Ratchet & Clank is a 2016 animated science fiction comedy movie based on the Ratchet & Clank video game series made by Insomniac Games. The movie was directed by Kevin Munroe. James Arnold Taylor and David Kaye play the main characters from the video games again, along with Jim Ward and Armin Shimerman as their characters. Other actors who provide voices in the movie include Paul Giamatti, John Goodman, Bella Thorne, Rosario Dawson, and Sylvester Stallone.

The movie’s story is original but inspired by the 2002 video game and includes ideas from later games in the series. The story was written by Kevin Munroe, Gerry Swallow, and T.J. Fixman, who previously worked on the Ratchet & Clank Future games. Insomniac Games helped create the movie by contributing to character development, writing the screenplay, and providing animation materials. Some actors from the video games also appeared in the movie.

Ratchet & Clank was released in the United States on April 29, 2016. Critics gave the movie mostly negative reviews, and it did not do well financially, earning only $14 million worldwide despite costing $20 million to make. It was the last movie released by Gramercy Pictures as a label before the company stopped using it again shortly after. This movie was also Gramercy Pictures’ only animated film.

Plot

In the Solana Galaxy, Chairman Drek and his people, the Blarg, are breaking apart several planets to gather materials for building a new artificial planet called New Quartu. The Blarg need this new planet because their current home, Quartu, has become unsuitable for living due to pollution. This destruction catches the attention of the Galactic Rangers, a group that works to keep peace in the galaxy.

At a factory on Quartu that makes Drek’s warbots, a malfunctioning warbot is created during a power failure. It flies to Kerwan to warn the Rangers about Drek’s plan. After being damaged in a fight, the warbot meets a young lombax spaceship mechanic named Ratchet on the planet Veldin. Ratchet gives the warbot the name Clank. Together, they travel to Kerwan and help the Rangers escape an attack by Drek’s army of warbots. Their bravery makes Ratchet and Clank very popular, which leads the leader of the Rangers, Captain Qwark, to ask them to join the team.

Jealous of Ratchet and Clank’s fame, Captain Qwark is approached by Drek, who offers him help in exchange for a promise that Drek will not harm other Rangers. Qwark agrees and disables the Rangers’ weapons during an attack on Drek’s planet-destroying weapon, the Deplanetizer. Drek’s lieutenant, Victor Von Ion, attacks Clank on the Rangers’ spaceship, but Clank uses a weapon that creates rain to disable him. After Drek destroys the planet Novalis, his chief scientist, Doctor Nefarious, betrays Qwark and helps Drek. Nefarious then uses a device to turn Drek into a sheep, places him in an escape pod, and sends him to New Quartu.

Nefarious takes control of the Deplanetizer and plans to destroy the entire Solana Galaxy in revenge for being treated poorly by Qwark when he was a Ranger. His goal is to destroy the planet Umbris, which has an unstable core that could destroy other planets nearby. The Rangers attack the Deplanetizer again, but Qwark interrupts the battle and fights Ratchet and Clank. Ratchet convinces Qwark that he has been tricked, and the three work together to stop Nefarious.

Nefarious tries to destroy Qwark with a weapon called the RYNO, but Ratchet stops him, causing Nefarious to fall into the Deplanetizer’s laser chamber. Ratchet, Clank, and Qwark escape using a teleporter as the Deplanetizer crashes toward Umbris and is destroyed in the planet’s atmosphere. After Nefarious is defeated, the Rangers return to Kerwan. Qwark is demoted to Private and goes on a tour to apologize while promoting a book he wrote, Listen, I Said I Was Sorry, All Right?. Ratchet and Clank reunite on Veldin, and Ratchet promises to help the Rangers again if needed.

In a scene shown after the credits, Nefarious is revealed to still be alive on Umbris. His body has been changed into a robotic form to survive.

Production

The film was made at Rainmaker Entertainment's studio in Vancouver, Canada, and was overseen by Michael Hefferon, who is the president of the company. Insomniac stated that they were happy to create a movie based on Ratchet & Clank, saying:

— James Stevenson, Insomniac Community Lead on the PlayStation Blog

Release

The film was shown in movie theaters in the United States by Gramercy Pictures on April 29, 2016. It was released in other countries by Lionsgate and Cinema Management Group. Insomniac created a new version of the original Ratchet & Clank game to match the film, which came out in North America on April 12.

The film was made available on Digital HD by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment on August 2, 2016. It was released on Blu-ray and DVD on August 23, 2016.

Reception

Ratchet & Clank earned $8.8 million in North America and $5.6 million in other countries, totaling $14.4 million worldwide. The film’s production cost was $20 million.

In the United States and Canada, early predictions suggested the movie would make $8–10 million during its first weekend in 2,891 theaters. However, it finished below these expectations, earning only $4.9 million. It placed 7th at the box office, behind other new films like Keanu and Mother’s Day.

After its opening, Rainmaker, the company that invested $10 million in the film, reported a financial loss. Hefferon, a company representative, said the film’s poor performance was due to strong competition from other family-friendly movies like The Jungle Book and Zootopia. While fans of the Ratchet & Clank video games supported the movie, the turnout was not enough to succeed in a crowded market. In its second weekend, the film earned $1.5 million, a 70% drop from its opening weekend. It finished 9th at the box office. Rainmaker lost about $5 million on the film, which earned $15 million total.

On Rotten Tomatoes, 22% of 82 critics gave the film positive reviews, with an average score of 4.30 out of 10. The site’s summary said the movie might appeal to very young viewers but lacks strong qualities compared to other family and animation films. Metacritic, which calculates an average score, gave the film 29 out of 100, indicating mostly negative reviews. Audiences who saw the film gave it a "B" rating on a scale from A+ to F.

Bill Zwecker of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 2 out of 4 stars, saying it felt familiar, like other animated and live-action movies. IGN rated it 6 out of 10, noting it is not bad but falls short of the humor and adventure found in the video games. GameSpot said the film moves quickly but lacks direction, suggesting the series has been more successful in video games than in movies.

Animated short

In February 2021, an animated short called Ratchet & Clank: Life of Pie was released on Crave TV in Canada. The short was created by Mainframe Studios in collaboration with PlayStation Originals. James Arnold Taylor, David Kaye, Jim Ward, Armin Shimerman, and Andrew Cownden played the same characters they had before: Ratchet, Clank, Captain Qwark, Doctor Nefarious, and Zed. This was Jim Ward’s final performance as Captain Qwark, as he retired from the role after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. He passed away in 2025. The short was not released in the United States or other countries.