Netflix Picks up Nickelodeon Movie, and It’s Already a Huge Hit

This weekend, Netflix debuted a movie spinoff of the Nickelodeon animated series The Loud House, and it’s already the number 2 movie on the platform overall. The Loud House premiered on Nick in 2016 and has quickly become one of the network’s biggest hits. By picking up the accompanying movie, Netflix is now reaping the rewards of that franchise as well.

The Loud House is an animated sitcom created by Chris Savino about a family with 11 children living in suburban Michigan. It stars Asher Bishop as Lincoln Loud, the middle child and the only boy in the family, with 11 sisters on either side of him. The movie — titled simply The Loud House Movie — tackles this conflict directly, pushing Lincoln to get out of his sisters’ shadows. To do so, he goes looking in the family’s ancestry and discovers their roots in Scotland.

So far, The Loud House Movie is getting relatively positive reviews, including some from people who are not even familiar with the main series. The show has a simple but nuanced premise with a lot of room to explore, and the movie takes full advantage of that as well. Being a feature film, it even takes the liberty to be a little grander in scope than a normal episode.

The Loud House Movie also has the benefit of an A-list cast — including David Tennant, Michelle Gomez, Jill Talley and Brian Stepanek. The movie is written by Jordan Koch, Kevin Sullivan and Chris Viscardi, and directed by Dave Needham.

Savino himself did not work directly on the movie, as he has not worked directly on the series since 2017. Although the show is based closely on Savino’s childhood in the beginning, the writer was fired from the series in October of 2017 due to allegations of sexual harassment. According to a report by Cartoon Brew, rumors of Savino’s behavior have been prominent within the industry for many years.

Savino issued a public apology at the time, saying “I am deeply sorry and I am deeply ashamed. Although it was never my intention, I now understand that the impact of my actions and communications created an unacceptable environment. At every stage of my career, I have sought to uplift my colleagues and cultivate a culture of respect. In this objective, I have failed.”

Savino was later suspended from The Animation Guild as the show went on without him. He has not released any new projects since then, though he continues to get screen credits for productions like this one per union rules. The Loud House Movie is streaming now on Netflix, while the main series is streaming on Paramount+.

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