The Collective is a 2023 film. It follows Calvin and Hobbes and the gang as they have to deal with problems that keep them apart. The film is directed by Kevin Smith and is written by the team of Smith, Jackson Kelley, and Bill Watterson, while also containing an ensemble cast that has Kelley, Taika Waititi, Smith, Griffin Gluck, Ty Burrell, Ben Schwartz, Elizabeth Banks, Bill Hader, Asher Angel, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and Kevin Kline reprising their roles from previous installments, with Allison Janney, Tobey Maguire, Gabriel Bateman, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Aidan Gallagher, Gary Oldman, Michael Sheen, and Adrien Brody joining the cast. The film is the 16th installment in the Calvinverse. The Collective is the first installment in a trilogy called Times Are Changing, where there would be three films released every two months, along with The Final Grade and Escape to Nowhere.
Cast[]
- Jackson Kelley as Calvin
- Nathan Fillion as Spaceman Spiff
- Taika Waititi as Hobbes
- Kevin Smith as Socrates/Dark Socrates
- Griffin Gluck as Andy
- Ty Burrell as Sherman
- Ben Schwartz as MTM
- Elizabeth Banks as Mom
- Bill Hader as Dad
- Asher Angel as Elliott
- Kevin Kline as the Kleins
- Allison Janney as Carol
- Gabriel Bateman as Robert
- Jeremy Ray Taylor as Jason
- Aidan Gallagher as Daniel
- Tobey Maguire as Leroy
- Gary Oldman as Magnus
- Michael Sheen as Jangadod
- Adrien Brody as Head Chill
- Simon Pegg as Galaxoid
- Nick Frost as Nebular
- Daniel Kaluuya as Michael Johnson (cameo)
- Sophia Lillis as Susie (cameo)
- Sterling K. Brown as Professor Johnson (cameo)
Plot[]
The film opens with an average man noticing Calvin (Jackson Kelley) and Hobbes (Taika Waititi) rolling by in the wagon chasing a monster made of toe fungus. Sherman (Ty Burrell) and Andy (Griffin Gluck) do some computer work, and Socrates (Kevin Smith) swoops in with the box and shrinks the monster. However, people think Calvin and his friends were just fooling around in the street during an earthquake. Calvin expresses frustration no one notices anything. Back at the house, Calvin's parents have a short argument about Calvin's influence on Andy. In Calvin's room, the gangs gets rid of the monster, and comtemplates about how nobody recognizes anything, and they get bored. The gang leaves when all that's left is for Calvin to do his homework. Back at the mansion, Elliot (Asher Angel) tells Socrates that they're moving.
Sherman finds out one of his inventions has been approved by the university, and he must go to China for six months. Andy reluctantly tags along out of worry for Sherman being alone in China. Meanwhile, Calvin is having trouble with his homework, which is write an essay about an interesting vacation. Dad (Bill Hader) tries to give him help, but fails. Then when Calvin comes up with an idea, he notices a few years hasn't passed. After another argument with Mom (Elizabeth Banks), Dad notices an ad for an Obidience Camp to send Calvin to, but Mom talks him out of it. Calvin gets calls from Andy and Socrates about their sad news.
Three days later, the gang is without anything to do, counting down the seconds until Andy, Sherman, and Socrates move away. Sherman suggests they find a bug called the Jub-Jub Vandersnatch. They try to find it, but then goof around in the swamp. After that, Calvin takes a bath, and then they go to bed. Dad checks for monsters and once again reads Hamster Huey and the Gooey Kablooie. Mom and Dad have another brief argument about Dad's forcing Calvin to adapt to new situations despite his own refusal to do so. Nothing happens for another three days. Socrates then moves away, and then Andy and Sherman leave for China.
Spring break comes. Calvin starts his day with some Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs. Dad is disgusted. He then offers to have Calvin do some chores. Calvin refuses, and sits in the treehouse all day. Then Dad tells Calvin about Obidience Camp. Calvin throws a water balloon at him, but Dad signs him up anyway. Calvin rants and rages about it, voicing his concern about how he and Hobbes are going to enjoy it after his friends have left. Mom sadly tells Calvin that he has to leave Hobbes behind. Calvin gets very sad. The universe is keeping him and his friends apart. The next day, Calvin gets some words of advice from Hobbes about how he can certainly handle the camp if he can survive an alien invasion among other things and to be who he really is. Calvin takes Hobbes' words and gets in the car.
Once arriving at Obedience Camp, they greet a receptionist named Carol (Allison Janney) who treats Calvin like a four year old. After his parents leave, he's dragged to a room, but he bolts off in a Spaceman Spiff fantasy. Caught by security, he is brought back to his room, where he meets Robert (Gabriel Bateman), Jason (Noah Jupe), and Daniel (Aidan Gallagher). The four talk about how clueless adults seem to be. Then they go to orientation, where Calvin rebels against the society, by saying he is a clone from planet Nerforamus, and telling people about the monster of toe fungus, and then he learns about the box, which is used to keep kids under control. Meanwhile, Calvin's parents decide to have a yard sale, where Dad wants to clear out some of Calvin's items, which includes Hobbes. Luckily Mom notices and Dad says he'll just put him in the attic. They do sell MTM (Ben Schwartz), however.
On Monday at the camp, Calvin realizes they are playing organized sports. He decides to have the whole camp play Calvinball. Despite Carol's attempts to redirect them, the kids decide to play. Calvin steps out of the game, impressed by the turnout for the game, and then realizes one of the counselors look familiar. Meanwhile, Hobbes wakes up in a box and sees the yard sale, and sees MTM being sold. He tries to call out to him, but he fails. Then he notices a mailman that looks familiar.
In China, Andy is not having fun, having to work all day and wear a gas mask outside. He talks to Sherman, and then sees a familiar looking factory worker looking at him. Meanwhile, Leroy (Tobey Maguire) has taken apart MTM. Some of his friends come over, and spend the night playing videogames and drinking beer. MTM notices one of his friends looks familiar. California is a boredom for Socrates. He explores the house, and sees a guy who has fallen into his pranks, but he isn't interested. He goes on a walk, and then notices a guy he hasn't seen before. At home, Dad decides to throw the box out. Mom tries to talk him out of it. When Hobbes notices, the box gets up on its own and flies into the distance.
At the camp, Calvin has inspired the kids to express themselves freely, and he gives a story about Spaceman Spiff. After the story, he trails the familiar counselor, who is revealed to be Klein (Kevin Kline), who tells Calvin that he's part of a collective watching over Calvin and Hobbes. Andy and Sherman meet up with the Klein in China. MTM meets Klein, Leroy's friend. Socrates, however, is encountered by the unfamiliar man, who chases him, and holds a ray gun to his head. Calvin finds out the Kleins are humanoid aliens that are trying to protect the Earth from something known as The Collective, and then the box shows up. The mailman Klein frees Hobbes from the attic, and Hobbes tells Calvin about what his parents did, as the Kleins explain Calvin's parents are being influenced by The Collective. The Klein at Leroy's house fixes MTM, and they join up with the others, who go to China to get Andy and Sherman. Calvin gets a call from Elliot, saying Socrates has been kidnapped. Meanwhile, Socrates is being interrogated and a mysterious figure says he has a thing in his head.
The gang consult Elliot about his disappearance as Calvin thinks they're finally going to find out what the orb meant when it said "They are coming for your tail". In the interrogation room, an alien tells Socrates he is very important in the galaxy. He then goes in his head to extract something. MTM isn't able to pinpoint Socrates as the Klein Collective arrives to help them find him, in the process revealing to Elliot the transmitter in Socrates' brain. The Kleins reveal the Collective to be called the Chill Collective. Suddenly, Calvin remembers the time on the cruise ship when he asked Rupert who he really was. He tells everyone during his time as Wilbert, he found out Rupert overthrew the King of Zok so he could take power. The Head Klein reveals that Rupert was originally part of the Collective. Calvin then remembers the trip to the Death Zone and remembers John Howard Chill said the Chill family was special. The Head Klein says the Chill Collective has achieved universal domination with an equation which got sent down to Earth and it got embedded with Socrates. Hobbes remembers the time when they went into Socrates' brain and figures out the door that wouldn't fade away was the equation, which is what the Chill Collective are after. Then the Head Klein drops a bombshell that the Chill Collective has trapped Calvin and everyone he has associated with in a floating timeline that prevents them from aging. This comes when Calvin says he was born in 1979, he is six years old, but was born almost forty years ago. The Head Klein says this is because they were destined to be associated with Socrates. Back in the Chill Collective ship, Socrates begins operations from an alien named Jangadod (Michael Sheen).
Back in his cell about three days later, Socrates awakens. The Chill Collective has kept failing to get the thing in his head. They attempt to get it again but an alien comes in and says the Kleins have arrived. Jangadod goes to alert the Chill's leader, Magnus (Gary Oldman) about the meeting with him and the Head Klein. In the meeting, The Head Klein requests Socrates be set free, and when Magnus denies, Klein states Calvin will do something to him. Magnus brushes this off but Klein brings up events from Invasion, Our Solemn Hour, and The Five Calvins. After more tries, the Chills fail to get the equation out of Socrates' head, and Jangadod reluctantly tells Magnus that they'll have to visit the Head Chill (Adrien Brody), who comes down and says they can surgically remove the equation. But when they scan Socrates' head, they find the transmitter, which protects the equation. Suddenly, five Chills come into the room holding Calvin's inventions and they transmogrify themselves into the gang.
Magnus angrily orders for the gang to be killed but then he is able to stop his crew, freezing them in time. Hobbes says they were the alien crew the whole time and changed appearances every few hours, and they got in when the Head Klein was having his meeting with Magnus. With that, The Head Chill says Magnus jeopardized the entire operation and warps him out of existence. When that happens, the Head Chill explains that he scattered the Chill name all throughout time and the alien Rupert took the name of the human Rupert Chill. The Head Chill demands the purpose of the transmitter, and Calvin explains the entire story of the transmitter. The Head Chill prepares to remove the transmitter when Calvin asks Socrates to recite the transmitter activation code and it frees him from his shackles. Calvin says that the Ankorians are coming to arrest the Chills as a returned favor for saving them. Galaxoid (Simon Pegg) and Nebular (Nick Frost), with Elliot in tow, teleport into the room and arrest Jangadod and his crew. However, only the Chill Collective remains. They knock Socrates out but Socrates slips into his dream world. He is reunited with his dark side. Dark Socrates offers Socrates to take over the world fully and Socrates appears to join him but kills off his dark side. Socrates awakens in the real world with the ferocity of a tiger and then attacks the Collective singlehandedly. Galaxoid has the Kleins teleported in as Socrates reverts back to his normal self, claiming he's had issues with his dark side, but he can embrace it and not let it control him. The Kleins gain access to the equation, and it reveals itself to an orb. Calvin suddenly realizes the Kleins plan to use the equation to rewrite the universe to their ideals. The Kleins all gang on Calvin, but Calvin distracts them long enough and then touches the orb himself, suddenly absorbing a bunch of power. His eyes become green spheres as Calvin becomes a god.
The Kleins offer to help Calvin again, but Calvin freezes both the Kleins and Chills in suspended animation as he ponders what to do before he destroys the equation. When everyone offers ways to make the world better, Calvin realizes this is what the Kleins and Chills planned to do, to make the universe to their liking. Calvin decides not to change anything huge and resets the timeline to after the toe fungus monster attacked, and the Kleins and Chills will have no memory of the equation. Hobbes asks what they will do about their aging, and after some consideration, Calvin decides that the group will age normally. Once back home, Socrates asks Elliot if he wants to go on further adventures, to which Elliot declines due to conflict of interest. After a while, things go back to normal. Socrates doesn't move and Sherman's invention doesn't get approved so he doesn't go to China. Dad sees an ad for Obedience Camp, but thinks it's a bad idea to send Calvin. When the gang discusses camp, Calvin says that he's going to start another camp revolution, and Andy decides to tag along. They go through the reception process with Carol again, and four days later, Mom gets a call from Carol saying Calvin and Andy are being sent home for starting a revolution. When they return home, Socrates pounces on Calvin with Hobbes judging. Calvin chases Socrates around the yard.
In a post credits scene, Calvin and Susie (Sophia Lillis) prepare to go to school. When Calvin gets annoyed by Susie's love for school, Susie states when they move to second grade they may not deal with one another. Calvin ponders that time is really moving forward.
Production[]
Intentionally planned as the storyline for Season Six of Calvin and Hobbes the Series, the writing team of Jackson Kelley, Bill Watterson, and Kevin Smith decided to end the series on a high note with Black Rain. However, Kelley liked the storyline, and opted to put it to film. Watterson and Smith agreed, and they began working together on the script.
At San Diego Comic-Con, Kelley and Smith announced the film would be focused on Socrates, and him being pursued by a group called The Collective, and the gang has to rescue him. That same date, it would be announced that the Series main cast of Kelley, Taika Waititi, Smith, Griffin Gluck, Ty Burrell, Ben Schwartz, Elizabeth Banks, Bill Hader, Asher Angel, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and Kevin Kline would reprise their roles, with newcomers Allison Janney, Tobey Maguire, Gabriel Bateman, Noah Jupe, Aidan Gallagher, Gary Oldman, Michael Sheen, and Adrien Brody.