Seth Rogen‘s new film, Sausage Party, scored a sizable $33.6 million at the box office, becoming the most successful summer flick so far.
A rather uncommon approach to animation, Sausage Party managed to capitalize on a new audience that’s hungry for raunchy and out-of-place humor. It has earned its spot as this years’ August satire, sharing the position with Talladega Nights and Tropic Thunder. On Sausage Party, audiences can enjoy the voices of stars such as Salma Hayek and Edward Norton, besides the Rogen clan featured in This Is The End, another landmark for fans of dirty young adult comedy.
Not a ‘party’ for production
It appears that initially, the animation team behind Sausage Party was forced to work overtime without pay. It was reported to Cartoon Brew that animators had to stay up late and to work for free, because if they refused, they would assign the work to another person that would do it without hesitation.
The animators did not keep up with it and signed a petition so they were better treated and that their overtime schedules were correctly paid for. The request arrived at the offices of Annapurna Pictures, and they made arrangements, so the animators were fed and paid during as they worked overtime.
It was reported that over 30 animators had to leave production, while most of them did not stay to see the overtime compensation. The animators that abandoned the film were removed from the credits. Out of the 83 people credited with the official score, the film’s credits contain only 47.
“The studio had lost such a massive portion of the team by the end of the production that they had to resort to hiring recent animation graduates to finish the film. What we currently see in the credits are the students as well as animators who have stayed until the end of the production,” directors Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon stated to Cartoon Brew.
Nitrogen Studios, who were responsible for the film alongside Annapurna, issued a statement suggesting that the claims were without merit and arguing that they followed the contracts held with the artists and followed all overtime regulations.
Even if the production team was not treated fairly, the animators that chose to work on the project managed to deliver this year’s first successful R-rated comedy able to stand up to Deadpool. August is usually filled with adult comics, and it appears that Sausage Party has claimed the throne for itself as it will surely become a cult classic alongside other films influenced by Rogen and his buddies, such as Pineapple Express and The Interview.
With a clear influence from Toy Story, the outspoken food items featured in Sausage Party launch dozens of cuss words while fantasizing about “The Great Beyond,” a place where they go after humans choose them in the supermarket.
When they realize what occurs to them and their friends after being picked, hilarity ensues as no other comedy film can be compared to this one, where the script makes every possible attempt to offend audiences and to entertain them at the same time.
Source: Cartoon Brew