The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (animated film)

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (titled The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas in the United Kingdom) is a 2018 computer-animated historical drama film written by Mark Herman, produced by Dan Lin and Roy Lee and directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. A remake of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008) and based on the 2006 novel of the same name by John Boyne, the film is set in World War II, and the Holocaust drama relates the horror of a Nazi extermination camp through the eyes of two eight-year-old boys: Bruno (Ian Armitage), the son of the camp's Nazi commander, and Shmuel (Alfie Clarke), a Jewish prisoner. The film was released on September 12 in the United Kingdom and on September 14 in the United States and Canada.

The film stars the voices of Ian Artimage, Alfie Clarke, Carey Mulligan, Ewan McGregor, Olivia Rodrigo and Ryan Reynolds.

The film was produced by Miramax Films and BBC Films, with animation produced by Paramount Animation (through Jam Filled Entertainment and Bardel Entertainment, Inc.) and Toothpaste Animation Studios and distributed by 20th Century Studios in the United Kingdom, Paramount Pictures in the United States and United International Pictures in other territories outside of the United Kingdom and the United States. The film received positive reviews from critics, with critics praising its animation, voice cast (particularly Armitage and Clarke), soundtrack and visual effects, though some criticized its runtime and plot. It was a box office success, grossing $289 million against a production budget of $98 million. It subsequently went on to win multiple awards, including the 2019 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

Plot
Bruno is a young boy living in Berlin in Nazi Germany during World War II. His soldier father, Ralf, an SS officer, gets promoted and relocates the family to the "countryside" (occupied Poland). Living without neighbors, far from any town, and with no friends to play with, Bruno becomes lonely and bored. After spotting people working on what he thinks is a farm – actually a concentration camp – he is forbidden from playing in the back garden.

The tutor of Bruno and his sister Gretel, Herr Liszt, pushes an agenda of antisemitism and Nazi propaganda. This, together with Gretel's infatuation with Lieutenant Kurt Kotler, makes her fanatical in her support for the Third Reich, covering her bedroom wall with posters and portraits of Adolf Hitler. Bruno is confused as the only Jew known to the family, their servant-prisoner Pavel, does not resemble the anti-Semitic caricatures in Liszt's teachings.

Bruno sneaks into the woods, arriving at a barbed wire fence surrounding the camp. He befriends a boy named Shmuel, and their ignorance of the camp's true nature is revealed: Bruno thinks the striped uniforms that Shmuel, Pavel, and the other prisoners wear are pajamas, and Shmuel believes his grandparents died from an illness on the journey to the camp. Bruno meets Shmuel regularly, sneaking him food and playing draughts. He eventually learns that Shmuel is a Jew, brought to the camp with his parents.

Bruno's mother Elsa discovers the reality of Ralf's assignment after Kotler lets slip that the black smoke coming from the camp's chimneys is from burning bodies, and she confronts him. At dinner, Kotler admits his father had left his family for Switzerland to avoid national service. Ralf tells Kotler he should have informed the authorities of his father's "treason". Embarrassed, Kotler beats Pavel for spilling a glass of wine.

Bruno sees Shmuel working in his home, and offers him cake. When Kotler finds Bruno and Shmuel socializing, he berates Shmuel and notices him eating. Shmuel tells Kotler that Bruno offered the cake, which Bruno fearfully denies; with Kotler then telling Shmuel they will have a "little chat" later. Bruno tries to apologize to Shmuel later, but he doesn't reappear at the fence for several days. Bruno clandestinely sees his father and other soldiers reviewing a propaganda film about the conditions of the camp, with them supposedly being able to play games, have meals in a café, and attend concerts. Bruno, thinking it is real, hugs his father.

Kotler, for failing to inform the Nazi authorities about his father's defection, gets transferred to the Eastern Front. Bruno continues returning to the fence, and eventually, Shmuel reappears, with a black eye from Kotler's "little chat". Bruno apologizes and Shmuel forgives him, restarting their friendship.

In Berlin, Ralf's mother Nathalie – who disapproves of the Nazi regime – is killed by an Allied bombing raid. At the funeral, Elsa tries to remove a wreath from the Führer out of respect for Nathalie and her beliefs, but Ralf stops her, causing them to fall out after the service. Back home, Ralf tells Bruno and Gretel that their mother is taking them to live with family where it is safer; in reality, Elsa doesn't want the children living in the vicinity of a concentration camp.

Bruno visits Shmuel before he leaves, and learns that Shmuel's father has disappeared after being transferred to a different work gang. Bruno decides to redeem himself by helping Shmuel find him. Shmuel provides Bruno with a prisoner's striped outfit and a cap to cover his unshaven head, and Bruno digs under the fence to join Shmuel. He is shocked to see the many sick and frail Jews. The boys search for Shmuel’s father in one of the huts, but are suddenly rounded up by the guards.

Gretel and Elsa learn of Bruno's disappearance, and bursts into Ralf's meeting to alert him. Ralf and his men mount a search, with Elsa and Gretel following. A dog tracks Bruno's scent to his discarded clothing, and Ralf enters the camp. Meanwhile Bruno, Shmuel, and the other inmates are told to remove their clothes in preparation for a "shower". They are sent into a gas chamber, as the lights go out while the prisoners are panicking, yelling, and banging on the door. Pellets are poured from a hole in the ceiling.

Seeing that a gassing is taking place and, realizing what has happened, Ralf yells out his son's name in despair. At the fence, Elsa and Gretel hear his cries and fall to their knees; Elsa sobs, while Gretel consoles her and cries.

In the aftermath, outside of the gas chamber door is the prisoners' clothing, implying that all of them, including Shmuel and Bruno, are now dead.

Voice cast

 * Ian Armitage as Bruno, a young German boy.
 * Alfie Clarke as Shmuel, a young Jewish boy.
 * Carey Mulligan as Elsa, Bruno's mother.
 * Ewan McGregor as Ralf, Bruno's father.
 * Olivia Rodrigo as Gretel, Bruno's older sister.
 * Ryan Reynolds as Lieutenant Kurt Kofler.

Production
Production on the animated remake went into development hell. When Miramax Films and BBC Films approached Paramount Animation and Toothpaste Animation Studios about an animated film on the original 2008 film in 2012, Paramount turned down on the idea. Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller also turned down on the idea, as an animated remake on a film referring to World War II was a bad idea. Miramax and BBC kept negotiating with Paramount Animation, and soon came to an agreement. Soon after, film production began in 2016.

Animation took place in Ottawa, Ontario at Jam Filled Entertainment, in Bristol, England at Toothpaste Animation Studios, and in Vancouver, British Columbia at Bardel Entertainment, Inc. Production was finished overseas in Canada, and were shipped to the Paramount Animation studio in Los Angeles, California. The finished budget for production was $98 million.

Release
The film premiered at the London Theater in London, England on September 2, 2018, and was released in the United Kingdom on September 12 by 20th Century Studios and BBC Films for the 2008 film's 10th anniversary, and was released in the United States on September 14 by Paramount Pictures and Miramax Films.

Home media
The film was released on DVD and Blu-Ray on January 18, 2019. It contains special features, such as a behind-the-scenes featurette, a cast interview with Ian Artimage and Alfie Clarke, a scoring session with James Horner, and an interview with writer Mark Herman, directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, and producers Dan Lin and Roy Lee.

Box office
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas opened in 3,829 theaters in the United Kingdom and grossed $28.1 million. In the United States, the film opened with 3,258 theaters, grossing $12.9 million. Initial estimates were around $20-25 million in both the United Kingdom and the United States. The film grossed $125 million in the United States and Canada and $164 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $289 million, making the film a box office success.

Critical response
Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reports an approval rating of 74% based on reviews from 201 critics, with an average rating of 6.8 out of 10. Its critical consensus reads, "Armitage and Clarke's acting stands out and its animation brings light to the film, but the plot for the well-popularized The Boy in the Striped Pajamas drags a lot." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 68 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore assigned the film an average grade of "A" on its A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak collected reviews saying that 87% of audiences gave it a positive review, with 76% of the audience saying they would "definitely recommend it".