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Portland-Set Disney+ Original Film “Timmy Failure” Premieres at Sundance

Winslow Fegley appears in Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made by Tom McCarthy, an official selection of the Kids program at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.rrAll photos are copyrighted and may be used by press only for the purpose of news or editorial coverage of Sundance Institute programs. Photos must be accompanied by a credit to the photographer and/or 'Courtesy of Sundance Institute.' Unauthorized use, alteration, reproduction or sale of logos and/or photos is strictly prohibited.

Portland, OR. Disney Plus held the premiere of “Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made” at the 10-day Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. The festival wraps on February 2nd. Directed by Tom McCarthy, a filmmaker known for “Spotlight,” the best picture winner at the 2016 Academy Awards, “Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made” was included as part of the festival’s children’s slate and was filmed in Portland. (Photo credit, Susan Young.)

From naked cyclists to an imaginary 1,500-pound polar bear roaming the streets, Portland’s quirks are getting more screen time in a new original Disney+ movie. Here’s a trailer for the new film which will be available February 7th on the Disney Plus paid streaming service which costs about $7-per month.

The first trailer for Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made shows various parts of Portland like the Fremont Bridge, and downtown’s twin ornamental street lights.

Reviewers note: “Portland also fits with the story setting. Timmy’s mother has a hipster vibe. Some characters, who conceivably could have been extras in a show such as Portlandia, appear in the film as incidental cheerleaders to the young boy’s efforts.”

Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made, directed by Tom McCarthy, starring WInslow Fegley as Timmy Failure, Disney Enterprises, Inc.

The film is based on the first book in a popular series by Stephan Pastis, who also created the comic strip Pearls Before Swine. The plot focuses on a self-confident boy detective who tools around town on his mother’s Segway.

Stephan Pastis is the creator of Pearls Before Swine, an acclaimed comic strip that appears in more than six hundred newspapers and boasts a devoted following.

In 2013, Pastis was inspired to break out of the comic-strip box, penning his first children’s book, Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made, which became an instant New York Times bestseller. Mistakes Were Made was quickly followed by three other installments in the popular middle-grade series starring a brilliantly bad detective with a sidekick polar bear. Critics have praised the author for appealing to young readers with his knack for comic timing and the interplay between cartoons, text, and elements of the absurd in his storytelling.

About Timmy Failure, Stephan says, “For me as a kid, I liked to laugh. And I’m hoping these books do that for both kids and their parents. I just really want to give them stories that have something humorous in every chapter.”“Timmy is a detective who can take any mystery and make it more mysterious.”– Stephan Pastis

Here’s a blurb about the film, it’s recommended for ages 8 and up:

Timmy Failure is the president, founder, and CEO of Total Failure, Inc., detective agency. With his partner, Total, a 1,500-pound polar bear, Timmy strives to keep the streets of Portland safe by solving seemingly unsolvable mysteries like finding missing backpacks and thwarting the plans of a nefarious criminal gang. Though he is focused on finding a new global headquarters, he endures school, where he must contend with his fellow students and his teacher and nemesis, Mr. Crocus. While he is on a case, the “Failure Mobile,” his mother’s off-limits Segway scooter and his main source of transportation, disappears. Interpreting the theft as part of a secret plan devised by his adversaries, he begins a search that leads him through a series of misadventures that ultimately threaten the existence of his agency. Based on the best-selling books by Stephan Pastis, who also co-wrote the screenplay, and directed by award-winning Sundance Film Festival alumnus Tom McCarthy, this heartwarming and entertaining film celebrates the idea that being different isn’t a bad thing.

About Sundance 2020: The winners have been named.

After 10 days and 128 feature films, the 2020 Sundance Film Festival’s Awards Ceremony took place, with jurors presenting 28 prizes for feature filmmaking. Honorees, named in total below, represent new achievements in global independent storytelling. Bold, intimate, and humanizing stories prevailed across categories, with Grand Jury Prizes awarded to Minari (U.S. Dramatic), Boys State (U.S. Documentary), Epicentro (World Cinema Documentary) and Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness (World Cinema Dramatic).

Elisa Klein

I’ve been a professional journalist and writer since 1987, (and long-time reporter for KOIN-TV.) As a nationally published reporter, with a Master’s Degree in Journalism, I love to report positive news and information. Journalism has also connected me with another non-profit where I served as a leader; the Northwest’s biggest writer’s organization: The Willamette Writers.