Table of Contents

Plot
Cast
Development and production
Marketing
Reception
Box office and release
Critical response
Home media
Sequels
References
External links

Norm of the North

NameNorm of the North
Image
AltAn anthropomorphic polar bear, walking in the city's streets, with three little lemmings over his shoulders and head, with a white t-shirt of "New York" and the film's title, slogan and billing underneath him.
CaptionTheatrical release poster
DirectorTrevor Wall
MusicStephen McKeon
EditingRichard Finn
Released2016-01-15
Runtime90 minutes
LanguageEnglish
Budget$7-18 million
Gross$30.5 million

Norm of the North is a 2016 animated adventure comedy film directed by Trevor Wall. The film features the voices of Rob Schneider, Heather Graham, Ken Jeong, Colm Meaney, Loretta Devine, Gabriel Iglesias, Michael McElhatton, and Bill Nighy, and is an international co-production of the United States and Ireland.

Norm of the North was theatrically released in the United States on January 15, 2016, by Lionsgate. The film received negative reviews from critics, and grossed $30 million against a budget of $7–18M. It spawned three direct-to-video sequels: Norm of the North: Keys to the Kingdom, Norm of the North: King Sized Adventure, and Norm of the North: Family Vacation.

Plot

Norm, a polar bear, is the son of the King of the Arctic. In his youth, he realizes his ability to speak to humans, a trait shared only by his grandfather. Because of this, he is made an outcast from the other animals, only being accepted by Socrates, a wise seagull, and Elizabeth, a female polar bear whom Norm is in love with.

Years later, Norm's grandfather has disappeared, and human tourists are filling the Arctic. Socrates shows Norm and three Arctic lemmings a luxury condo that has been installed on the ice. Inside this condo is Vera, a representative for wealthy developer Mr. Greene. After Vera is saved by Norm from an avalanche, Mr. Greene calls her to find a polar bear mascot for their commercial, campaigning to sell houses at the Arctic. Alarmed, Socrates convinces Norm and the lemmings to stow away on a ship to New York City.

In the city, Norm, pretending to be an actor dressed as a polar bear, auditions for Mr. Greene's commercial and is taken to dinner by Vera. Mr. Greene, who realizes that Norm is a real bear, suspects that Norm has come to free his grandfather, whom he has captured. He confronts him at the restaurant with a tranquilizer gun, but Norm subdues him. After the outburst garners the media's attention and heightens Mr. Greene's approval ratings, however, he decides to hire Norm as his mascot.

Before going on a television show, Norm meets Vera's genius daughter Olympia, who knows that Norm is a real bear, and advises him to wait for the right moment to speak out against Mr. Greene and his campaign so he can save the Arctic. Norm's popularity further increases the approval ratings, but his plan is sabotaged by Mr. Greene, who uses recorded dialogue to claim that Norm supports his developments.

Defeated, Norm is comforted by Vera and Olympia, who reveal that Mr. Greene is developing more homes to install in the Arctic. He and the lemmings discover that Mr. Greene is bribing a high-ranking member of the Polar Council, and exposes this to Pablo, one of Greene's investors. Vera resigns her position and is hired by Pablo, while Norm and the lemmings chase the truck holding the houses.



The animal control sends the truck carrying Norm's grandfather, and Norm is captured as well. After being freed by the lemmings, Norm and his grandfather get to the boat carrying the houses to the Arctic, and they are able to detach the houses, but Norm gets separated from his grandfather.

Norm awakens in the Arctic and is reunited with the lemmings and the other animals. Because of his heroism, Norm is crowned the King of the Arctic, but not before his grandfather arrives. Meanwhile, Mr. Greene's reputation is ruined after his bribery is publicly revealed, Vera and Olympia are happy with Pablo as their new boss, and Norm and Elizabeth later get married, and have three cubs together named Maria, Chase, and Quinn.

Cast


Director Trevor Wall provides the voice for the three main lemmings in the film, although he is not credited. As Nicolas Atlan described the lemmings: "We thought it would be hysterical to combine Norm, the largest creature in the Arctic, with lemmings that are small and indestructible. They can get squashed, they can get stomped on, they can have an elevator close on them, but like Silly Putty, they bounce right back into their original shape".

Development and production

Lionsgate and Crest Animation Studios announced the project in February 2010, as part of a three-film deal between both parties. Steven and Daniel Altiere were set to write the film, based on their own original story. The same year in July, Rob Schneider was cast in the film as the titular character, with Ken Jeong and Loretta Devine also being cast around the same time. Anthony Bell, who previously co-directed Alpha and Omega, was originally set to direct the film, but ultimately left the project after Crest Animation Studios filed for bankruptcy and closed its doors in 2015. The film sat in development hell for over four years, until Splash Entertainment took over production (as the studio's first project from its feature animation unit) with Good Universe handling international sales. That same year, the film added Bill Nighy, Gabriel Iglesias, Colm Meaney and Michael McElhatton to the cast, and Trevor Wall was hired to direct. Ginny McSwain was hired to voice direct Jeong's lines and was only given a limited amount of time to prepare. She described her time working on the film as unbearable and found Jeong, whom she initially admired, very off putting and rude to work with.

Marketing

Two mobile apps were released to promote the film as well as four clips on Lionsgate's YouTube channel and two theatrical trailers. Television commercials were played on several channels.

Reception

Box office and release

As of August 2016, Norm of the North has grossed $17 million in North America and $10.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $30.5 million, against a budget of $18 million.

The film was released on January 15, 2016, alongside 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi and Ride Along 2. It grossed $9.4 million from 2,411 theaters over its opening four-day Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend, finishing 6th at the box office.

International pre-sale rights to the film were acquired by Good Universe, who pre-sold the film to distributors across the world, including Signature Entertainment in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 6% based on 70 reviews and an average rating of 3.10/10. The site's critical consensus read: "A pioneering feat in the field of twerking polar bear animation but blearily retrograde in every other respect, Norm of the North should only be screened in case of parental emergency". Shortly after its theatrical release on January 15, 2016, it temporarily had a rating of 0% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 35 reviews at the time. On Metacritic, as of August 2020, the film had a score of 21 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.

Critic Mark Dujsik gave the film 1 out of 4 possible stars, writing that "Norm of the North doesn't care about the environment, the animals of the Arctic, or even kids for that matter. It wants to be 'cute and marketable' as cheaply as possible". James White of Empire gave the film 1 out of 5 possible stars, writing that "we wouldn't recommend you watch it even after you've burned through every other possibility – and that includes a blank screen". Mark Kermode of The Observer called the film a "dull ... below-par Ice Age-style tale in which the highlight is a group of vulgar lemmings". Michael Rechtshaffen of the Los Angeles Times called the film "blandly uninspired", and Soren Andersen of The Seattle Times called the film an "idiotic animated comedy", writing that "no child should be exposed to this".

Geoff Berkshire of Variety called the film a "blandly executed pic" that "will quickly head south to an ancillary afterlife". Katie Rife of The A.V. Club gave the film a "D" grade, writing that "this is a movie for children. But using that as a justification for lazy work, as if kids are inherently too dumb to know the difference, isn't just condescending. In a post-Pixar world, where audiences have become accustomed to quality animated family films, it's a waste of money". Stephen Schaefer of the Boston Herald gave the film a grade of "B−", writing that, despite being "hardly original ... 'Norm' has oodles of charm, a razor-sharp wit, and pacing that should keep even preschoolers attentive".

Edwin L. Carpenter of The Dove Foundation gave the film its Family-Approved seal, writing that "your kids will enjoy Norm's company–he's funny and a role model for doing the right thing".

Home media

Norm of the North was released on DVD, Blu-ray, and digital HD on April 19, 2016.

Sequels

Following the release of the film, three direct-to-video sequels were released. Norm of the North: Keys to the Kingdom had a limited theatrical release on January 11, 2018, with a home release on February 12. Norm of the North: King Sized Adventure was released for home release and on digital on June 11, 2019, while Norm of the North: Family Vacation was released on February 25, 2020.

Maya Kay is the only cast member to return for the sequels, while Norm is voiced by Andrew Toth.

References


External links


Category:2016 films
Category:2016 3D films
Category:2016 comedy films
Category:2016 computer-animated films
Category:2016 directorial debut films
Category:2016 American animated films
Category:2010s children's adventure films
Category:2010s children's comedy films
Category:2010s adventure comedy films
Category:2010s English-language films
Category:American 3D films
Category:American computer-animated films
Category:American children's animated adventure films
Category:American children's animated comedy films
Category:American adventure comedy films
Category:3D animated films
Category:Films about environmental issues
Category:Animated films about polar bears
Category:Animated films about talking animals
Category:Animated films set in the Arctic
Category:Animated films set in New York City
Category:Lionsgate films
Category:Lionsgate animated films
Category:Assemblage Entertainment
Category:Films scored by Stephen McKeon
Category:English-language adventure comedy films
Category:2016 children's films