Adam SandlerHappy Madison Productions’ production company released a holiday-themed animated film in the early 2000s, and after the bombing, it would be two decades before they worked on another animated project. Happy Madison Productions was founded by Sandler in December 1999. The name comes from two of the actor’s most popular films, which he co-wrote with Tim Herlihy – Happy Gilmore And Billy Madison. Since then, the company has produced over 50 films, mostly live-action comedy projects. However, Happy Madison Productions has also released two animated films that couldn’t be more different.

Some of the most notable stories from Happy Madison Productions’ 50+ films include: Mr. actions, Anger management, 50 first dates, Click, Adult, Crimeand more. Essentially, the company’s standout films are also Sandler’s best films. Unfortunately, not all of them managed to become a box office success or receive positive reviews from critics and audiences alike. One of the Happy Madison Productions films that performed horribly on both counts was an animated film This apparently deterred the company from making another one of its kind for over 20 years.

Eight Crazy Nights was a box office hit in 2002

The Hanukkah film, which was animated for adults, was also a failure with critics

Happy Madison Productions and Adam Sandler made their first animated film in 2002, which was a massive failure. Eight crazy nights stars Sandler as Davey Stone, a Jewish man (and a miser) who gets into trouble with the law while on vacation in his small hometown. To avoid prison time, Davey agrees to do community service for Whitey Duvall, an older man who volunteers as a referee for the city’s youth basketball league and has a passion for the holidays. Through Eight crazy nightsWhitey works hard to change Davey’s view of his town, Hanukkah, and life in general.

Unfortunately, Eight crazy nights grossed just $23.8 million at the box office against a budget of $34 million, and critics gave it poor reviews. To Rotten tomatoesSandler’s infamous Christmas bombshell has a Tomatometer score of 13 percent. The audience score is now at 50 percent.

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Many criticized the film’s humor, unlikeable protagonist, story, and more, resulting in one of the worst-received films of Sandler’s career. Eight crazy nightsHowever, the reception was a surprise for many. It came near the end of Sandler’s most productive period as a filmmaker, as the ’90s were full of hits for the actor. So the bombing of Sandler’s film was certainly a shock, and This caused Happy Madison Productions to hesitate to release another animated project for over 20 years.

It took over twenty years for Happy Madison to produce another animated film

Netflix released Leo in 2023

Finally, 21 years after the release of Eight crazy nightsHappy Madison Productions developed another animated film. Liona Netflix musical comedy, premiered in 2023 and has definitely made up for the production company in terms of its ability to produce high-quality (and well-received) animated projects. Sandler’s hit Netflix film scored an 84 percent rating on Tomatometer Rotten tomatoes. The audience was obviously enthusiastic too Lionas The film’s viewership is an impressive 90 percent.

Lion is quite a comeback for Happy Madison Productions after that Eight crazy nights (although it took over two decades). It certainly helps that the two films couldn’t be more different. Whereas Eight crazy nights is aimed at adults and has a cynical tone, Lion is suitable for children and adults and is heartwarming. The animation styles of the films also differ. Eight crazy nights uses 2D animation while Lion features CGI animation, which makes the latter film much more visually appealing. Ultimately, Sandler’s animated Netflix comedy was successful enough to get a sequel, which is pretty telling in comparison Eight crazy nights‘ Reception.

Adam Sandler was no stranger to animation

Sandler starred in other animated projects outside of Happy Madison

Although it took Happy Madison Productions 21 years to release its second animated film, it wasn’t that long before Adam Sandler returned to the medium. Ten years later Eight crazy nights​​​​​​​ bombed, Sandler played the main character in “Sony”. Hotel Transylvania. He reprized the role in the two sequels -​​​​​​​ Hotel Transylvania 2 And Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer vacation —​​​​​​​ with every episode at Sandler’s Hotel Transylvania Franchise did better at the box office than the last one.

So, Sandler has appeared in five animated films throughout his career. During his first, Eight crazy nightsperformed worst, the actor’s latest animated project, Lionwas one of his best-received films. Perhaps LionSuccess will be convincing Adam Sandler and Happy Madison Productions to continue releasing animated films.

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Eight crazy nights

Release date

November 27, 2002

Duration

76 minutes

Pour

Adam Sandler, Jackie Sandler, Austin Stout, Kevin Nealon, Rob Schneider, Norm Crosby

director

Seth Kearsley

writer

Brooks Arthur, Allen Covert, Brad Isaacs, Adam Sandler

Sources: Netflix by Tudum, Rotten Tomatoes