Willy's Wonderland
Willy's Wonderland (previously known as Wally's Wonderland), is an upcoming American action horror-comedy film directed by Kevin Lewis, written by G. O. Parsons based on a short film called, "Wally's Wonderland" that Parsons had made [1] and produced by Nicolas Cage, Jeremy Davis, David Ozer, Mike Nilon and veteran actor/producer Grant Cramer.[2][3] It stars Cage, Emily Tosta, Ric Reitz, Chris Warner, Kai Kadlec, Christian Delgrosso, Caylee Cowan, Terayle Hill, Jonathan Mercedes, David Sheftell, and Beth Grant. The film follows a quiet drifter who is tricked into cleaning up an abandoned family entertainment center haunted by eight murderous animatronic mascots. The film has received a small cult following prior to the film release due to comparisons with Five Nights At Freddy's.
| Willy's Wonderland | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Kevin Lewis |
| Produced by |
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| Written by | G. O. Parsons |
| Starring |
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| Music by | Émoi |
| Cinematography | David Newbert |
| Edited by | Ryan Liebert |
Production company |
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| Distributed by | Screen Media Films |
Release date |
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Running time | 82 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $5 million |
Willy's Wonderland is scheduled to be released through video on demand on February 12, 2021, by Screen Media Films. It was originally set for a worldwide theatrical release on October 30, 2020, but was postponed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic causing the closure of theaters across the globe.
Premise
Stranded in the remote town of Hayesville, Nevada, a quiet drifter agrees to work as a night-shift janitor at Willy's Wonderland, a once-successful family entertainment center. However, his tasks suddenly become an all-out fight for survival when the restaurant's eight animatronic characters come to life and try to kill him. Now, teaming up with a group of teens who also found their way into the building, he will be forced to defend himself in a desperate race to survive until the next morning.[4]
Cast
- Nicolas Cage as the Janitor
- Emily Tosta as Liv Hawthorne
- Beth Grant as Sheriff Eloise Lund
- David Sheftell as Evan Olson
- Kai Kadlec as Chris Muley
- Caylee Cowan as Kathy Barnes
- Terayle Hill as Bob McDaniel
- Christian Delgrosso as Aaron Powers
- Jonathan Mercedes as Dan Lorraine
- Ric Reitz as Tex Macadoo
- Chris Warner as Jed Love
- Grant Cramer as Jerry Wallace
- Chris Padilla as Jim Hawthorne
- Olga Cramer as Judy Hawthorne
Animatronic characters
- Jiri Stanek as Willy Weasel
- Émoi as the voice of Willy Weasel
- Jessica Graves Davis as Siren Sara
- Jessica Graves Davis as the voice of Siren Sara
- Taylor Towery as Cammy Chameleon
- Madisun Leigh as the voice of Cammy Chameleon
- Chris Schmidt Jr. as Tito Turtle
- Abel Arias as the voice of Tito Turtle
- Austin Perez as Gus Gorilla
- Mark Gagliardi as the voice of Gus Gorilla
- B. J. Guyer as Ozzie Ostrich
- Abel Arias as the voice of Ozzie Ostrich
- Christopher Bradley as Arty Alligator
- Duke Jackson as Knighty Knight
Production
Development
Originally titled as Wally's Wonderland, the film was announced in October 2019 by Screen Media Films. The change of name was due to legal issues, and was later changed to Willy's Wonderland to conserve finance. It was confirmed via Deadline that Nicolas Cage had joined the cast with producers Jeremy Davis from JD Entertainment and veteran actor Grant Cramer from Landafar Entertainment in collaboration with Mike Nilon from Cage's Saturn Films.[4][5] Kevin Lewis was hired as director, following a screenplay written by G. O. Parsons. In February 2020, Emily Tosta, Beth Grant, Ric Reitz, Chris Warner and Caylee Cowan joined the cast.[6]
Filming
Principal photography began in February 2020 for a month in Atlanta, Georgia.[7]
Release
Willy's Wonderland was previously scheduled to be theatrically released on October 30, 2020 before being removed from the release calendar due to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. It was announced on January 15, 2021 that the film will be available for digital distribution worldwide through a video on demand release on February 12, 2021.[8]
Sequel
It was announced by G.O. Parsons that if the film gets enough support and love, that a sequel would be possible.
References
- McNary, Dave (February 6, 2020). "Film News Roundup: Charles Roven's Atlas Entertainment Launches Literary Division". Variety. Archived from the original on April 7, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
- "Watch Nicolas Cage battle giant animatronic animals in 'Willy's Wonderland' teaser". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 15, 2021. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
- "'Willy's Wonderland' Trailer Traps Nicolas Cage in a Nightmare World of Killer Animatronics". MovieWeb. January 15, 2021. Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
- Wiseman, Andreas (October 29, 2019). "Nicolas Cage To Star In Genre Thriller 'Wally's Wonderland'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 29, 2019. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
- "Nicolas Cage to Star in Twisted Theme Park Thriller 'Wally's Wonderland' | Hollywood Reporter". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 29, 2020. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
- Wiseman, Andreas (February 5, 2020). "'Party Of Five' Star Emily Tosta Joins Nicolas Cage In Genre Thriller 'Wally's Wonderland'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 8, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
- Miska, Brad (February 22, 2020). "New Shot of Nicolas Cage in 'Wally's Wonderland'". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on April 7, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- "Willy's Wonderland Trailer: Nicolas Cage Must Slay Animatronics To Survive". Screen Rant. January 15, 2021. Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2021.