Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi 2

Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi 2: The Movie is a 2006 American animated musical adventure comedy film based on the pop/rock duo Puffy AmiYumi, known as the composers of Teen Titans' theme song and the animated television series Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi and it was directed by Lindsey Pollard, and produced by Sam Register, Ramsey Ann Naito, Michael Ouweleen, John Pomeroy, and Charlie Bean. The film is a sequel to 2003's Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi: The Movie and features the voices of Janice Kawaye, Grey DeLisle and Keone Young reprising their roles from the first film and the series, with Anna Faris, Donald Sutherland, Brandy Norwood, Matt Jones, Renée Zellweger, Amy Ryan, Kaitlin Olson (replacing Anne Hathaway and Lara Jill Miller), Ikue Ōtani (replacing Susan Egan and Grey DeLisle) and Veronica Taylor (replacing Tress MacNeille and Janice Kawaye), as well as Lacey Chabert reprising her role the first film. The film takes place after the show's series finale and it is produced by Cartoon Network Studios.

In theaters, a Billy & Mandy short entitled Homesick For School was shown prior to the film. The film was theatrically released by Warner Bros. Pictures under their Warner Bros. Family Entertainment label on September 8, 2006. The film was met with very positive reviews from critics, and like its predecessor, it was a box office success, grossing $86.4 million worldwide against an $15 million budget.

Plot
In the film, the Japanese pop rock duo go around the world to preform new songs on stage as a way to become the world's greatest pop/rock stars of all time. Meanwhile, its subplot focuses on a gang of bad guys who want to capture Yumi and use her musical talents to unleash the Music Lord and fully take over the entire world, just when Julie failed to do so because in the first film, she lost to Puffy AmiYumi in the music battle.

Main Characters

 * Janice Kawaye as Ami Onuki, the main protagonist of the movie.
 * Grey DeLisle as Yumi Yoshimura, the deuteragonist of the movie.
 * Keone Young as Kaz Harada, the tritagonist of the movie.

Guest Stars

 * Anna Faris as Heather Goldberg, another new friend of Ami and Yumi and Tiffany's cousin.
 * Donald Sutherland as Mr. Goldberg, Heather's father.
 * Brandy Norwood as Ms. Goldberg, Heather's mother.
 * Matt Jones as Chuckles, a member of the gangs.
 * Renée Zellweger and Amy Ryan as Beck and Ella, sisters and members of the gangs.
 * Kaitlin Olson as Julie, a former band member of Puffy AmiYumi and new member of the gangs.
 * Allison Janney as Chelsea Blair, Eldwin Blair's wife.
 * Hugh Jackman as a British citizen.
 * Dan Aykroyd as a Canadian citizen.
 * Nathan Fillion and Ryan Reynolds as Bulk and Jock, brothers and members of the gangs.
 * Hal Holbrook as The Music Lord.
 * Patrick Warburton as the Annual Music Festival announcer.
 * Sean Hayes as Wall, AmiYumi's bodyguard and Mayor.
 * Vicki Lewis and Loni Anderson as the Police Officers.
 * Kathy Burke as the backstage manager.
 * Bobby Moynihan as Ned, Heather's brother.
 * Peter Stormare as Eldwin Blair, the leader of a group of gangs.
 * Lacey Chabert as Tiffany, Ami and Yumi's friend and Heather's cousin.
 * Ikue Ōtani as Jang-Keng, Yumi's pet cat.
 * Veronica Taylor as Tekirai, Ami's pet cat.

Production
The same production staff that produced the first film and the animated television series Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi had been approached by Cartoon Network and that they had requested a second film.

When developing the movie, vice president of Cartoon Network Sam Register wanted the film to appeal exclusively to children as the merchandise made it out to be, with more jewelry and necklaces being sold with the characters plastered over it, and even more collection of toys of their favorite characters from the movie, and wanted to make a second movie about how much fame Puffy AmiYumi would have if they travelled around the world to perform brand new songs. Storyboard work on the movie took place between November 25, 2003 and February 13, 2005 and the animation work took place between February 14, 2005 and June 5, 2006.

When they started production on the film, Sam was encouraged by CN to make the second movie for "8 year olds and under." So they upped the family-oriented fun and action and up played the musical and comedy. By the time they finished, the new heads of the Network were so impressed they made a second poppy, colorful kids movie.

Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi 2: The Movie is rated PG for parental guidance.

The film's animation was provided by Renegade Animation, Cyber Chicken Animation, Top Draw Animation, Six Point Harness, Toon City Animation, DQ Entertainment, Titmouse and Mercury Filmworks, with additional animation done at Bardel Entertainment, Yowza! Animation, Inspidea, PiP Animation Services, Boulder Media, Elliott Animation and Philippine Animation Studio.

Soundtrack
Danny Elfman returned to compose the score for the film.

Genre
Animation / Adventure / Comedy / Musical

Promotional tie-ins
McDonald's released eight toys in their Happy Meals to promote the film.

Box office/Commercial reception
Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi 2: The Movie was released in theaters on September 8, 2006. With heavy competition with Click, The Devil Wears Prada, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Monster House, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Barnyard: The Original Party Animals and Everyone's Hero, but a lot of marketing and promotion, the film grossed $86.4 million worldwide against a budget of $15 million.

Critical reception
The film received very positive reviews from critics. Based on 96 reviews, the film has received a 89% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with its consensus reading, "This second film is just as awesome as the first film because of the musical songs that every children will listen to forever". On Metacritic, the film achieved a rating of 69 out of 100, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".

Theatrical release
The film was theatrically released in theaters on September 8, 2006. In theaters, a Billy & Mandy short entitled Homesick For School was shown prior to the film.

Home media
The film was released on DVD on January 9, 2007, in widescreen and full screen editions, by Warner Home Video. It contains an 18-minute featurette, a Billy & Mandy short entitled Homesick For School, The Making of Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi 2: The Movie, featuring interviews with most of the principal cast and crew; a 20-minute animatic segment featuring scenes from the film with dialogue by the original artists the film's trailer. The film was re-released on DVD on May 21, 2013. The film was then released on both Standard Definition Blu-ray and High Definition Blu-ray 3D on May 13, 2014, with both a 3-disc and a 5-disc set.

Trivia

 * This is the first ever feature film to serve as a finale to the series.
 * This is the second and final animated Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi movie to hit theaters.
 * This is the third theatrical film with a wide release in the 2000s from Cartoon Network, after "The Powerpuff Girls Movie" released 4 years prior and  Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi: The Movie   released 3 years prior.
 * This is the second and last theatrical Cartoon Network film to rely solely on Flash animation instead of hand-drawn animation, or computer animation.
 * This is Renée Zellweger 's second animated film, after  Shark Tale  released 2 years prior.
 * This is the first and so far only animated film of Anna Faris' outside Sony Pictures Animation's Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs franchise.
 * The film was released on DVD on January 9, 2007, in widescreen and full screen editions, by Warner Home Video.
 * This is the first and so far only animated film of Ikue Ōtani and Veronica Taylor's outside the Pokémon franchise.
 * In theaters, a Billy & Mandy short entitled Homesick For School was shown prior to the film.
 * This movie has received a 89% approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes.
 * This is Brandy Norwood's second Warner Bros. animated film, after "Osmosis Jones" released 5 years prior.
 * This is Matt Jones' first and so far only animated film to be released theatrically.
 * This is Donald Sutherland's second animated film, after "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within" released 5 years prior.
 * This is the third Cartoon Network movie to have a theatrical release, and so far the first to serve as a sequel.
 * The second film was a box office success like its predecessor because it was colorful and poppy for kids.
 * This is Kaitlin Olson's first animated film, followed by "Finding Dory" released 10 years later.
 * This is Loni Anderson's first animated film to be released theatrically since "All Dogs Go to Heaven" released 16 years prior.
 * This is the very first and only theatrical Cartoon Network film to be released under the Warner Bros. Family Entertainment label.
 * The film made $86.4 million dollars at the box office on a $15 million dollar budget.
 * This is the first animated film of Allison Janney's outside Pixar's Finding Nemo franchise.
 * This is Hugh Jackman's first Warner Bros. animated film, followed by "Happy Feet" released 2 months later.
 * This is Dan Aykroyd's second animated film, after "Antz" released 7 years prior.
 * This is Nathan Fillion and Bobby Moynihan's first and so far only animated film to be released theatrically until the release of "Monsters University", which will be their second animated film.
 * This is Ryan Reynolds' first and so far only animated film to be released theatrically.
 * This is Hal Holbrook's first Warner Bros. animated film to be released theatrically since  Cats Don't Dance''" released 9 years prior.
 * This is Patrick Warburton's second animated film to be released theatrically, after  The Emperor's New Groove   released 6 years prior.
 * This is Sean Hayes's second Warner Bros. animated film to be released theatrically, after  Cats & Dogs''" released 5 years prior.
 * This is the first and so far only animated film of Vicki Lewis' outside Pixar's Finding Nemo franchise.
 * This is Kathy Burke's first animated film, followed by "Flushed Away" released 2 months later.

Credits

 * Main article: Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi 2: The Movie/Credits