Following the massive success of The LEGO Movie in 2014, German toy company Playmobil decided to move forward with a film adaptation of its own, titled Playmobil: The Movie. The rival nature of the two films may be clear, but The LEGO Movie didn’t have Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe as a 007-type saving the world, did it? Check out the movie’s first trailer:
Ok, so fun fact: Daniel Radcliffe was supposed to make a LEGO Harry Potter cameo in the recent sequel. However, in Playmobil: the Movie, the British actor is taking top billing in the toy company’s attempt to continue toy-centric animated flicks. He stars as Rex Dasher, a secret agent from one of 30 of Playmobil’s play world “Top Agents” in the STX Entertainment release.
The movie leans into his plastic origins right away as it introduces Rex to be part of a “10 piece set” before showcasing the agent’s suave skills and car. He’s partnered with two civilians for his latest mission: a food truck driver named Del (Jim Gaffigan) and Marla, voiced by Glass’ Anya Taylor-Joy. It looks like the unlikely team will venture through some of the company’s other lands, such as the Stone Age and Future Planet on their mission.
Rex explains to them in the trailer that a “top secret organization” has caused citizens from different lands to vanish into thin air over several months. The trio has been tasked with rescuing them. The trailer showcases tons of fun action sequences with fast car chases, dinosaurs and scared squirrels. There’s everything from fairies and aliens to robots and Spartans in their world. One has to wonder if a connection to human kids will also be present in this movie as The LEGO Movie and Toy Story do.
Playmobil: The Movie will also star singers Adam Lambert and Meghan Trainor, and SNL’s Kenan Thompson. It is helmed by first time director Lino DiSalvo, who was previously been head of animation on Frozen and supervising animator on Disney’s Tangled, Meet the Robinsons, Chicken Little and Bolt. The movie was written by Princess and the Frog writers Greg Erb and Jason Oremland and newcomer Blaise Hemingway.
However, the movie comes amidst the disappointment of The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part earlier this year, which made just $191 million worldwide in comparison to the 2014 original film’s $469 million global success. Whether it was marketing, lack of interest or the competition, it just didn’t work at the box office, even with one of the biggest names in Hollywood, Chris Pratt, and a well-loved first movie on its side.
We’ll have to wait and see how Playmobil: The Movie compares! The animated film does not have a release date but is expected to hit theaters sometime in 2019.
