Lucky (2019 film)

Lucky is a made-for-television animated film produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studio. An original Nickelodeon film, it features the voices of Mark Hamill, Kira Kosarin, Ron Funches, Flula Borg, and Gunnar Sizemore. The film follows an unlucky leprechaun who goes on a quest with his three best friends, Shannon, Sammy, and Reggie, to retrieve the pot of gold stolen from his family in order to restore their luck.^[1]

Lucky
Genre	Adventure Comedy
Written by	Bart Coughlin Bill Motz Bob Roth
Directed by	Casey Burke Leonard
Starring	Mark Hamill Kira Kosarin Ron Funches Flula Borg Gunnar Sizemore
Composer	Brad Breeck
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producers	David J. Steinberg Darren Thomas Jason Meier
Producer	MacGregor Middleton
Editor	Christopher Hink
Running time	40 minutes
Production companies	Nickelodeon Animation Studio Bardel Entertainment (animation services)
Original release
Network	Nickelodeon
Release	March 8, 2019 (2019-03-08)

It premiered on Nickelodeon on March 8, 2019.^[2][1]

Plot

Generations before the main story, the McSweeney clan lose their priceless pot of gold to a marauding dragon, condemning every family member to chronic misfortune.^[3] Hap McSweeney, the clan’s eternally optimistic youngest leprechaun, endures collapsing houses and classroom ridicule yet remains determined to restore his family’s fortune.^[2]

During a school excursion to Fortune City, Hap and his three best friends—Shannon, a nimble elf; Sammy, a gentle giant; and Reggie, a gadget-loving gremlin—discover that legendary tycoon Houlihan safeguards a familiar cauldron of shimmering coins inside his high-tech mansion.^[1] Convinced the treasure is rightfully theirs, the quartet plan a heist that mirrors the intricate manoeuvres of an ‘’Ocean’s Eleven’’ caper. Each stage of their break-in, from cracking enchanted vaults to outwitting clockwork gnome sentries, is complicated by Hap’s relentless bad luck, which triggers pratfalls, alarms and chain-reaction mishaps throughout the labyrinthine estate.^[3]

Just as Houlihan corners the intruders atop his gilded observatory, Hap’s luck shifts. A final stumble sends the pot tumbling over the balcony; gold showers upon Fortune City’s citizens, equalising fortune across the land and dissolving the McSweeney curse.^[2] In the aftermath, Hap’s family cottage straightens, Houlihan reckons with ordinary life, and Hap pockets a single coin—a reminder that luck, when shared, is most powerful.^[1]

Voice cast

• Gunnar Sizemore as Hap McSweeney
• Kira Kosarin as Shannon
• Ron Funches as Sammy
• Flula Borg as Reggie
• Mark Hamill as Harry Houlihan
• Piotr Michael as the narrator

Production

Director Casey Leonard had no prior experience in working on computer animation and films, but joined the production after co-writer David Steinberg presented him with the film's original draft, to which he "fell in love with [...the] story". He summed the film as a mix of "comedy[...] heist, and[...] all action." "It’s really fun! At its core, Lucky is about friendship. All the luck in the world’s got nothing on love," said Leonard. He also mentioned that the film was "challenging" and "exciting". The film took about 14 months to develop.^[3]

Production services included storyboarding and rigging at Nickelodeon Animation Studio, with 30 crew members involved.^[3] Animation services were done at Bardel Entertainment for four months, with 25 animators involved.^[4][5]

Awards and nominations

Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
2019 Golden Reel Awards	Golden Reel Award for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Sound Effects, Foley, Music, Dialogue and ADR for Non-Theatrical Animated Long Form Broadcast Media	Jeff Shiffman (supervising sound editor); Tess Fournier, Brad Meyer (sound effects editors); Carol Ma (foley editor); Michael Wessner (dialogue editor)	Nominated	[6][7]