Millvale

Millvale is an American computer-animated high fantasy adventure film directed by Brad Bird and produced by Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies. The film stars Xavier Shaquille, Yuri Lowenthal and Sean Ryan Fox as the main protagonists of the film, alongside Benjamin Bratt, Ellen DeGeneres, and Mark Hamill. Set in the year 1419, three raised orphans Xavier, Cedryc and Braden set out to stop the dark wizard Zaldon the Black from bringing his army from taking over their home.

Millvale premiered in Hollywood on November 7, 2023, then released worldwide November 24 in RealD 3D with positive reviews from film critics for its underlining story and setting. By its success, it is given a prequel and spin-off film and followed by four sequels: Millvale II, Millvale III, Millvale IV and Millvale V.

Plot
In the year 1403, a goddess named Glaidreal discovers a basket holding three sleeping infants. She brings them to the king and the queen. They name them, Xavier, Cedryc and Braden. The king and queen hope they will be something special.

In 1419, the Fellows are grown up, living in a cottage in the Grass Fields. Later, they head off to the village. After they arrive, they meet their old friend Scott Sackvile, who is selling his old stuff. Xavier buys his crystal ball. After they leave, Sackvile discovers black clouds in the distance and alerts the villagers. Meanwhile, the Fellows arrive home. Before they could go inside, all the townsfolk at the castle are in worry. They arrive to find out what is going on. One man tells them the evil wizard Zaldon is coming to Millvale with an army. As Reginald Thom, the founder of the land, tries to calm them down, the Fellows volunteer to stop Zaldon, alone. Sackvile tries to make them reconsider, however, Xavier responds that they will leave tomorrow.

Later that night, the Fellows return home for their journey tomorrow. After they get to the door, Xavier notices Sackvile packing his things, as he is leaving. Xavier goes to him and wonders why he is leaving. Sackvile says that he is leaving because that after Zaldon's army comes to the village, Zaldon will kill him. He decides to go far away if he comes. He gives him his wand as something to remember him by. They say their goodbyes and Sackvile leaves. The next day, before their journey to the Forbidden Land, they give them weapons to defend themselves. The king gives Cedryc his Invulnerable Sword and Reginald gives Braden arrows and a bow. Everyone wishes them luck as the Fellows set off to the Forbidden Land. Meanwhile, Zaldon looks at the view of the village and castle. Then, his two human minions, Hargon and Ivar show him his crystal ball, as it shows the Fellows on their journey. Surprised a bit, Zaldon decides to wait for their arrival.

With the Fellows, they go through the Dark Woods. After going in, they hear a screech, they run to the exit of the Woods. Before they could, Cedryc gets bitten by a spider, which was the one that screeched. In need of aid, they encounter a pub after they exit the woods. After entering, they ask the owner, Kindred if they can find someone to help with Cedryc's bite. A king called MacGuff brings them to his castle, as he has a cure for a screeching spider bite (and invites them to dinner in the process). Later, Cedryc feels better after taking the cure, then notices a cellar. He enters the cellar defending himself with his sword. When he gets all the way down there, he encounters a goblin midget named Croblib, who was captured by MacGuff after he left the Forbidden Land for betraying Zaldon. Cedryc unchains him, as he ask for freedom. Not knowing he lied, Croblib tries to eat Cedryc, as he never had anything to eat in months. Though, Cedryc escapes the cellar and locks Croblib back in. He finds the others at the dinner table and joins them. MacGuff found out about Cedryc and the cellar, though he does not blame him, as he was curious. After Xavier tells him about their journey, MacGuff gives them a horse named Pomentine.

The Fellows continue the journey on their horse. After they depart, Croblib escapes the cellar and goes to hunt Cedryc. The Fellows ride Pomentine by day and night. After they arrive to the Cave of Chasm, they leave Pomentine behind and continue on foot. Not noticing the sign, "Beware of Dragon", they enter. After going inside, they notice a bunch of skeletons of knights and carvings on the walls. Then a roar occurs. The Fellows run to the exit. As they get to the bridge, the dragon appears right behind them. Xavier shoots one of its wings off, then the dragon knocks his wand out of his hand with its tail. Xavier finds a staff from a wizard's skeleton and grabs it. Before he could use it, the dragon grabs him. Xavier decides to shoot the bridge down, causing the dragon to plummet, with Xavier still in its grasp, he tells them to save themselves. Xavier fights the dragon, while falling. Cedryc and Braden exit the cave and were shocked by Xavier's sacrifice, Cedryc waits for him to come out, as he thinks he might still be alive. Braden declines to wait, as they do not have much time until the army comes. They both continue the journey.

Zaldon is pleased with how Xavier sacrificed himself, although is irked that his companions escaped the dragon. He decides to send the wolves out to kill them. Later that night, Cedryc and Braden decide to sleep in a cave for tonight. Croblib finds Cedryc and starts to approach, instead he hides from two knights who arrive to the cave and take them. They wake up the next day in Castle Angor, where they are reunited with Xavier, who survived. Lord Lawrenthal arrives and the Fellows inform him of their situation. Lawrenthal decides to give them help with his army of knights and head knight Articus. After the Fellows and the knights leave Castle Angor and head for the Forbidden Land, the wolves arrive and attack. After the attack, the Fellows are still remaining, some knights are wounded and killed by the wolves and Articus, who is about to die, tells them to continue their journey on their own. They promise to avenge him and the others who helped them. Furious of stopping the wolves, Zaldon decides to wait for them to come.

The Fellows arrive at the Forbidden Land. They encounter half of the goblin army blocking the bridge to Zaldon's tower and they fight them off. When Cedryc gets knocked out by one, Braden goes to save him, however, the goblins they are fighting are blocking the way. Braden holds them off and Xavier goes to the tower. After he enters, he and Zaldon duel and ends with Zaldon using with staff sending Xavier launched out of the tower and back to the village. After dealing with the goblins, Braden goes to find Cedryc. After he finds him, he is locked in a dungeon. He rescues him in the process and they sneak into Zaldon's chamber. They look in the crystal ball and see Xavier back in the village, who is killed by the cruel landing he had taken. Shocked to discover his death, they decide to stop the army themselves by looking for a spell for goblins. However, Zaldon returns to find the two inside. Meanwhile with Xavier, his body lies in the crash and everyone arrives to see his body dead on the ground. In the split second, he awakens from his death. He informs everyone to alert the king and queen that the army is coming. Back at the Forbidden Land, Cedryc and Braden are in a cage, outside and above a lava moat to die. Zaldon sends his army to the village. As they start to leave the tower, an army of knights arrive with Xavier and draw out Zaldon's army. Xavier saves his companions at the end. Croblib finally catches up with Cedryc and leaps on his face. Cedryc pulls him off and tosses him in the lava moat.

The Fellows and the knights return to the village and have Zaldon taken prisoner. Later on, the Fellows are rewarded. Xavier is given a new staff, but his decides to keep the one he has; Cedryc is given a knighthood; and Braden is given a new bow; and the three are given the name "The Protectors of Millvale". The villagers bow before them and the Fellows depart Millvale for another adventure.

Cast
Additional voices include J. K. Simmons as Reginald Thom, Cristina Pucelli as Rosie Homiroy, Kristen Schaal as Holga Omarth, Richard Kind as Kindred, Stephen Merchant as Lord Lawrenthal, and Dave Foley as Sir Articus. Director Brad Bird and co-character designer and storyboard artist Teddy Newton provide the voices of cameo as Ericson, the King and Queen's royal messenger; and Commington, the blacksmith.
 * Xavier Shaquille as Xavier the Red
 * Yuri Lowenthal as Cedryc the Swordsman
 * Sean Ryan Fox as Braden the Archer
 * Will Arnett as King Birimer Oling
 * Elissa Knight as Queen Isra Oling
 * Benjamin Bratt as Zaldon the Black
 * Ellen DeGeneres as Glaidreal
 * Mark Hamill as Scott "Old Man" Sackvile
 * Richard McGonagle as King MacGuff
 * Dee Bradley Baker as Croblib

Concept
Creator and voice of Xavier the Red, Xavier Shaquille, thought of the idea since 2015, but the story was very different. The original story of the film began with the Fellows being born in the stone-age, then a snow blizzard freezes them and they thaw out centuries later in the medieval times. One day, a man wonders what the future would be like, so they freeze themselves again and wake up in the present (the 21st century).

The title was originally going to be "Movie", then "Adventures in Millvale", then "Adventures in Millvale: The Film", before taking the name "Millvale".

The Fellows were originally going to be wearing cavemen clothes in the stone-age, then wear middle-aged clothes in the medieval time, then wear modern day clothes in the present.

Animation
The film was to be traditionally animated, but decided to have the film computer-animated as Shaquille believes "making CGI films makes it theatrical". Bardel Entertainment provided the animation for the film, and Shaquille wanted the film to look like it was animated back in either the late 1990's or early 2000's.

Casting
Shaquille is also the casting director, so he had to pick what the film needed for its characters. Braiden Patton, Shaquille's brother Cedryc Mosley, The Simpsons voice actor Hank Azaria, and Roger Craig Smith were previously chosen to be the voices of Braden, Cedryc, Zaldon, and Sir Articus, respectively. The roles were then given to Sean Ryan Fox, Yuri Lowenthal, Jim Cummings, and Dave Foley. Unfortunately, Cummings was switched to Benjamin Bratt, as Shaquille had praised him for his role in Coco. Tom Kenny was originally supposed to be the voice of King Oling until being replaced by Will Arnett.

Tom Kane was originally supposed to be in the film as the narrator, but was unfortunately dropped.

Music
Shaquille wanted to have Michael Giacchino, as he enjoyed his work, mostly on Pixar's Incredibles franchise and Jurassic World.

Marketing
Subway sponsored the film with a Millvale-themed sub sandwich the "Kindred's Sub", consisting on lettuce, salami, pepperoni, and mustard. Think Way Toys released a line of action figures and toys of the four main characters Xavier, Cedryc, Braden, and Zaldon.

Video game
A tie-in video game, entitled Millvale: The Game, will be released on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC, releasing to coincide with the film as requested by Shaquille.

Home media
Millvale was released on Blu-ray and a 2-disc DVD set on March 7, 2023 by Paramount Home Entertainment. The DVD's second disc includes the film's bonus features, except the behind-the-scenes featurettes which are only exclusive for the Blu-ray release. A short film, entitled Ms. Homiroy, was made for the home release. A new feature included in the main menus for children-oriented animated Paramount films, entitled "Paramount Fun Zone", which consists of interactive games and activities; similar to DreamWorks Kids.

The film was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray on April 26, 2039, along with its sequels, in the Millvale: The Complete Story boxset. The 4K release includes a Dolby Atmos track for higher quality sound.

Reception
Rotten Tomatoes gives a 90% "Certified Fresh" rating based on 113 reviews with a 7.5/10 rating. The site's critical consensus reads: "Millvale brings lots of adventure and action to Nickelodeon's table that's worth the journey, be it either being somewhere similar to Lord of the Rings or its animation much akin to the beginnings of computer-animation." Metacritic has the film holding a score of 91 out of 100 on based on the 37 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". CinemaScore gives the film an "A+" grade on an A+ to F scale.

Expanded franchise and sequels
Millvale also led to a direct-to-video spin-off film Cedryc (2028), focusing on the character of the same name parting ways with Xavier and Braden on an adventure in Ordon. A 45-minute television prequel revolving around Scott Sackvile, called The Tale of Sackvile (2031), released on CBS.

Shaquille was to probably do two sequels for the film. However, he decided to have the first film a "one-off". Until he revived the idea of doing the sequels. The following films are entitled Millvale II (2027), Millvale III (2031), Millvale IV (2034), and Millvale V (2038). Originally, two sequels were present, until Shaquille had discovered the Rugrats film series had finished with three films, so he had put up three sequels to have the film series contrast to the same amount.