Airplane 4: One Last Flight

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Airplane 4: One Last Flight is a 2021 Robloxian animated horror-adventure film produced by Bony Pictures Animation and Ponchokings Animation and released by Columbia Pictures. Serving as the fourth installment in the Airplane franchise, it is a sequel to Airplane: The Prequel (2019). The film was directed by Daniel Graham, Sam May, Harley Willis, Jacob Sanchez and Mekhi Melton, produced by Harvey Lloyd, Sebastian Gibson, Tyler Price, Taylor Hunt, Oscar Robinson and Emmanuel Joyce and written by Tommy Kennedy, Frankie Holmes, Harrison Hunt, Garrett Barrera and Jeffrey Rivera.

The film stars the voice actors of Tanner Hart, Reed Cooke, Gabe Kaur, Lesley Chapman, Ash Perry, Jordan Brooks, Alexis Mcdaniel, Scarlett Cooke, Daisy Burton, Emma Butler, Laylah Castaneda, Bailey Solomon, Jordan Zimmerman, Jo Franklin, Denny Harvey, Brynn Murray, Shay Thompson, Fran Jenkins, Will Roberts, Jesse Perkins and Kerry Barry, Noah Byrne, Louis Black, Ewan Dawson, Morgan Davies, Zak Watts and Johnathon Gutierrez. The film's plot revolves around a group of Robloxians who are taking a plane to the Bloxhamas for a vacation. Things take a turn for the worst, though, as a massive hooded skeleton musters an army and makes an attempt to both curse and infect the people of Robloxia.

Development of Airplane 4: One Last Flight began right before the last stages of production for Airplane: The Prequel were completed in 2018. The initial concept for the movie was to tell a fresh tale with the same cast, but that plan was abandoned in favor of telling the same "story" again. With the intention of functioning as "another sequel" and beginning a "brand new adventure" for new fans, the picture was given the go-ahead two months after its theatrical debut. A number of plot concepts eventually led to the screenplay being finalized in time for the COVID-19 pandemic, which had a significant impact on production. The script took more than a year to produce since the writers had "no idea" what to do with the property. The animation was primarily produced and spoken at home, with the majority of the work taking place between October 2019 and late November 2020, almost a full year later.

Airplane 4: One Last Flight was released in the United States and Canada on January 26, 2021. It grossed over $353 million worldwide, making it one of the least successful films in the franchise. However, it opened with the largest opening for an animated movie since the pandemic began, and it was the biggest hit for the studio overall, ranking tenth in terms of box office receipts and ranking as the highest-grossing animated movie of 2021 until Sing 2 overtook it in December 2021. Airplane 4: One Last Flight received mostly mixed-to-positive reviews from critics, who praised for the animation, humor, story, action scenes, musical score and characters development, but criticized the writing, pacing and directing. Despite the film's title "One Last Flight" stated that this film was the final installment in the franchise, a sequel and spin-off, Airplane World, was announced in March 2021 and eventually released in November 2023.

Plot

The movie begins with the Robloxians being roused from their sleep by their father, who goes by the nickname "Dad." He tells them about the flight they have to take today and threatens to leave them behind if they don't pack their bags as they are making hamburgers in the backyard. Then, Robloxians load three things from their bedrooms into their bags. When Dad has done making the hamburgers, he summons the Robloxians outside to eat. Dad and the Robloxians listen to a radio newscast after feeding burgers to each Robloxian. The suspect in the alleged failed attempt on President Ronald's life disappeared without a trace when Blox Force One landed, according to the radio. Dad then realizes that since they are running late for their trip, they would never get it to the airport in time on foot. He hides fourteen little planes in the garage, where the Robloxians pursue him. Next, as they maneuver the aircraft through a sector, the Robloxians avoid obstacles. When they get there, Dad tells them it's illegal to take that shortcut and wishes they hadn't been seen. Dad and the Robloxians had to go through the boarding gate and pick up a ticket when they reach to the airport. The Robloxians then have to pass through a metal detector, but they are stopped when Dad's "weapons" are discovered. After Dad and the Robloxians are apprehended by security guards, they are told that they are in trouble for taking the illegal shortcut

Then the security guys leave, and Dad watches his aircraft take off without him from the sidelines. Then, something strange appears on the runway: a red circle, which the Robloxians notice. Upon blowing up a large airplane that had already taken flight, the enormous hooded skeleton Skeletox approaches the Robloxians and taunts them, declaring that his scheme is complete. Before leaving, he claims to have assembled an army of irate Robloxians and is powerful enough to rule Robloxia by himself. When the security guards do come back, Skeletox has transformed them into hideous beings. The Robloxians then engage in combat with them, using baseball bats they discovered within the chamber to win. Dad advises the Robloxians to leave him behind as he has become infected by the skeleton's curse. To get away, they climb up the luggage conveyor belt to the ceiling and open a ventilation shaft. Then, they come upon an enigmatic Robloxian who introduces himself as Poncho, a former vice president of Robloxia and ex-general of the Robloxia State Army.

After allegedly staging his own death, he has been engaged in combat with Skeletox. He leads the Robloxians into the street, where they encounter a figure in a cloak. The man introduces himself as Ronald and says he survived the crash of Airplane 3 even though he transformed into a monster. After being shot in the face in Airplane 2, the skeleton's spell over him became less strong, but Skeletox's death is the only way to totally break it. When General Poncho declines to assist Ronald, the Roblox community as a whole decides to follow Poncho. He leads the Robloxians to an underground labyrinth where he says negative energy is coming from. Poncho and the Robloxians are then attacked by monsters afflicted by the Skeleton's curse. Then Poncho and the Robloxians attempt to defeat the monsters in the maze, but they are unsuccessful. In the maze, they come upon an altar to Skeletox, where a planar effigy is placed as a sacrifice in front of a statue of the figure. The Robloxians and Poncho fall into a huge chamber when a trapdoor opens. Jack, Ronald, and Pilot Keilly are in cages suspended from the ceiling. Ronald tells the Robloxians they are about to fall victim to a trap as a giant Skeletox that claims to be at full strength appears from the center of the room.

He says that he fed off the fear and anxiety of other Robloxians, especially when they were on aircraft, and that he only used Ronald to scare them because he was too weak. After that, there's a brawl. When Skeletox is imprisoned for a while, the Robloxians get a sword and use it to kill the creature. The screen becomes white as he dies after that. Subsequently, Jack, Pilot Keilly, Ronald, Poncho, and President Donald Trumpblox make an appearance on stage to congratulate the Robloxians. The Father then makes a second appearance and welcomes Pilot Keilly, who discloses that she is the mother of the Robloxians. General Poncho had vanished by the time the Robloxians turn back, and Ronald declares at the end of the film that he will be rescuing Roblox no matter where he is.

Voice cast

The names of the characters are published and taken from the website, however they are just called "Robloxians" in the film.

  • Tanner Hart as Rory Clark
  • Reed Cooke as Jody Anderson
  • Gabe Kaur as Vic Lawson
  • Lesley Chapman as Human Donald and Skeletox
  • Ash Perry as Billy Wilson
  • Jordan Brooks as Drew Mccormick
  • Alexis Mcdaniel as Oliver Cooper
  • Scarlett Cooke as Imogen Allen
  • Daisy Burton as Layla Ward
  • Emma Butler as Anahi Berry
  • Laylah Castaneda as Adrianna Montgomery
  • Bailey Solomon as Rachel George
  • Jordan Zimmerman as Tyler Stevens

Additional voice actors were Jo Franklin, Denny Harvey, Brynn Murray, Shay Thompson, Fran Jenkins, Will Roberts, Jesse Perkins, Kerry Barry, Noah Byrne, Louis Black, Ewan Dawson, Morgan Daviey, Zak Watts and Johnathon Gutierrez.

Production

Development

Development of Airplane 4: One Last Flight started in 2018, just before Airplane: The Prequel (2019)'s final phases of production were being finished. Voice actor Jackson Thomas had previously said that a sequel was "already planned for the franchise" and that Columbia Pictures, the company that had released the first two films, was in the process of "signing" on to release The Prequel when "the film actually get made" when the movie was still in production. The Prequel was one of the biggest animated films in the franchise and a huge success for the company. Originally, the film was scheduled to begin production immediately before The Prequel's release, but it had to wait if the first movie was successful. According to reports, the idea for a sequel to The Prequel started by December 2018, with several producers "at the talks" to produce the picture. For that reason, in March 2019, the movie received its initial green light. Columbia Pictures said on April 9, 2019, two months after The Prequel's release, that an unnamed sequel to the franchise was "in the works" at Bony Pictures Animation and Ponchokings Animation, with Sam May slated to helm the film. Sam May directed the animated comedy Mercenary of Exploration (2018), so she didn't work on the third movie but was a producer on the first two. When asked if she would like to direct the sequel, May initially said no but eventually agreed to take on the role.

Filmmaker Alfredo Baldwin had first said he was "on board" for a "super sercet film" with a theme of "planes and all that stuff," but he then withdrew that statement due to his obligations with the TV show Emperor Without a Goal (2020–2021). The movie was described as "in early development" on June 24, 2019, and it was disclosed that producers including Sebastian Gibson, Tyler Price, and Taylor Hunt have been involved in its production. In August 2019, Sebastian Gibson said that the movie was "set to have one of the best stories ever told in cinema history," and in September of the same year, director Sam May made a similar statement. On September 27, Columbia Pictures unveiled the first glimpse of the sequel and further details about it during a press conference about forthcoming movies that are scheduled to release that month. Officially announced on November 3, 2019, the sequel's official title is Airplane 4: One Last Flight. The producers stated that, after more than 21 years, One Last Flight "will and would be the" last episode in the franchise. According to a statement made by Columbia Pictures on December 22, the movie was expected to be completed by the end of 2020 and is "on track for a release sometime around 2021". Directors Mekhi Melton, Jacob Sanchez, and Harley Willis were also hired to join the production team for the impending sequel.

Writing

Tommy Kennedy, Frankie Holmes, Harrison Hunt, Garrett Barrera, and Jeffrey Rivera wrote the original screenplay for Airplane 4: One Last Flight. These writers had previously contributed to many comedy and adventure films, television shows, and some of them had even co-produced the previous entries in the franchise. Remington Macdonald, who had written for several adventure and horror films, also wrote a story based on the film. In an attempt to make the script as "real and smooth" as possible, the authors wrote many treatments for the plot as a whole before work on the script started in January 2019. The script was written within the course of around a year, beginning in 2019 and ending on January 9, 2020, as disclosed by Garrett Barrera. Though their stories are distinct, all of the Airplane franchise's stories center around a group of Robloxians trying to slay the Monster both outside and within the plane they were traveling on.

When One Last Flight, originally as the last movie in the series, was being developed, the screenwriters were working on the screenplay but were constantly having problems, to the point that they were unsure about the plot. The writers sought to add some "interesting" elements to the narrative because of the similar premise. One such suggestion was a pitch by Jeffrey Rivera, who suggested adding "small planes" and have the monster pursue the characters. After his proposal was approved, the father ultimately gets 14 little aircraft and flies them through "random objects" in the movie. The gang was seen resting soundly in the movie's opening scene, but shots of the outside world were constantly edited in. Tommy Kennedy apparently proposed the idea for the sequence, saying he wanted to bring "some peace" to the movie.

Casting

The cast of Airplane 4: One Last Flight was entirely fresh, just like in the first three movies. Voice recording took place over the course of four months, starting in January 2020 and ending in April of the same year. Two cast members, Tanner Hart and Reed Cooke, were "in talks" to voice three roles in the movie, Columbia Pictures said on March 20, 2019. Voice actor Tanner Hart, who would play one of the group members, said he was excited to "express his feelings on the big screen" and that "voicing a character" was exciting for him "like always". Voice actor Reed Cooke, who played the father in the movie, said he didn't want to at first since he was working on and producing the television show Planes. However, in the end, once the show was cancelled later that year, Cooke made the decision to play the father. Cooke behaved as "a mother" to the children and took inspiration from some of the fathers in other animated television programs to get the tone and voice he sought.

Lesley Chapman, who provided the voices for both the human Donald and the monster Skeletox, first said that he would be the voice "for someone special" after the movie's initial unveiling. Marvel Villains prompted Lesley Chapman to take that duty "into his own hands" when he was working at the recording studio. Lesley claimed that the audience would be "scared ofhim" and that he would "always try to make his own voice perfect." He was hired to perform the voice work because he "could likely become one of the big villains" in the franchise, but he also did it because he wanted to "take the role very seriously" and offer the franchise "one more villain" to play. Additional voice performers, including Jo Franklin, Denny Harvey, Brynn Murray, Shay Thompson, Fran Jenkins, and Will Roberts, were allegedly cast as the group's voices after the teaser trailer for the film was released in June 2020. Speaking for one of the group, Denny Harvey said that while "very scary," "voicing someone" was also a lot of fun.

Music and soundtrack

Jay Harris, Bennett Frazier, and Messiah Munoz wrote the soundtrack for Airplane 4: One Last Flight. Jay Harris, Bennett Frazier, and Messiah Munoz all joined the project in December 2019 and were reported to be "activating on writing and composing the music" for the movie.

Release

Marketing

In a 20-second video released on November 3, 2019, the title of Airplane 4: One Last Flight was revealed. On June 29, 2020, the first teaser trailer for the movie was unveiled, introducing the audience to the characters, storyline, and overarching concept. November 8, 2020 saw the release of the first official trailer via social media, and December 24, 2020 saw the release of the second. Just two weeks before the premiere in the United States on January 12, 2021, the official final trailer was unveiled.

Theatrical

Airplane 4: One Last Flight was released in the United States and Canada on January 26, 2021, and in the United Kingdom on January 28, 2021.

Reception

Box office

Airplane 4: One Last Flight grossed over $353 million worldwide ($216 million in the United States and Canada). It was initially the highest-grossing animated picture of 2021 until December of the same year, when Sing 2 surpassed it. Nevertheless, despite its success, Airplane 4 was considered the lowest-grossing movie in the entire franchise. This was primarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the emergence of streaming services, after which the film's release on those platforms was announced precisely one month later, severely hurting the movie's box office performance. The film was projected to grossed over $29 million from 2,540 theaters over its five-day weekend.

It was considered "the lowest" opening day for the movie, with only roughly $10 million, which reduced the anticipated weekend box office totals. Nevertheless, by the end of the week, the movie had made around $102 million in total revenue globally, making it the highest-grossing movie in the US. With the majority of its revenue coming from the US and Canada, Airplane 4 brought in a total of $164 million globally at the end of its second week of release. After seeing a sharp decline in box office receipts in the third and fourth weeks, Airplane 4 was eventually taken out of the top five list of all films six weeks later. By March 1, 2021, Airplane 4: One Last Flight grossed over $306 million. The theatrical run for the film ended officially on July 5, 2021.

Critical reception

The majority of critics gave Airplane 4: One Last Flight moderate to good reviews, praising the animation, comedy, plot, action sequences, musical score, and character development but criticizing the script, pace, and directing.

Sequel

A sequel, Airplane World! was released in the United States on November 1, 2023. The two teens, Alex (Luke) and Sophie (Laura), who are sixteen and fourteen years old, are the main characters of the narrative, along with a parent and a group of about eight others. The fictional Roblox planet, a reimagined 2010s, serves as the scenario. Since the government is attempting to eradicate them, they must flee and prevent all of the villains from the previous movies, including Monster, from taking over the globe.