It’s one of the world’s most popular computer games, played by millions of children around the world, and now Roblox is making the leap from the small screen to the silver screen.
And the stars of the show aren’t famous faces (yet), but six British junior school children, four of them from the North and Scotland.
Nikki Moore, mum of 11-year-old Abigail from Hartlepool, admits she often has to tell her daughter Abigail that she spends too much time on her computer, so when she saw a Facebook advert pop up asking, “Does your child love Roblox?” and showed it to Abigail, the 11-year-old begged her to find out more.
It was a shout out from a casting agency looking for children to take part in the first feature-length gaming competition movie, Kartoon Channel Gaming Challenge UK, in cinemas this Easter.
Flight attendant Nikki, who lives with her business development director husband Rob, and their two children in Hartlepool, said: “Abigail started playing Roblox when she was about five – all her primary school friends were on it. I didn’t have a clue about it myself. If anything, I was always saying “you’ve had too much time on that, come off!”
She added: “After I saw the Facebook ad and applied, I got an email back, then a phone call. And it just snowballed.”
Since Roblox, a platform for 3D digital virtual worlds and games, was first released in 2006, it has become a gaming phenomenon, with an estimated near-two-thirds of children aged eight to 12 years old playing the games every week in the UK.
Some of the most popular Roblox games include Brookhaven, a role-playing game in a virtual city; Adopt Me!, where players adopt pets; and Blox Fruits, where players become a ‘master swordsman’.
Abigail will be joined in the movie by Ilyaan, 10, from Blackburn, Lancashire; Jaymee, 9, from Fife, Scotland; Thomas, 10, from Cornwall; Ottie, 11, from Surrey, and Isaac, 12, from North Yorkshire, who were selected from thousands of youngsters who applied.
The children competed in eight bespoke Roblox challenges including Rumble Raceway, Shark Bait, Cock-a-Doodle Dash and Puppy Parkour over one weekend, filmed at home with high-definition webcams and headsets.
Losing competitors were eliminated at the end of each round, with prizes available including a PS5, iPad and mobile phones.
Abigail, who has an older brother Ashton, 14, loves singing and dancing, and has already appeared on the TV show The Voice Kids. “I’ve always wanted to star in musicals, amazing programmes and films. So while we were filming, I kept thinking I wanted to do more of this.
“The one challenge I found tricky was Dino Dash, and I loved the one that was set on a farm,” says Abigail. “At the end of it, I won an Apple iPad. I was so happy.”
Mum Nikki added: “It was a full-on weekend – one 12-hour day because we had a few technical hitches. That was great for Abigail because I couldn’t tell her to get off the game. We brought her food, drink, and snacks – that was the perfect weekend for her.”
Video game films are having a moment: Super Mario Bros The Movie broke box office records in 2023, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 came out late last year, and next month the £150m production, Minecraft The Movie, starring Jason Momoa and Jack Black will be released, and a film based on Nintendo’s cult game, Legend of Zelda, is currently in production.
Kartoon Channel Gaming Challenge UK is a more modest endeavour however, with a budget of £450,000. Kartoon Channel president Paul Robinson says: “We know many adults will have never even heard of Roblox and the prospect of watching children play video games in an 85-minute film may not instantly appeal.”
But he describes the film as akin to a game show, like watching The Chase or The Generation Game with your family.
“We’re confident that parents and grandparents will come along. They want to understand the things their kids love doing and be able to engage with them.”
Kartoon Channel’s Gaming Challenge UK will be released in Vue cinemas on April 19.
