Dannie

Dannie is a 2006 American animated comedy adventure film directed by Mala Miles and written by Jon Vitti, and developed and produced by Sensation Animation, and distributed by Paramount Pictures, using traditional animation with some computer animation by Maloing Entertainment. The film stars John C. Reilly, AnnaSophia Robb, Nathan Lane, Simon Pegg, Rob Riggle, Seth Rogen, Amy Poehler, Bill Hader, and Gary Oldman.

The film was released into theaters on September 8, 2006, and was a box office success, surpassing competition and grossing $285 million in receipts. It received positive reviews from film critics, who commended the storyline and animation, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, and won two Annie Awards.

Plot
Coming soon!

Cast

 * John C. Reilly as Dannie, an ordinary 37-year-old guy and Donna's over-protective father.
 * AnnaSophia Robb as Donna, Dannie's 12-year-old daughter.
 * Ariel Winter as young Donna.
 * Nathan Lane as Tommy, Dannie's best friend.
 * Simon Pegg as Magic Ed, a wizard who can make things magic and is one of Dannie's friends.
 * Rob Riggle as Card Monster, an anthropomorphic monster card and one of Dannie's friends.
 * Seth Rogen as Berty Bird, a cuddly bird and one of Dannie's friends.
 * Amy Poehler as Fiona Fairy, a fairy and one of Dannie's friends.
 * Bill Hader as Footy, one of Dannie's friends.
 * Gary Oldman as Kakas, a gillman-like creature who overthrows Dannie's village.
 * Maya Rudolph as Mila, Dannie's mother.
 * Tara Strong as Anny, a good friend of Donna.
 * Kevin Hart as Boppie.
 * Phil LaMarr, Bob Bergen, and Jess Harnell as Kaka's henchmen.
 * Mona Marshall as Vanna, Dannie's wife and Donna's mother.
 * Mala Miles as Neets.
 * John DiMaggio as the lazy guy-eating plant.
 * Jack Angel, Jim Cummings, Bill Farmer, Danny Mann, Jan Rabson, Debi Derryberry, Billy West, Tom Kenny, Jim Ward, Fred Tatasciore, Carlos Alazraqui, Tyler Werrin, Jason Marsden, and Tress MacNeille as additional voices.

Production
Dannie was the first Sensation Animation film to be produced fully using the Linux operating system. Mala Miles came up with the concept in 1999, creating the original design, sets and characters and core storyline, before the film started development in 2002. Originally, Universal Pictures was supposed to release the film, but was later dropped out to distribute Mister Mosquito for a 2007 release.

Dannie was originally going to be released in 2001, however, in September 2002, the date was changed to 2004. The release date change was the same day Paramount and Sensation changed the release date of How Frogs Go to London, from July 2001 to December 2003, thus pushing Dannie to 2004.

In February 2002, it was announced that the film had begun production, with John C. Reilly, AnnaSophia Robb, Nathan Lane, Simon Pegg, Rob Riggle, Seth Rogen, Amy Poehler, and Bill Hader joining the cast to voice the lead roles, while the other cast includes Gary Oldman, Maya Rudolph, and Kevin Hart.

The monsters and the backgrounds in the film are mostly computer-generated by Maloing Entertainment, while the characters are hand-drawn. Much like Quis the Chicken: The Chick Farm, this film is animated in a similar style to Disney and Don Bluth films.

Release
Dannie was released on October 15, 2004.

Marketing
A video game based on the film was released by Vivendi Universal Games and Sierra Entertainment for the Wii, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Microsoft Windows, Game Boy Advance, Xbox 360, Xbox, Nintendo DS, and Nintendo GameCube. The Nintendo DS version supports the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.

Several merchandise were made for Dannie, such as toys, figurines, plush dolls, and clothing. On September 24, 2004, Paramount and Sensation Animation partnered with McDonald's to produce eight Dannie toys in their Happy Meals for one month. In the Australian market, a few small plush characters of Dannie, Donna, Tommy, Magic Ed, Berty Bird, and Fiona Fairy replace some of the toys in the US lineup.

Six books were released for the film: The Junior Novel, The Movie Storybook, When Kaka's Pack Attack!, Donna's Tale, A Teamwork Never Fails, Journey to the Center of Fiona Fairy, and Coloring and Activity Book. A series of children's 100 piece puzzles are available as well depicting various characters and setups.

Build-A-Bear Workshop stores sold plush toys of the film's protagonist, Dannie. Patrons could "build" their own Dannie as well as dress him up in an array of clothing and other accessories in Build-A-Bear workshops. They could also purchase Dannie and accessories at the official site.

Home media
Dannie was released on DVD and Blu-ray on March 7, 2005. The Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack includes four new short films based on the main feature: What Were They Thinking?, Cookie Madness, Dannie Quits! and Giant Foot. It also includes a sneak peek to Robotboy.

Critical response
Dannie has received generally positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has a rating of 78%. On Metacritic the film has a score of 67 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Box office
Coming soon!

Accolades
In the Academy Awards, Dannie received the nomination for Best Animated Feature, but lost to Happy Feet.