Timmy Failure Mistakes Were Made Budget
FamilyComedyFantasyMystery1h 39mUpdated
Synopsis
Eleven-year-old Timmy Failure runs Total Failure Inc, the best detective agency in town, with his polar-bear business partner Total. As Timmy works to crack the Case of the Missing Mom Backpack and other Portland-based mysteries, the line between his elaborate inner world and reality grows increasingly thin.
What Is the Budget of Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made (2020)?
The production budget of Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made was approximately $42,000,000, financed by Walt Disney Pictures for Disney+. Of that total, approximately $32,000,000 was spent in-state in Oregon, qualifying the production for the state's Oregon Production Investment Fund film incentive program.
Director Tom McCarthy shot the picture across Portland and surrounding Georgia doubles in 2018, working with Framestore on the practical and digital effects required to bring Timmy's polar-bear partner Total to the screen.
Key Budget Allocation Categories
- Cast Compensation: Salaries for newcomer Winslow Fegley in his feature debut as Timmy, plus Ophelia Lovibond, Craig Robinson, Wallace Shawn, Kyle Bornheimer, and Chloe Coleman.
- Visual Effects: Framestore delivered the fully CG polar bear Total across approximately 600 effects shots, alongside the imaginary world inserts that punctuate Timmy's detective fantasies.
- Production Design: Recreations of Timmy's Portland neighborhood, the school, and the elaborate Failure Mobile Segway sequences supervised by Stephen H. Carter.
- Cinematography: Masanobu Takayanagi's widescreen Portland photography, including extended bike-mounted and Segway-tracking sequences.
- Music and Score: Rolfe Kent's original orchestral score and a licensed pop and indie soundtrack curated for the Disney+ family audience.
- Marketing and Distribution: A Disney+ launch campaign at the platform's February 2020 anchor of original family programming, with international rollout following.
How Does Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made's Budget Compare to Similar Films?
- Stargirl (2020): Budget approximately $20,000,000 | Streaming exclusive. A directly comparable Disney+ original at roughly half the budget, released within weeks of Timmy Failure.
- A Wrinkle in Time (2018): Budget $103,000,000 | Worldwide $132,675,864. A larger-budget theatrical Disney family picture that significantly underperformed against expectations.
- The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008): Budget $90,000,000 | Worldwide $162,815,914. A theatrical family adventure at more than double the budget with stronger global returns.
- Spy Kids (2001): Budget $35,000,000 | Worldwide $147,933,805. A directly comparable kid-detective franchise opener at a slightly smaller budget with major theatrical returns.
Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made Box Office Performance
Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made was released directly to Disney+ on February 7, 2020 with no theatrical run. As a streaming exclusive, the picture generated no box office gross. Disney did not break out specific viewership numbers in the platform's early reporting.
Box Office Breakdown
Timmy Failure Mistakes Were Made
For every $1 invested, Disney evaluates returns through internal Disney+ subscriber and engagement metrics rather than ticket sales.
The picture's commercial logic was tied to Disney+ launch-window programming. Disney removed the picture from Disney+ in May 2023 as part of broader content cost cutting, and the film was re-released to other VOD platforms in September 2023.
Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made Production History
Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made adapts Stephan Pastis's 2013 first novel in the Timmy Failure children's book series, which had sold more than two million copies by 2019. Pastis, best known as the syndicated cartoonist behind Pearls Before Swine, served as co-screenwriter and producer on the film.
Tom McCarthy was attached after his Oscar-winning Spotlight (2015) and the Christmas family film The Cobbler (2014). McCarthy co-wrote the screenplay with Pastis and built the production around newcomer Winslow Fegley in his feature debut.
Principal photography ran from spring through early summer 2018, primarily in Portland, Oregon. The production qualified for Oregon's Production Investment Fund film incentive, spending approximately $32 million in-state and supporting roughly 350 jobs across the seven-month production window.
Awards and Recognition
Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made received nominations at the Saturn Awards for Best Family Streaming Series or Movie. The picture was nominated at the Young Artist Awards for Winslow Fegley's lead performance. The Visual Effects Society recognized Framestore's work on the polar bear Total. The picture appears on multiple critics' lists of the strongest family streaming features of 2020.
Critical Reception
Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made holds an 84 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score of 60. Owen Gleiberman of Variety wrote that McCarthy "delivers a Wes Anderson-adjacent family film with charm and intelligence." Glenn Kenny of The New York Times praised Winslow Fegley's lead performance. Peter Debruge of Variety described the picture as "delightfully odd." Brian Lowry of CNN called the picture a "warmhearted family comedy that adults can enjoy too." The critical response identified the film as one of the strongest of Disney+'s first wave of original family features.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the budget of Timmy Failure (2020)?
The production budget of Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made was approximately $42 million, financed by Walt Disney Pictures for Disney+. Of that total, approximately $32 million was spent in Oregon under the state's Production Investment Fund incentive.
Did Timmy Failure have a theatrical release?
No. The picture was released directly to Disney+ on February 7, 2020 with no theatrical run.
Where was Timmy Failure filmed?
Principal photography took place primarily in Portland, Oregon, in spring and summer 2018. The production qualified for Oregon's Production Investment Fund film incentive.
Who directed Timmy Failure?
Tom McCarthy directed Timmy Failure. McCarthy previously made Spotlight (2015), which won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Is Timmy Failure based on a book?
Yes. The picture adapts Stephan Pastis's 2013 children's novel Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made, the first in a seven-book series that had sold more than two million copies by 2019.
Who plays Timmy Failure?
Winslow Fegley plays Timmy Failure in his feature film debut. He was cast following an extensive search.
Is Total the polar bear real?
No. Framestore created Total as a fully CG character across approximately 600 visual effects shots. Tom McCarthy designed the bear's presence in the live-action frame to reinforce the ambiguity of whether Total exists outside Timmy's imagination.
What did critics think of Timmy Failure?
Critics responded warmly. The picture holds an 84 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes with critics praising the film's charm and Winslow Fegley's lead performance.
Is Timmy Failure still on Disney+?
No. Disney removed the picture from Disney+ on May 26, 2023 as part of a broader content cost-cutting initiative. The picture became available on other VOD platforms in September 2023.
How long is Timmy Failure?
Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made runs 99 minutes.
Filmmakers
Timmy Failure Mistakes Were Made
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