Batkid Begins
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Batkid Begins
| image = Batkid Begins poster.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = Dana Nachman
| writer = Dana Nachman
Kurt Kuenne
| screenplay =
| story =
| based_on =
| producer = Dana Nachman
Liza Meak
| starring =
| narrator =
| cinematography = Don Hardy Jr.
Naomi Ture
| editing = Kurt Kuenne
| music = Dave Tweedie
| studio = New Line Cinema
KTF Films
| distributor = Warner Bros. Pictures
| released = {{Film date|2015|1|24|Slamdance Film Festival|2015|6|26|United States}}
| runtime = 87 minutes
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget =
}}
Batkid Begins is a 2015 American documentary film co-produced (with Liza Meak), co-written (with Kurt Kuenne) and directed by Dana Nachman. The documentary follows Miles Scott, an American child and cancer survivor. His wish was to be "Batkid", a sidekick of the eponymous comic book superhero Batman. Once the request went out, thousands of volunteers, city officials, businesses and supporters rallied to turn San Francisco, California into "Gotham City" – the fictional home city of Batman, on November 15, 2013, for one of the largest and most elaborate Make-A-Wish projects ever staged. The film was released by Warner Bros. Pictures on June 26, 2015.
It featured footage shot live by John Crane Films on Batkid Day. John Crane also served as executive producer for the film.
Cast
- Miles Scott as Batkid / Himself
- Eric Johnston as Batman
- Philip Watt as Riddler
- Mike Jutan as Penguin
- Sue Graham Johnston as Damsel in Distress
- Joel Zimei as Lou Seal
- Or Oppenheimer as Catwoman
- Ron Oppenheimer as Superman
- Nick Scott as himself
- Natalie Scott as herself
- Ryan Scott as himself
- Ed Lee as Mayor of San Francisco
- Greg Suhr as Chief of Police
- Naomi Kyle as herself
- Patricia Wilson as Executive Director
- Chris Taylor as Deputy Editor
- Hans Zimmer as himself
- Ama Daetz as Newscaster
Release
The film premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival on January 24, 2015.{{cite web|last=Yamato |first=Jen |url=https://deadline.com/2015/01/batkid-begins-drew-struzan-poster-slamdance-1201345611/ |title=[VIDEO] 'Batkid Begins' Draws Poster Icon Drew Struzan Out Of Retirement |publisher=Deadline |date=January 9, 2015 |access-date=June 6, 2015}} On March 12, 2015, New Line Cinema acquired the film, with its parent Warner Bros. Pictures distributing.{{cite web|first=Brent |last=Lang |url=https://variety.com/2015/film/news/new-line-nabs-batkid-documentary-distribution-future-film-rights-exclusive-1201451610/ |title='Batkid' Documentary: New Line Nabs Rights to 'BatKid Begins' |work=Variety |date=March 12, 2015 |access-date=June 6, 2015}} The film was released by Warner Bros. Pictures on June 26, 2015.{{cite web|first=Dave |last=McNary |url=https://variety.com/2015/film/news/batkid-begins-documentary-june-26-release-1201467664/ |title='Batkid' Documentary Coming to Theaters in June |work=Variety |date=April 7, 2015 |access-date=June 6, 2015}}
Reception
Batkid Begins received positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 82%, based on 60 reviews, with a rating of 7.1/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Sweet and unabashedly sentimental, Batkid Begins is an uplifting look at a selfless act that brought a city together."{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/batkid_begins/ |title=Batkid Begins (2015) |publisher=Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=December 7, 2015}} On Metacritic, the film has a score of 63 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/batkid-begins |title=Batkid Begins Reviews |publisher=Metacritic |access-date=December 7, 2015}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|3884528}}
{{Batman}}
{{Batman in other media}}
Category:2015 documentary films
Category:American documentary films
Category:New Line Cinema films
Category:Documentary films about children with disabilities
Category:Documentary films about cancer
Category:Documentary films about San Francisco
Category:Documentary films about fandom
Category:Batman in other media
Category:Films shot in San Francisco
Category:2010s English-language films
Category:English-language documentary films
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