A Raunchy Seth Rogen Movie Is Streaming For Free
One of Seth Rogen’s most raunchy movies is now available to stream for free. The first R-rated CG movie Sausage Party is available on Amazon Prime Video for free with ads and on Freevee. According to Flix Patrol, the film is already ranked near #5 on Freevee’s top 10 charts of the week.
Seth Rogen’s 2016 raunchy comedy was directed by Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan, who also worked on Universal Pictures’ The Adams Family films. The comedy was considered a direct parody of Disney and Pixar animated projects. It follows an anthropomorphic sausage who discovers what happens when groceries are purchased at the grocery store.
In addition to Seth Rogen, the voice cast includes Michael Cera as a deformed sausage named Barry, Kristen Wiig as a hot dog bug named Brenda, Edward Norton as a neurotic bagel named Sammy, and many more. The film is the first 3D computer-animated feature to be rated R by the Motion Pictures Association of America. The Canadian-based studio Nitrogen Studios handled animation for the project.
Following the film’s release, anonymous comments regarding the poor conditions of the animators began surfacing online. An article from Cartoon Brew mentioned allegations that the animators at Nitrogen Studios were forced to work overtime by co-director Greg Tiernan without any extra pay. The article painted an ugly picture of the Seth Rogen-led animated comedy and helped to lead one of the production companies behind the project, Annapurna, to step in to ensure overtime rates were paid.
Sources close to the situation claimed that in addition to animators not being paid for overtime, “unfair pressure tactics” were “used against the [animation] team.” Some of the tactics included intimidation, “utilizing fear tactics that demotivate and cause distress,” and “implying that other departments were also working overtime.” Nitrogen later was said to have responded to an open letter regarding the unfair tactics imposed on the animators, calling for signatories for anyone wanting to remove their names. Despite the controversy, the Seth Rogen-led animated comedy grossed over $97 million at the box office.
Another controversial factoid regarding the film was that the film initially was rated NC-17 by the MPAA. After Seth Rogen submitted the film, the MPAA gave it the NC-17 rating due to the visibility of pubic hair during a food orgy scene. After the pubic hair was removed, the MPAA rated it R.
Reviewers of the Seth Rogen comedy praised it for its bold take on the animated genre. Richard Roeper called it “smart” and “funny as hell,” citing the film’s excessive profanity. The film currently sits at 82% on Rotten Tomatoes, with the critical consensus also referencing the excessive profanity and a “surprisingly thought-provoking storyline.”
Seth Rogen expressed interest in a sequel after the film’s theatrical release. During an interview with Fandango, Rogen discussed how the original ending of Sausage Party could’ve led to a potential follow-up. The original ending was shown to fans in attendance at South By Southwest and revealed the animated characters stepping through a portal that took them into our live-action real world.
In the same interview, Seth Rogen also teased plans for creating more R-rated animated CG features. He mentioned that there was “no precedent” for the type of project before Sausage Party and hoped fan reaction would convince studios to create more like it. Despite its impressive first-weekend box office opening, the film never received a sequel.
Outside of Sausage Party, Seth Rogen has provided his voice for other projects. He’s currently in production of Mufasa: The Lion King, in which he will reprise his role as Pumbaa. Rogen also voiced the character Mantis in Dreamwork’s Kung-Fu Panda franchise.
While the Seth Rogen animated comedy didn’t receive a sequel, it received a video game tie-in. Rogen’s character Frank and Kristen Wiig’s Brenda appeared in the mobile fighting game Sausage Legend. The game was part of a limited series event that ran from March 6th through July 31st, 2017.
When discussing other projects in the Sausage Party world, Seth Rogen referenced the classic animated, live-action hybrid Who Framed Roger Rabbit? The actor stated he found the style of the film very exciting and that the film itself was one of his favorite movies. While the door on a Sausage Party 2 isn’t shut for good, it certainly seems unlikely it will get made at this point.
