'Brainless' film for kids flops at box office

A movie for kids described as "brainless" by reviewers has scored one of the lowest opening takes at the box office ever - but producers are still planning a sequel.

Featuring a cast of three brightly coloured characters called Goobie, Zoozie and Toofie, interactive movie The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure scored just US$601,545 at the box office over its three-day opening weekend in America.

That meant it averaged just US$278 a screen in 2160 theatres, one of the poorest openings in recent box office history, news agency AP reported.

The film, created by the Teletubbies' Kenn Viselman and aimed at children aged three to six, involves the cast attempting to find five magical balloons to surprise their friend Schluufy with at a birthday party.

Kids are invited to sing and dance with the characters, and it features cameo appearances from Jaime Pressley, Christopher Lloyd and singer Toni Braxton.

But reviewers have slammed the movie, which has just a 30 per cent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes after 20 mostly negative reviews.

"It's like paying to watch a dumbed-down mash-up of the least creative parts of Teletubbies, Barney & Friends and Pee-wee's Playhouse," said Amy Biancolli from the
San Francisco Chronicle.

Sean Means from the Salt Lake Tribune said the movie's stars were "a trio of the most cloyingly unbearable characters a parent could ever introduce to their preschool child," while Slant Magazine's Nick Schager said: "Enduring this brainless kid's film is akin to witnessing the end of the world."

Those comments haven't stopped producer Kenn Viselman from already planning a sequel.

"Seeing those kids get up and dance without anyone telling them to stop, or running down to the front of the screen and freaking out - the movie's already successful for me," he told Entertainment Weekly.

"Now whether we make our money back from movie one or not, that was never a part of the process. It was about, 'Can we get children to respond to them? Can we get them to react? Will there be a connection?'

"And if there is, movie two is the movie we plan on making money on. It's the one we're releasing merchandise with. Movie one was really just, 'We're the Oogieloves. Get to know us and love us and let's play together'."

- Herald online