{{short description|2017 animated film}} {{Expand language|topic=|langcode=Fr|otherarticle=Mutafukaz (film)|date=May 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Infobox film | name = Mutafukaz | image = File:Mutafukaz_theatrical_poster.jpg | alt = | caption = Theatrical release poster | native_name = <!-- {{Infobox name module|language|title}} or {{Infobox name module|title}} --> | director = {{ubl|Shōjirō Nishimi|Guillaume "Run" Renard}} | producer = {{ubl|Anthony Roux|Eiko Tanaka|Frédéric Puech}} | screenplay = Guillaume "Run" Renard | based_on = {{Based on|''Mutafukaz''|Guillaume "Run" Renard}}<br>''Mutafukaz: Operation Blackhead'' by Team Chman | starring = {{plainlist}} * Orelsan * Gringe * Redouanne Harjane * Féodor Atkine * Kelly Marot {{endplainlist}} | narrator = | music = The Toxic Avenger<br />Guillaume Houzé | editing = Ivy Buirette<br />Marie-Laure Vanglabeke | studio = Ankama Animations<br>Studio 4°C | distributor = Tamasa (France)<br />Parco (Japan) | released = {{Film date|2017|06|13|Annecy Festival|2018|05|23|France|ref2=|2018|10|12|Japan}} | runtime = 94 minutes<ref name="AFC">{{Cite web|url=https://www.annecy.org/programme/index:film_pse-20172859|title=Mutafukaz-Annecy Film Credits|access-date=2018-09-10|archive-date=2018-09-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180910061107/https://www.annecy.org/programme/index:film_pse-20172859|url-status=live}}</ref> | country = France<br />Japan | language = French<ref name="Annecy" /><br />Japanese<ref name="Annecy" /><br />English<ref name="Annecy" /> | budget = | gross = $461,724<ref name="BOM">{{cite web|title=MFKZ (2018)|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=mfkz.htm|website=Box Office Mojo|accessdate=November 22, 2018|archive-date=July 30, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220730133300/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl4127688193/|url-status=live}}</ref>}}
{{Nihongo|'''''Mutafukaz'''''{{efn|An eye dialect of "mother fuckers".}}|ムタフカズ －MUTAFUKAZ－|Mutafukazu|lead=yes|released as '''''MFKZ''''' in some markets}}<ref name="SF Japan">{{Cite web|url=http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2018/09/06/mfkz-in-select-u-s-cinemas-nationwide-on-october-11-16/|title=MFKZ in Select U.S. Cinemas Nationwide on October 11 & 16|access-date=2018-09-10|archive-date=2018-09-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180910061146/http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2018/09/06/mfkz-in-select-u-s-cinemas-nationwide-on-october-11-16/|url-status=live}}</ref> is a 2017 adult animated science fiction film based on the comic series and the short film of the same name.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2017/film/festivals/annecy-first-look-english-trailer-mutafukaz-ankama-1202461884/|title=Annecy: See the First English-Subtitled Trailer for Ankama's 'Mutafukaz' (Exclusive)|first=Jamie|last=Lang|work=Variety|date=June 11, 2017|accessdate=September 9, 2018|archive-date=January 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190105092613/https://variety.com/2017/film/festivals/annecy-first-look-english-trailer-mutafukaz-ankama-1202461884/|url-status=live}}</ref> The film was a co-production between French studio Ankama Animations and the Japanese Studio 4°C,<ref name="Annecy"/> directed by Shōjirō Nishimi and Guillaume "Run" Renard.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2017/film/festivals/annecy-mutafukaz-creator-director-guillaume-run-renard-talks-inspiration-animation-adaptation-1202463189|title=''Mutafukaz'' creator-director Guillaume 'Run' Renard talks inspiration, animation and adaptation|first=Jamie|last=Lang|website=Variety|date=June 12, 2017|access-date=July 10, 2018|archive-date=July 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180711055528/https://variety.com/2017/film/festivals/annecy-mutafukaz-creator-director-guillaume-run-renard-talks-inspiration-animation-adaptation-1202463189/|url-status=live}}</ref> The comic would be published in English as ''MFKZ'' by Sumerian Comics' beginning in June 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bleedingcool.com/comics/behemoth-comics-launch-new-ya-publishing-imprint-happy-tank-for-may/|title=Behemoth Comics Launch New YA Publishing Imprint Happy Tank For May|first=Rich|last=Johnston|website=Bleeding Cool|date=February 22, 2021|access-date=February 22, 2021|archive-date=February 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210222140149/https://bleedingcool.com/comics/behemoth-comics-launch-new-ya-publishing-imprint-happy-tank-for-may/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/47660/behemoth-comics-announces-launch-their-happy-tank-imprint|title=BEHEMOTH COMICS ANNOUNCES THE LAUNCH OF THEIR HAPPY TANK IMPRINT|first=Jeffrey|last=Dohm-Sanchez|website=ICv2|date=February 22, 2021|access-date=February 22, 2021|archive-date=February 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210222171033/https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/47660/behemoth-comics-announces-launch-their-happy-tank-imprint|url-status=live}}</ref> ''Mutafukaz'' was released in France on May 23, 2018, and in Japan on October 12, 2018. At the end of December 2022, it was added to Hulu's streaming platform.
==Plot== A red-haired woman carrying a baby is chased by a group of black-suited men. Some of the men are killed by a black labrador who sprouts tentacles. The woman manages to hide the baby in a dumpster before she is killed by one of the men.
22 years later, the baby is now a man named Angelino, who lives in a run-down apartment in a dystopian Los Angeles named Dark Meat City (DMC) with his friend Vinz and countless "pet" cockroaches. While making a delivery, Angelino is distracted by Luna, a beautiful young woman, and is hit by a truck. This causes Angelino to start having headaches and hallucinate. The MIB, which is led by a white-suited man named Bruce, begin pursuing Angelino. Angelino calls his friend Willy the fruitbat, and they hide in the rundown crime neighborhood of Palm Hills. Angelino and Vinz are later found again by the MIB, who engage the local gangs in a gunfight, killing people from both sides. Elsewhere, a Luchador tells his comrades about a vision he had about a potential evil they must combat.
In the restaurant they frequent, Angelino and Vinz run into Luna, who is actually working with the MIB and gets the two captured. Luna's father, Mr. K, is the leader of an alien race called Macho who have infiltrated the Earth including politicians and the police in order to eventually colonize the planet. Angelino is the child of a Macho father and a human woman which results in unpredictable and potentially powerful combinations that Mr. K wants to exploit. Mr. K tries to brainwash Angelino and convince him to kill his friend Vinz, while Luna switches sides after witnessing Angelino's past. They are rescued by the group of Luchadors who have followed Angelino's pet cockroaches that instinctively tracked Angelino down, and are joined by a scientist named Fagor who was the only one out of several kidnapped scientists working with the Macho.
Randy Crocodile, an agent of the MIB arrives at Willy's house and holds him hostage. Angelino and Vinz decide to return and Angelino rescues Willy. The Luchadores and Fagor build and launch a rocket, triggering it to snow across the country, freezing and killing all of the hidden Macho, while causing a news helicopter to crash, destroying Willy's house and killing Crocodile. Angelino, being half Macho, begins freezing, but is saved by Luna's kiss and she apologizes to him. Bruce arrives for a climactic fight against Angelino, who saves Luna from being killed and refuses to use his Macho powers. Before Bruce takes the opportunity to kill Angelino, the local gangs gun him down as revenge for previously invading their hood and for shooting their leader in the eye.
Two months later, everything goes back to "normal" with people forgetting about the incident. Vinz finally gets a job at the restaurant they frequent. Angelino writes letters to Luna who disappeared after his fight with Bruce despite not knowing where in DMC she is. Willy, who also disappeared after the fight, creates his first music single. Mr. K is shown to have survived and has set up a base on the moon, where he begins sending UFOs to potentially invade earth.
==Voice cast== {| class="wikitable" ! Character !! French !! Japanese !! English |- | Angelino- A down-on-his-luck young man who was born the crossbreed of a human and Macho and discovers that he has extraordinary powers that he activates when he is in high-stress situations. || Orelsan<ref name="AFC"/> || Tsuyoshi Kusanagi || Kenn Michael<ref name="pitchfork">{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/watch-a-new-trailer-for-the-vince-staples-starring-anime-film-mfkz/|title=Watch a New Trailer for the Vince Staples-Starring Anime Film MFKZ|first1=Braudie|last1=Blais-Billie|first2=Matthew|last2=Strauss|work=Pitchfork|date=September 27, 2018|accessdate=October 19, 2018|archive-date=September 20, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920212519/https://pitchfork.com/news/watch-a-new-trailer-for-the-vince-staples-starring-anime-film-mfkz/|url-status=live}}</ref> |- | Vinz- A neurotic and cynical humanoid with a flaming skull for a head and is Angelino's best friend. || Gringe<ref name="AFC"/> || Tokio Emoto || Vince Staples<ref name="pitchfork"/> |- | Willy- An obnoxious and cowardly anthropomorphic orange bat with braces who is a friend of Angelino and Vinz. || Redouanne Harjane<ref name="AFC"/> || Shinnosuke Mitsushima || Dino Andrade<ref name="SF Japan"/> |- | Mister K- the sinister leader of the Machos and Luna's father who is interested in abducting and indoctrinating Angelino. || Féodor Atkine<ref name="AFC"/> || Hidekatsu Shibata || Giancarlo Esposito<ref name="SF Japan"/> |- | Luna- A young Macho woman working for Mr. K and Bruce to capture Angelino but has a change of heart over realizing that it's possible to live a better life through reading his mind. She is Angelino's love interest. || Kelly Marot || Sumire Uesaka || Dascha Polanco<ref name="SF Japan"/> |- | Bruce Macchabée- A ruthless human hitman working for the Machos, is Mr. K's second-in-command, and is the one responsible for murdering Angelino's mother when he was an infant. || Julien Kramer || Hayato Fujii[[:ja:藤井隼|<sup>[ja]</sup>]] || Danny Trejo<ref name="SF Japan"/> |- | El Diablo- The leader of the luchador vigilantes who wears a demon-like mask. || Julien Kramer || Kazushi Sakuraba || Antonio Alvarez |- | Randy Crocodile- Bruce's violent right-hand-man. || Emmanuel Karsen || Songha[[:ja:成河|<sup>[ja]</sup>]] || Michael Chiklis<ref name="SF Japan"/> |- | El Tigre- A cynical luchador with a tiger head instead of an actual mask. || Alain Dorval || Yuki Nakai || Jorge R. Gutierrez<ref name="SF Japan" /> |- | Professor Fagor- a scientist who betrays the Machos and works with the luchadores to save the world. || Gilbert Lévy || Minoru Kihara || Bill Lobley<ref name="SF Japan"/> |- | Popeye / Shakespeare- a large and imposing gangster and supposed leader of the Grapez who speaks in Shakespearian quotes. || Frantz Confiac || Songha || RZA<ref name="SF Japan"/> |}
==Release== ''Mutafukaz'' had its world premiere on June 13, 2017, at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.<ref name="Annecy">{{Cite web|url=https://www.annecy.org/programme:en/index:rdv-200001500411|title=Mutafukaz-Annecy Programme|access-date=2018-09-10|archive-date=2018-09-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180910060944/https://www.annecy.org/programme:en/index:rdv-200001500411|url-status=live}}</ref> The film was released in France on May 23, 2018. Parco released the film in Japan on October 12, 2018.<ref name="WowJapan">{{Cite web|url=https://wowjapan.asia/2018/08/french-japanese-mutafukaz-by-studio-4c-gets-japan-release/|title=French-Japanese "Mutafukaz" by STUDIO 4°C Gets Japan Release!|access-date=2018-09-10|archive-date=2018-09-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180910094437/https://wowjapan.asia/2018/08/french-japanese-mutafukaz-by-studio-4c-gets-japan-release/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.screendaily.com/news/celluloid-dreams-sells-mutafukaz-to-uk-germany-exclusive/5126650.article|title=Celluloid Dreams sells 'Mutafukaz' to UK, Germany (exclusive)|first=Melanie|last=Goodfellow|work=Screen Daily|date=February 15, 2018|accessdate=September 9, 2018|archive-date=June 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612142651/https://www.screendaily.com/news/celluloid-dreams-sells-mutafukaz-to-uk-germany-exclusive/5126650.article|url-status=live}}</ref> GKIDS released the English dub of the film in a limited theatrical run in the U.S. and Canada on October 11 and October 16, 2018, with an R Rating for "bloody violence, language and some sexual content", the first GKIDS release to have that rating.<ref name="SF Japan"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.awardscircuit.com/2018/07/26/gkids-picks-up-north-american-rights-to-mfkz|title=GKIDS picks up North American Rights to ''MFKZ''|last=French|first=Alan|date=July 26, 2018|website=Awards Circuit|access-date=September 8, 2018|archive-date=September 8, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180908202547/http://www.awardscircuit.com/2018/07/26/gkids-picks-up-north-american-rights-to-mfkz/|url-status=dead}}</ref> MFKZ was added to Hulu's streaming platform at the end of December 2022.
==Reception== On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a score of 39% based on 18 reviews with an average rating of 4.90/10.<ref name="RT">{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mfkz/|title=MFKZ (2018)-Rotten Tomatoes|website=Rotten Tomatoes|access-date=April 20, 2022|archive-date=March 15, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240315071259/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mfkz|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Notes== {{Notelist}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{Official website|http://www.mutafukaz.com|Official website}} * {{IMDb title|4717402|Mutafukaz}} * {{Official website|http://mutafukaz.jp|Official Japanese website}} * {{Official website|https://gkids.com/films/mfkz|Official GKIDS Films website}}
{{Studio 4°C}}
Category:2001 introductions Category:2006 comics debuts Category:2010s French animated films Category:2017 Japanese films Category:2017 anime films Category:2017 crime films Category:2017 films Category:Animated films based on French comics Category:Anime-influenced animated films Category:Features based on short films Category:Animated films about extraterrestrial life Category:French adult animated films Category:French comics Category:2010s hood films Category:Japanese adult animated films Category:Media franchises introduced in 2001 Category:Studio 4°C Category:African-American animated films