CircleCity: Civil War

CircleCity: Civil War is a 2016 adult animated action comedy political satire film based off of the CircleCity television series. The film follows the titular characters from the series becoming caught up in a civil war as a result of a new governmental system which separated the country based upon political alignment. 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. The film was released on June 3, 2016, and received positive reviews from critics, with critics praising it's commentary on the state of America as well as it's humor, but criticizing it's runtime and unfocused tone. As of December 2016, it is the highest-grossing R-rated animated film.

Summary
Newly-elected President John F. Freedom (Bryan Cranston) enacts a system that he believes will solve all of the hardship, conflict and crime currently plaguing America: the separation of the country based upon political alignments. A nation that can "truly be free" to express their beliefs and rights - a country catered specifically to the people's individuality. The system is a surprising success and the newly named Detached States of Freedom is now the world's most model and reformed country. However, this soon changes when a surprise nuclear attack from an unknown assailant leaves the new country in a state of chaos and anarchy with everyone pointing their metaphorical fingers at each other. As a self-contained war brews within the country, Lloyd Donovan (Nolan North), who has been separated from all of his friends due to his own political beliefs, takes it upon himself to unite everyone together again to end the war - and resolve the conspiracy about whom sent out the nukes to begin with.

Plot
TBA

Cast

 * as Lloyd
 * as Benny
 * as John F. Freedom
 * as Vice President Seth Rogen
 * as Madison
 * as Moe
 * as Fat Bob
 * as Dr. Hurt
 * as Dustin
 * as Mayor Royam
 * as Jessica (cameo)
 * as Gunny McGun
 * as himself

Production
Following the release of CircleCity Worldwide, any plans that could have been developed about a potential sequel film were quickly brushed aside when the show itself was abruptly canceled, despite the film's box office success. When the show was eventually revived on Vision in 2012, IAmBagel commented on what the crew had planned for the future, and gave light to the possibility of a sequel film if the show is proven to be very successful for the channel. More and more details about the potential film were dropped throughout the next year, including plot details and general ideas - as well as a full script ready - but they still insisted that the film being made would have to rely on the success of the show and the willingness of a distributor.

Thanks to strong ratings and fan interest, Vision announced their plans for a theatrically-released CircleCity film in January 2014, to be distributed by Warner Bros. That July, Warner Bros announced the film's full title - CircleCity: Civil War - and a release date of December 25, 2015, only to be changed to June 3, 2016, later in the year.

In a surprising 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 storyboards were handled by Rough Draft Studios in South Korea.

Censorship
When the first cut of the film was released to the MPAA, it was given the NC-17 rating. About 1 minute of the film had to then be cut down and re-edited in order to give the film an R rating. The film also faced certain censorship issues when being released to certain countries, most notably China, who banned the film from being shown in cinemas due to "excessive violence". Taiwan, who never even aired the television series to begin with, also banned the film due to it's graphic violence.

The film faced censorship issues in Singapore, where 2 minutes of the film had to be cut and edited.

Marketing
The first trailer for the film was released on November 17, 2015. The film's second trailer was released on February 4, 2016, and a third one was released on April 2, 2016.

From October 2015 to March 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.

Reception
The film had it's world premiere showing in Philadelphia on May 27, 2016.

Box Office
Pre-release tracking suggested that the film would open in the $20-25 million range on it's opening weekend. However, the film grossed $14,202,203 on it's opening day, beating studio expectations and opening at #1 at the box office. It remained #1 for the overall weekend with an estimated gross of $35,762,226, the biggest opening weekend for an R-rated animated film. The film dropped to the #4 spot on it's second weekend and grossed $16,901,184, a 52% decline.

Controversy
Main article: List of CircleCity controversies

Home media
CircleCity: Civil War was released on Digital HD on October 11, 2016, and was released on DVD, Bluray and Ultraviolet on November 8, 2016.

Television broadcast
Vision aired the film during it's Sundown block on February 3, 2018 at 8pm, with a rating of TV-MA LSV.

Television film sequel
After the box office success of Civil War, Firebasket Studios (then RaGE-Typewriter) was interested in doing their own CircleCity film. They decided on doing a television film as it was cheaper and wanted to prove to producers of Typewriter that they can make a film. The film will not be a direct sequel to Civil War.

Theatrical sequel
In late 2017 it was reported that Firebasket Studios and Typewriter Productions will co-produce a theatrical film to be released in 2020, in time for the show's 20th anniversary.

Trivia

 * The film's working titles were CircleCity: World War 3 and CircleCity: Armageddon 
 * This is the first film to based off a Vision original series, as well as the first theatrical film to be produced by Typewriter Productions.
 * This film is the first major R-rated animated film to get a wide theatrical release in the United States since 2007's .
 * Warner Bros. originally scheduled the film for a Christmas 2015 release, but was then delayed to June 3, 2016, to avoid heavy competition with films opening near the holidays, most notably .
 * The film recieved a limited release in several European and Asian countries, due to the show itself not being very well-known or mainstream in these countries. These countries include Japan, Thailand, Brazil, etc.