cart collision that causes Frank, Brenda and several groceries to fall out of the cart, including an aggressive douche whose nozzle is bent on impact. Douche swears revenge against Frank and Brenda.

Seeking to verify Honey Mustard's warning, Frank leads Brenda to the store's liquor aisle. There, as he smokes marijuana from a kazoo pipe, he learns from Firewater that he and other non-perishable foods invented the story of the Great Beyond as a noble lie to assuage past foods' fears of being eaten by shoppers. Frank, vowing to reveal the truth to the groceries, is encouraged to travel beyond the store's freezer section to find proof. Meanwhile, Frank's friends Carl and Barry are horrified as they witness the brutal murder of other purchased foods being cooked and eaten by Camille. Carl is sliced in half, but Barry escapes the house and encounters a human drug addict, who injects himself with bath salts and becomes able to communicate with his groceries. While attempting to cook Barry, the addict is decapitated in a freak domestic accident.

After Frank separates from his friends, who disapprove of his skepticism of the Great Beyond, he discovers a cookbook behind the freezer section and reveals its contents to the rest of Shopwell's groceries. Initially panicking, the groceries choose not to believe Frank out of fear of losing their sense of purpose. Barry and the groceries from the addict's home return to the store with his severed head, proving that the humans are not gods, but are mortal. The groceries drug the human shoppers and employees using toothpicks laced with bath salts, and several humans are gruesomely killed in the ensuing battle. Douche takes control of Darren, the store manager, by inserting himself into his anus and yanking on his scrotum to puppeteer his actions, but Barry and the other foods defeat them with an improvised rocket. The groceries celebrate their victory with a store-wide orgy.

Afterwards, the gang meets Firewater and Gum, a Stephen Hawking-esque wad of chewing gum. They have had a psychedelic experience and discovered that their world is not real, and they are merely cartoons voiced by famous actors in another dimension. Gum has constructed a portal to this dimension, and the groceries decide to travel there to meet their creators.

Voice cast

Rogen has an additional minor role in the film as Sgt. Pepper, a red pepper sergeant. Hader similarly has two additional roles as a bottle of tequila and a guacamole gangster named El Guaco.[15] Rogen and Norton also appear as the uncredited live-action faces of themselves at the end of the film. Anders Holm voices Troy, one of the sausages who picks on Barry. Rogen's wife Lauren Miller voices Camille Toh, a woman who purchases Frank and Brenda's packages, and a tampon who absorbs Darren's spilled blood. Harland Williams voices Baba Ganoush, a drug dealer that the Druggie gets the bath salts from, and a bottle of ketchup that tries to comfort Honey Mustard upon his return. Directors Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan have various cameo appearances throughout the film: Vernon as an Ed Wynn-esque roll of toilet paper, an Adolf Hitler-esque sauerkraut, Ralph who is a catcalling sausage who does the Jackrabbit in front of Brenda, a grape, a beer can, and a pop bottle, and Tiernan as an Irish potato and a can of noodle soup. Storyboard artist Scott Underwood plays Gum, a Stephen Hawking-esque wad of chewing gum; Twink, a homosexual Twinkie who is one of the Non-Perishables; and two groceries owned by the druggie: a bag of Krinkler's chips and a half-eaten slice of pizza.

Production

Rogen has stated that he worked for eight years to get the film made; however, the content worried most film studios and they did not pick it up.[19] Noting that the film came from "an innocent place", Rogen stated "'What would it be like if our food had feelings?' We very quickly realized that it would be fucked up."[20] Goldberg revealed the project to Indiewire in July 2010, stating it was a "top secret super project". Initially, Indiewire was skeptical that the project was real and not a hoax on Goldberg's part, but after vetting, it did confirm that it was in the works.[14] In November 2010, Hill independently confirmed to MTV News that he was working on an R-rated 3D animated film.[21]

The film was formally announced in September 2013 as a partnership between Sony Pictures Entertainment, Annapurna Pictures and Point Grey Pictures.[22] On May 29, 2014, it was announced that the film would be released on June 3, 2016,[23] but in early 2016, the release date was revised to August 12, 2016. In January 2014, Rogen, Hill, James Franco and Kristen Wiig were announced as the leads in the film. The other cast includes Edward Norton, Michael Cera, David Krumholtz and Nick Kroll.[16] On April 9, 2014, Salma Hayek was set to lend her voice to the film as Teresa the Taco.[18] It was also announced that Paul Rudd, Danny McBride and Anders Holm would voice characters in the film.[17]

The film received an R rating for strong crude sexual content, pervasive language and drug use. However, when Rogen first submitted the film to the MPAA, they assigned it with an NC-17 rating due to the visibility of pubic hair on Lavash's scrotum during the food orgy scene. In order for the film to grant an R rating, the pubic hair was removed.[24][25][26][27]

Music

Soundtrack

Sausage Party
Film score by Alan Menken and Christopher Lennertz
Released August 5, 2016
Recorded 2016
Genre Film score
Length 74:49
Label Madison Gate Records
Sony Music Masterworks
Producer Alan Menken
Christopher Lennertz
Alan Menken film scores chronology
Mirror Mirror
(2012)Mirror Mirror2012		 Sausage Party
(2016)		 Beauty and the Beast
(2017)Beauty and the Beast2017
Christopher Lennertz chronology
The Boss
(2016) The Boss2016		 Sausage Party
(2016) Sausage Party2016		 Smurfs: The Lost Village
(2017) Smurfs: The Lost Village2017

The film's score was composed by Alan Menken and Christopher Lennertz. The soundtrack was released on August 5, 2016, by Madison Gate Records and Sony Music Masterworks.

Track listing

All music composed by Alan Menken and Christopher Lennertz, except as noted.

No.TitleLength
1."The Great Beyond" (performed by Sausage Party Cast)3:13
2."Darren, the Dark Lord"0:55
3."Chosen"1:50
4."I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" (performed by Meat Loaf)5:14
5."The Crash"2:34
6."Douche Loses It"2:16
7."Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" (performed by Wham!)3:50
8."Our Heroes"2:31
9."He's Coming"1:47
10."Food Massacre"3:15
11."Hungry Eyes" (performed by Eric Carmen)3:47
12."True" (performed by Spandau Ballet)5:31
13."The Spooge"3:46
14."Magical Sausage"1:40
15."Gone" (performed by JR JR)3:46
16."We're Home"3:29
17."The Cookbook"1:26
18."I Have Proof"3:06
19."Big Speech"3:04
20."The Big Fight"2:37
21."Final Battle"4:04
22."It's Your Thing" (performed by The Isley Brothers)2:46
23."Finale"2:24
24."Joy to the World" (performed by Three Dog Night)3:14
25."The Great Beyond Around the World" (performed by Sausage Party Cast)2:44
Total length:74:49

Release

Premiere and theatrical release

A rough cut of the film was shown at the South by Southwest Film Festival on March 14, 2016.[13] The final cut of the film screened at Just for Laughs on July 30, 2016.[28] The film was theatrically released in the United States and Canada on August 12, 2016.[29] The film was released in the United Kingdom on September 2, 2016.[30]

Home media

Sausage Party was released by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on Blu-ray, DVD and digital download on November 8, 2016.[31]

Reception

Box office

Sausage Party grossed $97.7 million in North America and $42.8 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $140.4 million, against a budget of $19 million.[8] The film is the most commercially successful R-rated animated film of all time, replacing South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (which held the record for 17 years),[32] and made a net profit of $47.06 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues.[33]

In the United States and Canada, Sausage Party was released on August 12, 2016, alongside Pete's Dragon and Florence Foster Jenkins, and was initially projected to gross $15–20 million from 2,805 theaters in its opening weekend.[6] However, after grossing $3.3 million from Thursday night previews (more than the $1.7 million made by Rogen's Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising in May) and $13.5 million on its first day, weekend projections were increased to $30–35 million. The film ended up grossing $33.6 million in its opening weekend, finishing second at the box office, behind Suicide Squad.[34]

Outside North America, the biggest markets are the United Kingdom, Australia, Spain, Germany, Russia and Israel, where the film grossed $10.2 million, $6.8 million, $4.1 million, $3.5 million $2.6 million and $2 million respectively.[35]

Critical response

On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 82% based on 208 reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Sausage Party is definitely offensive, but backs up its enthusiastic profanity with an impressively high laugh-to-gag ratio – and a surprisingly thought-provoking storyline."[36] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 66 out of 100, based on 39 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[37] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.[38]

Vince Mancini of Uproxx wrote "Sausage Party's most charming quality is that it feels exactly like a group of 13-year-olds trying to entertain themselves, with excessive C-bombs and constant groan-worthy food puns."[39] Richard Roeper gave the film three out of four stars, saying, "Despite all the cursing and envelope-pushing and bat-bleep crazy sexual stuff, Sausage Party isn't mean-spirited. It's just … stupid. But also pretty smart. And funny as hell."[40] Lindsey Bahr of Associated Press gave the film a positive review and wrote: "There is no one out there making comedies quite like Rogen and Goldberg. They are putting their definitive stamp on the modern American comedy one decency-smashing double entendre at a time."[41]

Accolades

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref(s)
Annie Awards February 4, 2017 Outstanding Achievement, Editorial in an Animated Feature Production Kevin Pavlovic Nominated [42]
Central Ohio Film Critics Association January 6, 2017 Best Animated Feature Film Sausage Party
Hollywood Music in Media Awards November 17, 2016 Best Original Song – Animated Film "The Great Beyond" – Alan Menken, Glenn Slater, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg [43][44]
Houston Film Critics Society January 6, 2017 Best Animated Feature Film Sausage Party [45][46]
Indiana Film Journalists Association December 19, 2016 Runner-up [47]
Best Vocal/Motion Capture Performance Nick Kroll 2nd Place
2017 MTV Movie & TV Awards May 7, 2017 Best Comedic Performance Seth Rogen Nominated [48]
Village Voice Film Poll January 6, 2017 Best Animated Feature Sausage Party 5th place [49]
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association December 5, 2016 Best Animated Feature Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon Nominated [50]

Controversies

Work conditions

After release, controversy emerged after anonymous comments attributed to the animators on a Cartoon Brew article suggested that the animators at Nitrogen Studios worked under poor conditions and were forced by director Greg Tiernan to work overtime without pay.[51] A total of 36 of the 83 animators were blacklisted and went uncredited in the film, believed to be due to their complaints; comments made in anonymous interviews by some of the animators involved in the project by Variety, The Washington Post, and The Hollywood Reporter alleged that the comments were accurate. All the animators in the film were reportedly told outright that they would be blacklisted if they did not work overtime without pay.[51][52][53]

Rating in France

The film was granted a −12 certificate by France's classification commission. Jean-Frédéric Poisson, the President of the Christian Democratic Party, criticized the decision and said, "An orgy scene for 12-year-olds! Everything remains to be done to combat early exposure to pornography".[54]

Possible sequel

Rogen expressed interest in making a Sausage Party 2 and more animated films aimed for adults. When asked about the possibility of a sequel, Rogen stated, "It's something we talk about, yeah. That's one of the reasons why we took away the [original] ending[55] because we thought, well, if that was the first scene of the next movie it's probably not what you would want it to be, with them just seeing us and finding us basically. But the idea of a live-action/animated movie, like a Who Framed Roger Rabbit-style hybrid, is also very exciting, mostly because Who Framed Roger Rabbit is one of my favorite movies of all time."[56]

Video game

Frank and Brenda, two main characters from the film, make guest appearances in the mobile fighting game Sausage Legend, released by Milkcorp for iOS and Android, as part of a limited special event, running from March 6 through July 31, 2017.[57][58] As this game involves dueling with sausages, players in this game can unlock and control Brenda, who swings Frank around to battle other sausages.[59]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Film Releases". Variety Insight. Archived from the original on August 7, 2016. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 DeFore, John (March 14, 2016). "'Sausage Party': SXSW Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  3. ↑ "Sausage Party (15)". British Board of Film Classification. July 12, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Sausage Party (2016)". AllMovie. Retrieved July 30, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Vancouver animation studio for Sausage Party movie, subject of union complaint". CBC News. Retrieved 2017-04-02.
  6. 1 2 "'Suicide Squad' Secures Record Monday Haul For August, Eyes $51M-$54M in 2nd Weekend – B.O. Preview". Deadline Hollywood.
  7. ↑ McNarry, Dave (August 9, 2016). "Box Office: 'Suicide Squad' to Easily Keep Top Spot Over 'Pete's Dragon,' 'Sausage Party'". Variety. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
  8. 1 2 "Sausage Party (2016)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Goldberg, Matt (May 6, 2014). "Writer Evan Goldberg and Executive Producer James Weaver Talk R-Rated Animated Film SAUSAGE PARTY; Pixar Movies Will Get "Ripped Apart"". Collider.com. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  10. ↑ Hooton, Christopher (March 15, 2016). "Sausage Party trailer: First R-rated Pixar-esque animation involves swearing bagel voiced by Edward Norton". The Independent. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
  11. ↑ Dimoff, Anna (August 13, 2016). "Sausage Party, Hollywood's first CG-animated cartoon rated R, created in Vancouver". CBC News. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
  12. ↑ Alexander, Bryan (August 11, 2016). "How animated food movie 'Sausage Party' got an 'R' rating". USA Today. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
  13. 1 2 D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 1, 2016). "Sony Is Throwing A 'Sausage Party' At SXSW; Seth Rogen-Evan Goldberg Toon Will Screen As Work-In-Progress". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
  14. 1 2 3 "Evan Goldberg Announces 'Sausage Party' Starring Seth Rogen & Jonah Hill". indiewire.com. July 23, 2010. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Wintraub, Steve (May 7, 2014). "Seth Rogen Talks Neighbors, Expanding Rose Byrne's Role, the R-rated Animated Comedy Sausage Party, The Interview, Preacher, and More". Collider.com. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Sneider, Jeff (January 28, 2014). "Seth Rogen, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Kristen Wiig Lead 'Sausage Party' Voice Cast". thewrap.com. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
  17. 1 2 3 Sneider, Jeff (May 29, 2014). "Paul Rudd, Danny McBride, Anders Holm Join 'Sausage Party' Voice Cast". The Wrap. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  18. 1 2 Yamato, Jen (April 9, 2014). "Salma Hayek Invited To Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg's 'Sausage Party'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
  19. ↑ Sttoodeh, Ramin. "SXSW: Seth Rogen's 'Sausage Party' Is the R-Rated 'Inside Out'". Variety. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  20. ↑ Smith, Nigel M. "Seth Rogen's animated film Sausage Party is provocative food for thought". The Guardian. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  21. ↑ "Jonah Hill Says '21 Jump Street' Will Be His Next Movie". MTV. November 2, 2010. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  22. ↑ "Sony Pictures Entertainment and Annapurna Pictures will partner on animated film titled Sausage Party". Sony Pictures. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  23. ↑ "Sony & Annapurna Set Summer 2016 Date For Animated 'Sausage Party'". Deadline Hollywood. May 29, 2014. Archived from the original on June 5, 2014.
  24. ↑ "What Got Cut From 'Sausage Party' to Avoid an NC-17 MPAA Rating". HowardStern.com. August 8, 2016.
  25. ↑ "MPAA made Seth Rogen shave the pita bread's "ballsack" to avoid NC-17 rating for Sausage Party". Consequence of Sound. August 9, 2016.
  26. ↑ "Seth Rogen Reveals "Sausage Party" Detail MPAA Wanted Cut". The Howard Stern Show. August 8, 2016 – via YouTube.
  27. ↑ "'Sausage Party' Directors Conrad Vernon & Greg Tiernan on Making 2016's Most Outlandish Animated Film". August 13, 2016. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  28. ↑ "Sasuage Party". Just for Laughs. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
  29. ↑ Desowitz, Bill (August 4, 2016). "Seth Rogen's R-Rated 'Sausage Party' Tries to Break Through the Family-Friendly Animation Glass Ceiling". Indiewire.com. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
  30. ↑ "SAUSAGE PARTY". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
  31. ↑ "Sausage Party (2016)". DVDs Release Dates. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  32. ↑ "Oscars: Raunchy 'Sausage Party' to Get Serious Awards Push (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  33. ↑ Fleming Jr, Mike (March 30, 2017). "The Outliers of 2016: Smaller Movies With Big Profits". Deadline Hollywood.
  34. ↑ "'Sausage Party' Raises Its Heat To $33.6M in 2nd, Burning 'Suicide Squad'". Deadline Hollywood.
  35. ↑ "Sausage Party International Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  36. ↑ "Sausage Party (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
  37. ↑ "Sausage Party reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  38. ↑ "CinemaScore". cinemascore.com. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  39. ↑ Mancini, Vince (August 11, 2016). "'Sausage Party' Is A Delightful Fart-Joke Sandwich with an Undercooked Religious Filling". Uproxx. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
  40. ↑ "The food's rude and crude in hilarious 'Sausage Party'". Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
  41. ↑ "Review: Audacious 'Sausage Party' is a delicious feast". Associated Press.
  42. ↑ "44th Annie Award Nominees". International Animated Film Society. November 28, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  43. ↑ "Justin Timberlake & Alexandre Desplat Among Winners at Hollywood Music in Media Awards". Deadline. November 18, 2016. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
  44. ↑ McNary, Dave (November 2, 2016). "'La La Land' Scores Three Hollywood Music in Media Nominations". Variety. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  45. ↑ "Houston Film Critics Nominations for 2016 Films". MovieAwardsPlus.com. December 13, 2016. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  46. ↑ "Houston Film Critics Society Nominations – 'The Nice Guys' and Rebecca Hall Get a Deserved Boost". AwardsCircuit.com. December 13, 2016. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  47. ↑ "2016 Indiana Film Journalists Association Awards". January 3, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  48. ↑ Bell, Crystal (April 6, 2017). "Here Are Your 2017 MTV Movie & TV Awards Nominations: See The Full List". MTV. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  49. ↑ "Film Poll 2016". The Village Voice. January 6, 2017. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
  50. ↑ "The 2016 WAFCA Awards Nominations". December 3, 2016. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  51. 1 2 Burns, Elias; Vlessing, Etan (August 16, 2016). "'Sausage Party' Animators' Pay Dispute Surfaces After Big Opening". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  52. ↑ Rainey, James; Lang, Brent (August 16, 2016). "'Sausage Party' Animators Allege Studio Used Unpaid Overtime". Variety. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  53. ↑ Merry, Stephanie (August 17, 2016). "The working conditions for some 'Sausage Party' animators were pretty terrible". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  54. ↑ Tartaglione, Nancy (December 1, 2016). "'Sausage Party': Orgy of Upset From French Catholic, Anti-Gay Groups Over PG". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
  55. ↑ "Sausage Party script" (PDF).
  56. ↑ "Seth Rogen Wants to Do Sausage Party 2 & More R-Rated Animated Movies". Movieweb.com. August 14, 2016.
  57. ↑ "App store listing for Sausage Legend". Apple App Store. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
  58. ↑ "Google Play listing of Sausage Legend". Google Play Store. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
  59. ↑ "Mobile game Sausage Legend is now having characters from Sausage Party". Qoo News. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
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