Osmosis Jones (2001)
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An anthropomorphic white blood cell police officer must team up with a cold pill to protect a human host from a deadly virus.
The story
Frank DeTorre, an unkempt zookeeper in Rhode Island, struggles with his health while his daughter, Shane, worries about him. Inside Frank's body, Osmosis "Ozzy" Jones is an overzealous white blood cell police officer. When Frank consumes a contaminated egg, a deadly virus known as Thrax enters his system. To manage the situation, the city's mayor orders a cold pill named Drix to enter Frank's body. Despite his initial reluctance, Ozzy is forced to partner with Drix to investigate and contain the threat of Thrax, who is attempting to take over the body.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Frank DeTorre, a zookeeper in Rhode Island, lives an unhealthy lifestyle, which concerns his daughter Shane. Inside Frank, a white blood cell officer named Ozzy Jones and a cold pill named Drix are tasked with managing the body's health. When Frank consumes a contaminated egg, a deadly virus named Thrax enters his system. Thrax leads a gang of germs and intends to kill Frank. Ozzy and Drix must team up to stop him. During their investigation, they discover Thrax's plan to masquerade as a common cold. After a battle in a zit on Frank's forehead, the situation escalates when Thrax survives and steals a crucial nucleotide, causing Frank to develop a dangerous fever. The duo eventually tracks Thrax to the mouth and then to a girl's face, where they ultimately defeat him. Frank is revived just in time, and Ozzy is reinstated as a hero while Drix remains his partner.
- First release year
- 2001
- Runtime (minutes)
- 95
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Bobby Farrelly; Peter Farrelly; Tom Sito; Piet Kroon
- Writers
- Marc Hyman · writer
- Cast and characters
- Chris Rock · Osmosis "Ozzy" Jones; Laurence Fishburne · Thrax; David Hyde Pierce · Drixenol "Drix" Drixobenzometaphedramine; Brandy Norwood · Leah Estrogen; Bill Murray · Frank DeTorre; Elena Franklin · Shane DeTorre; William Shatner · Mayor Phlegmming; Chris Elliott · Bob DeTorre
- Genres
- live-action/animated; buddy cop; action; comedy
- Themes
- immunity; infectious diseases; father-daughter relationships
- Tone and mood
- action; comedy; gross-out humor
- Setting
- Inside the human body of Frank DeTorre in Rhode Island.
- Premise and plot tags
- buddy cop; microorganisms; animation
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the worldbuilding, animation, story, and voice performances, but criticized the inconsistent tone of the live-action portions and overuse of gross-out humor. It was a commercial failure, grossing $14 million against a $70 million budget, but it gained a cult following and spawned an animated series.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 55% · scale: percentage · review count: 112; Metacritic · score: 57 · scale: 100 · review count: 28
- Awards and nominations
- Annie Award · Best Animated Feature · nomination
- Production trivia
- Will Smith was interested in the role of Ozzy in 1999.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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