Millvale II

Millvale II is a 2029 American computer-animated epic action fantasy film produced by Nickelodeon Movies and released by Paramount Pictures. Written and directed by Brad Bird, It is the sequel to Millvale (2024) and the second film installment in the franchise. The film's cast includes Xavier Shaquille, Yuri Lowenthal, Sean Ryan Fox, Holly Hunter and Mark Hamill reprise their roles from Millvale I; Jason Momoa, Ben Mendelsohn, Ian McDiarmid and Michael Palin accompany the cast. Following the previous film, the Fellows set out to find their homeland to discover about their past where they find a group of wizards who were in hiding since the day the Fellows had left their home from a wizard hunter who wants to take their powers and rule each and every land.

Millvale II premiered at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on July 16, 2029, and was theatrically released in the United States on July 20 in Dolby Cinema, RealD 3D, IMAX, IMAX 3D, and 4DX formats. The film received positive reviews from critics for its animation, action, humor, musical score, and heart; critics have found it superior to its predecessor. The film has grossed $1 billion worldwide, making it the first Nickelodeon film and animated Paramount film overall to do so.

Plot
Just after defeating Zaldon the Black along with being rewarded and given the title "The Protectors of Millvale", the Fellows set off on another adventure where they find themselves in a land called Durhem where they encounter a gang of street thieves on a stolen wagon alluding the village's guards after having just robbed a merchant; they give chase and subdue the thieves before nearly plummeting to their deaths with Xavier saving them at the last minute with a teleportation spell. After apprehending the thieves to the guards and returning the money to the merchant, a woman mistakes Xavier for a wizard named Valiant the Red; Xavier asks about Valiant and the woman says he once visited with his mentor Scott Sackvile.

Returning to Millvale, the Fellows locate Sackvile with the all-seeing crystal ball he gave Xavier; they locate him residing in an old cottage located in the Bare Woods, where they ride their acquired horse Pomentine there. Xavier confronts Sackvile about his biological father, where he comes clean and says that he was a resident of Valiant's homeland Gremanir where he was a member of the Ancient Wizards, a group of wizards both young and old; he was chosen as Valiant's mentor as he had more experience. After teaching Valiant all his ways, he gave him his position and relocated to live a normal life. As they head off, Glaidreal tries to reason with the Fellows, but Xavier, heartbroken, dismisses her as she never told them about their birth parents after all those years.

Arriving in Gremanir, they find it desolate and destroyed and no villagers are seen as they search the place. Spotted by the Ancient Wizards, currently consisting of Atlas, Dommon, and Firrmin, the Fellows introduce themselves to the Wizards and inform them about their finding their birth parents; Atlas tells them they were killed by Garmine, another former member who had turned on them after mastering the power of youth by testing it on himself and later become power hungry. Valiant and his allies, Ander and Qwain, banded together to stop Garmine which ended up with them killed in battle; Xavier's birth mother, Mora, gathered their children and sailed them away on a basket as requested before Garmine summoned a shockwave which kills every inhabitant (while the remaining Ancient Wizards shielded themselves from the blast) and pushes the basket ashore. Since then, they sought refuge.

The Fellows and company take them home to Millvale for their safety and to provide them with the necessities they need. Glaidreal comes by to tell the Fellows that she wanted to keep them safe from harm due to the incident, in which Xavier understands. After reconciling with her, they spot a muscular man arriving at the docks, who reveals to be a now power-corrupted Garmine. He had come to their land after seeing the Fellows and Ancient Wizards sail back from Gremanir. The Fellows try to subdue Garmine, but are no match for his powers; Glaidreal and Sackvile then take over, with the former getting her god powers taken and the latter killed out of jealousy and spite, much to Xavier's shock. The Fellows and the Ancient Wizards had alluded Garmine while he was occupied.

In the Fellows' cottage, they formulate a plan to stop Garmine. Spotting Sackvile's old spell book, Atlas goes through it and finds a forbidden time dilation spell they can use on him. Cedryc and Braden will set up a diversion while the wizards use the spell. In the village, Garmine has the villagers and guards under his control to apprehend the group while having Glaidreal hostage. Arriving to confront Garmine, the Fellows and Ancient Wizards subdue the possessed villagers and guards while the wizards take on Garmine with Xavier extracting Glaidreal's god power in the process. With the Ancient Wizards incapacitated, Xavier defeats Garmine from extracting the rest of his acquired powers away and uses the time dilation spell which ages him into death.

Following Garmine's defeat, a funeral is held for Sackvile, with a statue to commemorate his contribution to his friends and homes. Some time later, the Fellows travel to Kindred's pub for a celebratory drink while they tell the patrons about their latest adventure.

Voice cast

 * Xavier Shaquille as Xavier the Red, the founding leader of the Fellows and the young wizard of the group.
 * Yuri Lowenthal as Sir Cedryc, the knighted swordsman of the Fellows and the "man of action" in the team.
 * Sean Ryan Fox as Braden the Archer, the bowman of the Fellows and Xavier's right-hand man.
 * Holly Hunter as Lady Glaidreal, a goddess who was the Fellows' adoptive mother.
 * Jason Momoa as Garmine the Dreaded, once a member of the Ancient Wizards before becoming mad with his powers.
 * Paul Eiding voices the elder version of Garmine.
 * Ben Mendelsohn as Altas, the cynical head wizard of the Ancient Wizards.
 * Ian McDiarmid as Dommon, the elderly but kindest member of the Ancient Wizards.
 * Michael Palin as Firrmin, the battle strategist member of the Ancient Wizards.
 * Palin also voices an elder woman near Millvale's docks.
 * Tim Curry as Valiant the Red, Xavier's biological father a former member of the Ancient Wizards before his death.
 * Brian d'Arcy James as Ander, Cedryc's biological father.
 * Michael Fassbender as Qwain, Braden's biological father.
 * Karen Gillan as Mora, Xavier's biological mother and Valiant's wife.
 * Mark Hamill as Scott "Old Man" Sackvile, an acquaintance to the Fellows and former resident of the Land of Millvale. In his youth, he was a member of the Ancient Wizards before resigning his position to live a normal life.

Additionally, Cristina Pucelli, Stephen Merchant, Brad Bird and reprise their roles as Rosie Homiroy, Kindred, and Ericson respectively. Cathy Cavadini, Fred Tatasciore, A. J. Locascio, Jennifer Hale, Debi Derryberry, Steve Blum, Andrew Kishino, Matthew Wood, Pete Browngardt, Piotr Michael, Scott Menville, Keith Ferguson, and Teddy Newton provide additional voices.

Development
Following production on Millvale, Xavier Shaquille went on to work on his next Nickelodeon film, Frank and Attato, released in April 2028. Following production on that and the Tales from Millvale miniseries, he contacted Brad Bird and went on to do the sequel. Bird returned as director and writer. Shaquille announced that the film would follow the Fellows in discovering their birthplace and about their biological parents. Shaquille also mentioned that the sequel takes place before the miniseries.

Casting
Shaquille announced that he would reprise his role, while Paramount and Nickelodeon announced Yuri Lowenthal and Sean Ryan Fox would reprise their respective roles as Sir Cedryc and Braden the Archer. Holly Hunter and Mark Hamill were also announced in reprising their roles.

Paramount and Nickelodeon later announced that Jason Momoa was cast as the film's antagonist, Garmine the Dreaded. Ben Mendelsohn, Ian McDiarmid and Michael Palin were later announced as the Ancient Wizards.

Animation
With the first film and miniseries animated by Bardel Entertainment, Millvale II was animated by Mainframe Studios to act as like the animation had "evolved", with the characters and locations given more detail. This resulted in the characters and environments being made from scratch with Bardel providing detail on the elements.

Music
Bird and Shaquille announced that Michael Giacchino would return to compose the sequel's score. The soundtrack album was released on July 17, 2029. In addition to the score, a song called "The Ballad of the Fellows", heard in the credits, was included.

Promotion
A teaser trailer was uploaded on Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon's YouTube channels December 19, 2028. Paramount spent $10 million in promoting the film through TV spots.

Merchandise
A graphic novel entitled Millvale II: Tales of Gremanir was released on May 20, 2029. McDonald's released a collection of seven Happy Meal toys. Funko released five Pop! figures consisting of the Fellows, Glaidreal, and Sackvile. The Fellows were made available as playable skins in the free-to-play battle arena video game Smite, making Millvale the game's fourth collaboration with Nickelodeon. Paramount collaborated with Lego in making a majority of sets to promote the film, some of which are based off the first film. A Lego video game adaptation of both films was released on the same day as Millvale II.

Theatrical
The premiere of Millvale II was held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on July 16, 2029. The film was released in the United States on July 20, in IMAX, RealD 3D, 4DX, and Dolby Cinema. Shaquille requested they expand its theatrical window for more ticket sales similar to Paramount's other sequel film Top Gun: Maverick. The film is accompanied by A Mermaid's Spectacle, a short film of the Nicktoons Cinematic Series based on SpongeBob SquarePants, centered around Princess Mindy.

Home media
Millvale II was released on digital formats on October 30, 2029, then released on DVD, Blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray on November 6, 2029. Bonus material on the home releases includes audio commentary and behind-the-scenes featurettes. A short film titled Down at the Docks, which focused on an elder woman (voiced by Michael Palin) fishing for a bass while waiting for an available boat, is featured exclusively on the Blu-ray and 4K.

Box office
Worldwide, Millvale II grossed $589.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $609.2 million in other territories, earning a worldwide total of $1.198 billion, making it Nickelodeon Movies' and Paramount Pictures' first ever animated film overall to gross $1 billion.

Critical response
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Millvale II holds an approval rating of 86% based on 313 reviews, with an average rating of 7.1/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Millvale II returns the legendary Fellows on a new journey that answers the burning question about Nickelodeon's medieval team that's worth discovering." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 79 out of 100, based on 53 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.

Future
Shaquille said he would take a break from Millvale for a while and work on other projects until then, but would be willing to reprise his role as Xavier the Red for any Nicktoons crossover media.