Chibi-Robo!

Chibi-Robo! is an American live action/computer-animated hybrid adventure film based on the video game of the same name. It is produced by Maloing Entertainment, The Kennedy/Marshall Company, Walden Media, Perfect World Pictures, Columbia Pictures and Nintendo. The film was directed by Rob Letterman, and written by Letterman, Dan Hernandez, Darren Lemke, and Derek Connolly, from a story by Hernandez and Darren Lemke. Elijah Wood stars as the voice and provides facial motion capture of Chibi-Robo, alongside Halsey, Sean Astin, Margot Robbie, and Abby Ryder Fortson.

Chibi-Robo! was originally set for a worldwide theatrical release on June 12, 2020. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic causing the closure of theaters across the globe, Sony Pictures made the film available to Netflix in the United States on the same date it was planned to be released in theaters. It received a theatrical release in select countries beginning in October 2020 and a secondary theatrical release in the United States beginning on March 20, 2021, for three days. It received mixed-to-positive reviews, from critics who praised the animation, score, character design, voice acting but criticized the screenplay and story. Chibi-Robo! was topped digital rental charts in its first three weekends of release and became the third-most watched title on PVOD.

Plot
Chibi-Robo! takes place in a 1960s-style American home and revolves around a tiny, highly advanced robot of the same name given as a birthday gift to the socially withdrawn eight-year-old Jenny Sanderson by her father. This is much to the dismay of Jenny's mother, a homemaker who is constantly stressed over how much money her husband spends on toys despite his unemployment. Chibi-Robo is packaged with a small "Chibi-House" and an assistant named Telly Vision who speaks on his behalf. Each of the one million Chibi-Robos in the world is supposed to collect "Happy Points" by doing good deeds for their owners and must occasionally charge their batteries at electrical outlets. During the night, or when humans are not around in the Sandersons' house, several toys come to life, including the superhero action figure Drake Redcrest, a group of egg-shaped army men called the Free Rangers, a wooden pirate named Plankbeard, and others. Chibi-Robo eventually finds a large robot in the basement called Giga-Robo, who was once a companion of the Sandersons', but had to be deactivated due to its high electricity consumption. Chibi-Robo attempts to revive Giga-Robo by fully charging its massive battery and makes it a goal to find Giga-Robo's missing leg, but is attacked by spider-like robots called Spydorz.

When Mr. Sanderson purchases yet another toy, his wife locks herself in her room and tells him that she wants a divorce, prompting the rest of the family to do housework in an attempt to make up for it. Meanwhile, Chibi-Robo finds a strange pattern in the backyard and uses his radar to contact an alien species. Once the aliens land and greet him, Chibi-Robo uses a time machine made by the visitors to go into the past to find a code to enter a safe in the master bedroom containing Giga Robo's leg. He returns to the present to open the safe, but several larger Spydorz are released and capture the Sandersons. It is revealed that Mr. Sanderson originally created the Spydorz to be friends with the Chibi-Robos, but his toy company reprogrammed them to be hostile, causing Mr. Sanderson to quit his job. Mr. Sanderson upgrades Chibi-Robo's blaster weapon, allowing the small robot to defeat the Queen Spydor, recover Giga-Robo's missing leg, and rescue the Sandersons. Chibi-Robo reactivates Giga-Robo, and the aliens meet them in the backyard. The aliens explain that the toys are able to walk and talk due to a request from Giga-Robo to give them life and to give all Giga-Robos infinite battery power to prevent their energy consumption. The aliens could not do the latter at the time and returned to their own planet to obtain the item necessary to grant Giga-Robo's wish. They then give Giga-Robo this ability, who shares it with Chibi-Robo and the rest of the robots in the world as well, eliminating the energy problem.

Voice cast

 * Elijah Wood as Chibi-Robo, a line of minuscule robots who are designed and sold by the fictional company Citrusoft. They are created for the purpose to make people happy.
 * Halsey as Telly Vision, Chibi-Robo's best friend who is a small floating robot that resembles a variety of electronics.

Live-action cast

 * Abby Ryder Fortson as Jenny, a fun-loving girl that enjoys drawing and coloring, which she is usually seen doing in the living room of the house. She is very friendly and enjoys Chibi-Robo's company, always saying hello to him and giving him a kiss if he brings her any Frog Rings.
 * Margot Robbie as Helen Sanderson, Jenny's mother, hates the fact that her husband bought Chibi-Robo because they barely had any money at the time, but still respects Chibi-Robo and likes what he does in the house.
 * Sean Astin as George Sanderson, Jenny's father, who bought a Chibi-Robo for Jenny's birthday, making Mrs. Sanderson angry since he had just lost his job and they didn't have much money. He also buys lots of toys despite being an adult and being in-between jobs, with a special love for Drake Redcrest.
 * Dee Bradley Baker provides the vocal effects for Tao, Sanderson's dog who is quite fond of Dog Bones.

Theatrical and POV
Chibi-Robo was originally theatrically released by Sony Pictures Releasing in the United States and Canada on June 12, 2020. The film's North American theatrical release was originally preceded by Keyna's Unicorn a short film based on Malachi Universal franchise.

On March 24, 2020, the film's theatrical release was delayed indefinitely due to movie theater closures since mid-March, because of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. It was announced on April 23, 2020, that Sony Pictures had canceled the North American theatrical release and would instead make Chibi-Robo! available for digital distribution in the United States through Netflix on the originally scheduled theatrical date. Variety wrote that releasing the film digitally was "a big risk — and an almost certain loss — for Sony Pictures" but noted that the success of Trolls: World Tour in a similar release venue could be a positive sign. Keyna's Unicorn was released as a bonus feature of the film.

As the pandemic receded, Sony Pictures confirmed that the film would still play in theaters in select countries, with relaxed COVID-19 restrictions beginning October 8, 2020.

Marketing
On November 3, 2019, the film's teaser poster was released, and the first teaser trailer was released on November 4, 2019. The first official trailer was released on March 6, 2020, being attached to Malachi: The Ultimate Time!. The second and final trailer was released on May 1, 2020.

BBToons partnered with more than 100 licensing and promotional partners to market the film including Sprint Corporation, which gives customers free movie tickets when they buy a free smartphone and switch, Chiquita bananas, Fandango, Gamefly, McDonald's, Discover credit cards, and Ziploc. In July 2020, BBToons aired promos on its channel to promote the film's release.

Home media releases
The film was released on home media on August 12, 2020.

Reception
Coming soon!