Skip to main content

Netflix gives America’s history an R-rated revision in its first animated film

1156710 autosave v1 2 tatum channing
Image used with permission by copyright holder
History can be determined by who is telling it and we are about to get an animated revision of America’s history. Netflix is financing its first original animated film, America: The Motion Picture, a revisionist take on the history of the country’s founding, according to Deadline.

The film will star Magic Mike’s Channing Tatum as George Washington and will be directed by Matt Thompson, who co-created the absurdist animated TV series Sealab 2021 and is a producer on the foul-mouthed animated TV series Archer. Thompson will be joined by his Sealab 2021 co-creator, Adam Reed, who is also the creator of Archer. It is pretty likely we will hear a few F-bombs from one of America’s founding fathers.

What type of foul things Tatum’s Washington will be spewing will be up to America screenwriter Dave Callaham, who co-wrote the script for Sylvester Stalone’s middle-aged men action film The Expendables and is the showrunner for Amazon’s Jean-Claude Van Johnson. America will be Callaham’s first time writing an animated film.

Netflix has released dozens of animated TV series since late 2013 that have garnered the streaming services some of its most lauded praise. The hilariously repugnant BoJack Horseman won Best Animated Series at the 2016 Critics’ Choice Television Awards. All Hail King Julien‘s first two seasons earned it four Daytime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Children’s Animated Program in 2015. Netflix also won a 2017 Daytime Emmy award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Character Animation for the series premier episode of Trollhunter.

New seasons from BoJack Horseman and Trollhunterare expected to arrive by the end of 2017.

No release date for America: The Motion Picture has been set. The film has yet to be placed on Netflix’s schedule of upcoming releases. 

Editors' Recommendations

Keith Nelson Jr.
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Keith Nelson Jr is a music/tech journalist making big pictures by connecting dots. Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY he…
Everything you need to know about The Night Agent season 2
A man holds up his badge in The Night Agent.

One of Netflix's biggest shows of 2023 was The Night Agent. Based on the novel by Matthew Quirk, The Night Agent stars Gabriel Basso as Peter Sutherland, an FBI agent who receives a mysterious call one night while working as a Night Action telephone operator. The call sends Peter down a dangerous road as he fights to uncover a conspiracy involving a mole at the White House. The Night Agent was created by Shawn Ryan, a TV veteran who also developed The Shield, Timeless, and S.W.A.T.

Due to the show's popularity, Netflix renewed The Night Agent for a second season. Production on season 2 is underway, with filming expected to last several months. Here is everything we know about The Night Agent season 2, including the cast, plot, release date, and trailer.
Who is in The Night Agent season 2 cast?

Read more
The 10 most popular TV shows on Netflix right now
A man behind a bar, a heavyset woman sitting there and pointing at him, both smiling in a scene from Baby Reindeer.

Exploring the thousands of titles on Netflix can be both exciting and overwhelming. Content of all types abounds, from dramas and comedies to reality shows and documentaries. It's a good thing there's a list to help narrow your decision by letting you see the most popular Netflix shows. That's right, every week, Netflix releases its list of the 10 most-watched TV shows over a recent seven-day period.

Netflix viewers can't get enough of Baby Reindeer, as Richard Gadd's drama is now the No. 1 show on the streamer. New shows dominated the middle of the charts this week, with Killing Eve season 1, The Circle season 6, O.J.: Made in America, The Upshaws part 5, and Our Living World occupying spots three through seven. Below, we have listed the top 10 shows in the U.S. from April 15 to April 21, along with general information about each show, including genre, rating, cast, and synopsis.

Read more
5 movies leaving Netflix in April 2024 you have to watch now
A clown stares into the mirror.

The end of April means Hollywood is heading into the summer blockbuster season. The new month also signals the removal of many notable films on Netflix. Step Brothers, The Florida Project, The Sting, and the first three Jurassic Park films will be unavailable on Netflix starting May 1.

The list does not stop at the six films mentioned above. We selected five additional films departing Netflix at the end of April. Our choices include an Oscar-winning psychological thriller revolving around jazz, an iconic comedy from the 1990s, and a billion-dollar-grossing comic book villain origin story.
Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

Read more