Monkeybone

Monkeybone is a 2001 American black comedy fantasy film directed by Henry Selick, written by Sam Hamm, produced by Michael Barnathan and Mark Radcliffe, and executive produced by Chris Columbus, Selick, and Hamm. The film combines live-action with stop-motion animation.
Based on Kaja Blackley's graphic novel "Dark Town", the film stars an ensemble cast led by Brendan Fraser, Bridget Fonda, and Whoopi Goldberg with Rose McGowan, Dave Foley, Giancarlo Esposito, Megan Mullally, Lisa Zane, Chris Kattan, John Turturro, and an uncredited Thomas Haden Church.
Theatrically released on February 23, 2001 by 20th Century Fox, the film was a box office bomb and received generally negative critical reviews. While the visuals and sets were praised, the film's humor and characters received criticism. 
Plot.
Stuart "Stu" Miley is a disillusioned cartoonist whose comic character, a rascal monkey named Monkeybone, is getting an animated series. One night, Stu falls into a coma following a car crash. His spirit ends up in Down Town, a surreal carnival-themed limbo-like landscape populated by mythical beings and figments of its visitors' imaginations, even Monkeybone. According to Hypnos, the God of Sleep, Stu has to infiltrate the Land of Death to steal an Exit Pass from Hypnos' sister, Death, in order to come back to the living world. These passes are given out to Down Town's visitors by Reapers, granting them permission to leave and awaken from their comas. Stu successfully steals a pass, but Monkeybone takes it from him and enters the living world via Stu's body. Stu later finds himself imprisoned with Attila the Hun, Jack the Ripper, and Stephen King, the latter of whom recalls that his nightmare of Cujo played the same trick Monkeybone pulled on Stu. 
By demand of Hypnos, Monkeybone steals the "Oneirix", a chemical substance developed by Julie that can give living creatures nightmares, which serve as entertainment in Down Town and gives him more power. Monkeybone puts the Oneirix inside dolls of himself, preparing to use them for a piñata at a party. After being freed of imprisonment by Miss Kitty, Stu reveals Hypnos' plan to Death when she captures him and convinces her to send him back for only an hour, only to find himself in the body of an organ donor. As he flees the morgue attendants, Stu finds out about Monkeybone's planned party and heads there with the extractors still in pursuit.
At the party, Stu's agent, Herb, is exposed to a Oneirix before Monkeybone brings down the piñata. Stu uses Monkeybone's main characteristics from the comics to cause him to panic and escape. A chase ensues, culminating with Stu and Monkeybone battling each other while clinging to a giant Monkeybone balloon. They die again from a fall, after the balloon is shot by an police officer, and return to Down Town, where a giant robot operated by Death emerges and captures Stu and Monkeybone. Death then sends Stu back to the living world and to his proper body, where he reunites and proposes to Dr. Julie McElroy, a sleep institute worker who helped him deal with his terrible nightmares by changing his drawing hand.
Production.
The comic book "Dark Town", on which "Monkeybone" is based, was written by Kaja Blackley, illustrated by Vanessa Chong, and published by Mad Monkey Press. The journey from comic to film was initiated by a fan of the comic and member of the San Francisco animation community (Tom "Bags" Sacchi/ChasingDragons Productions NYC) who, without Blackley's knowledge, passed a copy of "Dark Town" on to one of Selick's producers, Denise Rotina. Selick fell in love with the book and vigorously pursued the rights. In a letter to Kaja, he wrote: "I've never felt any project was closer to my sensibilities than this one." The initial intention was to stay true to the source material, which can be seen in early designs from Selick's company, Twitching Image. However, as the project developed, it eventually evolved into "Monkeybone".
Influences.
Much of the film's art bears a strong resemblance to that of Mark Ryden—for example, the bust of Abraham Lincoln as "The Great Emancipator". Stu's pre-therapy painting is very similar to Ryden's "The Birth," and according to the credits, was painted by him for the film. The animation style and the themes of the opening sequence in which Stu first encounters Monkeybone are very similar to the work of Swedish cartoonist Magnus Carlsson. The film's plot is influenced by the films "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", "Cool World" and "Beetlejuice." Many critics mark a similarity between Dark Town's design and Tim Burton's style. The film contains a large number of references to a parody religion called The Church of the SubGenius. In particular, the fictional fast-food chain "Burger God" was originally a SubGenius creation. Additionally, the repeated references to Yetis, and the scene in which Stu (whose body is possessed by Monkeybone) is struck in the head with a golf club by Hypnos in a dream sequence also echo recurring themes in the Church of the SubGenius.
Reception.
Box office.
"Monkeybone" was a failure at the box office; based on a budget of $75 million, the film grossed $5,411,999 domestically and $7,622,365 worldwide.
Critical response.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 19% based on 113 reviews, with an average rating of 3.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Though original and full of bizarre visuals, "Monkeybone" is too shapeless a movie, with unengaging characters and random situations that fail to build up laughs." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 40 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C" on an A+ to F scale.