CircleCity: Civil War

CircleCity: Civil War is a 2016 adult animated action comedy political satire film based off of the CircleCity television series. It is a stand-alone sequel to 2004's CircleCity Worldwide, as well as the second film based on the television series. The film stars the regular television cast consisting of Nolan North, Rob Paulsen, Vicki Lewis, Dee Bradley Baker, Wayne Knight, Nicole Sullivan & Curtis Armstrong. They are joined by Bryan Cranston and Seth Rogen, portraying new characters President John F. Freedom and Vice President Seth Rogen, respectively.

The film follows series protagonists Lloyd Donovan and Benny O'Riley and their attempts to restore the country after its separation results in a civil war for political power. The film provides commentary on the political and social issues that are affecting America as of late, particularly lampooning how American society overall functions and behaves - and is thematically a companion piece to the first film and its messages. It also acts as a parody of war films and post-apocalyptic media, particularly the Mad Max franchise.

The film was released on June 3, 2016, and received positive reviews from critics. It grossed $120 million worldwide on a budget of $35 million.

Premise
After years of political and societal chaos, America's prayers for prosperity are answered when newly-elected President John F. Freedom enacts his new "Freedom" system; separating the American populace based on their personal, spiritual and political beliefs. While peace is achieved, a spontaneous riot in CircleCity causes Freedom to close the country's borders and enforce a civil war upon the separated populace - the winning ideology will shape all of America going forward. With the entire nation killing each other for peace, Lloyd and Benny make a stand to reunite the populace and put an end to the war.

Plot
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Cast

 * as Lloyd, the protagonist of the television series. During the initial separation, because of his refusal to pick a political side, he is booted to an isolated piece of land in Florida where nothing is kept in check and everyone has "given up" on everything. He is later forced to help Benny with his own plan after the League of Pretentious Gentlemen target his home.
 * as Benny, Lloyd's optimistic roommate. During the war, he attempts to kick start a rebellion to end Freedom's enforced war after the League of Pretentious Gentlemen attacked his nation of Consumerists.
 * as President John F. Freedom. He wins the heart of America with an act that will separate the nation and ensure that everyone's own beliefs will be represented in their countries, but later enforces a war upon them as his sanity slowly deteriorates.
 * as Vice President Seth Rogen
 * as Madison, Lloyd and Benny's immigrant neighbor. During the war, she reverts to her Russian roots and leads a nation of communists in New York, attempting to stay out of the war and distance themselves from America as much as possible.
 * as Moe, Lloyd's frequent rival. During the war, he has turned to his Catholic beliefs to seek out a solution to the war. Naturally, he becomes convinced that he is a vessel for God to finally "correct" America, determined to shove his belief's down everyone's throat - by killing them. He steals the organs of those he kills and replaces his own body parts with alternatives in an attempt to make himself as god-like as possible.
 * as Fat Bob, CircleCity's notorious crime boss. During the war, he leads President Freedom's personal army; The League of Pretentious Gentlemen, whom annihilate weaker nations in order to end the war quicker.
 * as Nancy. During the war, she gives into the pursuit of hedonism and hippie culture.
 * as Dustin. During the war, his supremacist nature reaches its breaking point as he becomes even more deranged and loony. He is a part of the Anarchists, who believe that any sort of government control is an "outdated" way of thinking and that the war is what the new America should forever be.
 * as Mayor Royam
 * as Mr. Tang
 * Dab Mcgee as Clyde and Leonard
 * as Annabelle Swanson-O'Riley & Terry Swanson-O'Riley
 * as Dr. Hurt
 * as Senator Shaquille O'Neal
 * as himself
 * as himself
 * Richard Cheese as himself

Production
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Animation
In a deviation from its regular animation style, Civil War features highly-detailed and realistic backgrounds to intentionally contrast with the simplistic designs of the actual characters and the flatness of traditional animation the film and show utilize. Backgrounds and scenery were created and developed by Australian-based Animal Logic, whilst character animation and initial storyboards were handled by Typewriter Productions West.

Writing
Regular show writers Dab McGee, Roy Rogers and Ralf Hat turned to Worldwide's exploration of America's political climate as the basis for Civil War. As they felt Worldwide explored a very specific political issue of its time, they wanted to explore issues that have been a part of American society for several years and chose to have the film's core themes center around the divided nature of American society, as well as Americans and their relationship with their political beliefs.

Marketing
The first trailer for the film was released on December 15, 2015, followed by a second trailer released on April 5, 2016.

From December 2015 to April 2016, many viral clips were uploaded to the film's official website. These clips, which parody many presidential ad campaigns, feature celebrities and characters from the show voicing their support for John F. Freedom and his plan to separate the country.

Soundtrack
A soundtrack containing the film's score (composed by Lorne Balfe) was released on May 27, 2016.

Release & reception
The film had it's world premiere showing at the Oriental Theatre in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on May 27, 2016.

Box Office
CircleCity: Civil War grossed $80.3 million in the United States and Canada and $40.3 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $120.6 million. Pre-release tracking suggested that the film would open in the $15-18 million range on it's opening weekend. However, the film grossed $10.8 million on it's opening day, beating studio expectations and opening at #2 at the box office. It remained in second place for the overall weekend with a gross of $27.6 million The film dropped to the #5 spot on it's second weekend and grossed $12.4 million, a 53% decline. The film's surprising success has been attributed to the then-oncoming 2016 election of the time further heightening political interest in America, as well as the lack of theatrically released R-rated animation in the years before the film's release.

Critical Reception
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 77%, based on 119 reviews, and an average rating of 6.7/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "CircleCity: Civil War paints an absurdly comedic and violent portrait of America that will either offend or delight you." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 62 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, lower than the B+ of its predecessor.

Home media
CircleCity: Civil War was released on Digital HD on October 11, 2016, and on DVD, Bluray and Ultraviolet on October 25, 2016. Vision aired the film during it's Sundown block on February 3, 2018 at 8pm, with a rating of TV-MA LSV.