Children have every reason to smile this season, what with a fantastic line-up of films from Hollywood
MUCH-AWAITED The loveable green ogre in Shrek
The pirates will take on everybody’s favourite ogre this summer. Captain Jack Sparrow returns and so does Shrek with Donkey. The big battle begins on June 1. “Spider-Man 3” is likely to stay back to watch the action but “Ta Ra
Rum Pum” may reach the finish line earlier than expected. For children, the summer magic has just begun with the record-breaking “Spider-Man 3” and they will continue to be in a spell, thanks to Harry Potter and Co.
With many releases lined up, especially for them, children have a long summer ahead. “Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World’s End” (June 1), “Shrek The Third” (June 1), “Fantastic Four 2: Rise of the Silver Surfer” (June 15) and “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” (July 13). And there’s action extending till July-August with “Ratatouille” and “Surf’s Up”.
Breaking records
The market for children’s films is huge as “Spider-Man 3” has proved beyond doubt. Spidey has broken all existing records for an English film released in India, beating the last biggest grosser, “Casino Royale”, by over 28 per cent, collecting Rs. 19.17 crore in the opening weekend.
“For “Spider-Man”, we created a space for children to explore the “Spider-Man” experience. We put up a net that they could climb and jump on. That was pretty much a hit,” says Siddharth Chandrashekar, Director of Mittra Media. “For “Pirates 3” too, we have big plans.”
Exclusive promos have been screened for the third instalment of the “Pirates” franchise. When Jack Sparrow made that explosive entry from the inside of a coffin last time around, fans whistled like it were a Bollywood superstar making an entry. With Will Turner, Elizabeth and Captain Barbossa on a rescue mission to the world’s end to bring back Captain Jack Sparrow, fans can’t wait for the cliff-hanger to resolve.
“With “Spider-Man 3”, “Pirates 3”, “Surf’s Up” and “Ratatouille”, we have a long summer for children,” says Vikramjit Roy of Sony Pictures India.
Warner Brothers is releasing “Fantastic Four 2” in mid-June and the ultimate finale to the summer specials: the latest instalment of “Harry Potter”.
“We will have a lot of promotional activities for the July release,” a publicist informs, adding that details are yet to be finalised.
If the “Fantastic Four” sequel is all about the superheroes battling the all powerful Silver Surfer and the planet-eating Galactus, Paramount and Universal Pictures has a few surprises in store for Shrek lovers.
Justin Timberlake joins the star-studded voice cast as the rebellious Artie, Shrek’s own candidate for King, as Prince Charming plans a coup when Princess Fiona’s father falls ill.
Encouraged by the success of Rakesh Roshan’s Krissh, Yashraj Films had packaged the “Days of Thunder”-inspired “Ta Ra Rum Pum” for children with merchandise and a built-in animated song (something Super
star did in “Raja Chinna Roja” ages ago), but with intense competition from “Spider-Man” and negative reviews, the film isn’t doing as well as expected.
SUDHISH KAMATH
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