The first animated feature featuring Mr. Magoo in more than three decades,[4] and the first U.S.-Mexico co-production for Ánima Estudios,[5] it is written by Emmy Laybourne, Sam Laybourne, Rob Sosin, and Bob Mittenthal and directed by Andrés Couturier.[6]
The film was first released direct-to-DVD in the United States on May 11, 2010, before making its television premiere the following year on Disney XD on February 7, 2011.[7][4]
The world's most notorious bad guys are invited to the island fortress of super-villain Tan-Gu (Lloyd Floyd) to compete in an Olympic-style tournament of evil, called the Evilympics. Mr. Quincy Magoo (Jim Conroy) and his 12-year-old nephew Justin (Dylan Sprouse) fight giant robot spiders, ninjas on jet skis, and Tan-Gu's "Beasteen" mutants, as representatives of the anti-evil task force.
The project had an early screening at MIPCOM at Cannes, France, in 2008.[11] On May 11, 2010, the English-language version of the film was released on DVD in the United States through Vivendi Entertainment.[7] The film was also originally set for a theatrical release in Mexico in 2009, distributed by Videocine,[2][1][12] but there was no further information regarding this, to date. It instead had its Mexican premiere on Cartoon Network in 2011.[13] The film was dedicated to Alfredo Harp Calderoni, the film's executive producer and son of Mexican businessman, Alfredo Harp Helú, who died after production in 2009.[14][15]
U.S. broadcasting
On 12 October 2010, the film was acquired by Disney XD for channel transmission and premiered in the United States on 7 February 2011.[4] Produced in Mexico, this marked the first time Disney XD acquired a Latin American animated production for channel transmission.[16]
Reception
The film was panned by critics.[17][18] S. Jhoanna Robledo of Common Sense Media gave this film 2 out of 5 stars, saying that "the plot, as it were, is nearly nonsensical, but that has always been Mr. Magoo’s charm. Though he wreaks havoc with his obliviousness -- he often walks into a dangerous situation simply because he literally walks into one -- he successfully extricates himself and saves the world in the process. On the face of it, it’s a nostalgic trip to cartoon history -- Magoo first [sic] debuted in the late '40s, and the special effects are certainly pre-CGI -- and it's a welcome relief from the relentlessness and inanity of current fare. But if one must be a stickler, it's also kind of mean, what with all the jokes at an elderly person's expense."[18]
Ratings
When it aired on Disney XD on 2 April 2011, it was viewed by 1.6 million viewers among Kids 6-11 (0.5 million/2 rating).[19] In a recent airing, the film was viewed by 254,000 viewers among ages 2 and over, with a 0.2 household rating.[20]
Broadcast history
As of 2018, Kung-Fu Magoo has been broadcast on the following networks:
^ abLópez Aguirre, Sergio (10 October 2008). "Mr Magoo listo para el Kung Fu" [Mr. Magoo ready for Kung Fu]. Cine Premiere (in Mexican Spanish). Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2014.