In the film The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (2005), Alan Rickman voiced Marvin.
- Year: 2005
- Genre: adventure, comedy, Sci-Fi
- Director: Garth Jennings
- Cast: Martin Freeman, Sam Rockwell, Bill Bailey (The Whale – voice), Warwick Davis, Stephen Fry (narrator – voice), Richard Griffiths (Jeltz – voice), Helen Mirren (Deep thought – voice), John Malkovich, Kelly Macdonald, Bill Nighy (Slartibartfast), Alan Rickman (Marvin – voice)
- Plot: Mere seconds before the Earth is to be demolished by an alien construction crew, journeyman Arthur Dent is swept off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher penning a new edition of “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.”
Plot
One Thursday morning, Arthur Dent discovers that his house is to be immediately demolished to make way for a bypass. He tries delaying the bulldozers by lying down in front of them; however, Arthur’s friend Ford Prefect convinces him to go to the nearby pub. While there, Ford explains that he is an alien from the vicinity of Betelgeuse, and a journalist working on the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a universal guide book. Ford warns that the Earth is to be demolished later that day by the extraterrestrial Vogons to make way for a hyperspace bypass.
As the Vogon fleet arrives in orbit to destroy Earth, Ford rescues Arthur by stowing them aboard one of the Vogon ships. The pair are promptly discovered and tortured with Vogon poetry, before being ejected from the vessel and left for dead. However, the two are picked up by the starship Heart of Gold, aboard which they meet Ford’s “semi-cousin” Zaphod Beeblebrox, the newly elected president of the Galaxy. He has stolen the ship along with Tricia “Trillian” McMillan, an Earth woman whom Arthur had met previously, and Marvin, a clinically depressed robot.
Zaphod seeks the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything to match the disappointing answer given by the supercomputer Deep Thought: “42”. He believes that the answer lies on the planet Magrathea, which is only accessible using the Heart of Gold‘s improbability drives through trial and error.
During one attempt, the ship arrives at Viltvodle VI, where Zaphod’s opponent, Humma Kavula, resides. Kavula offers the coordinates for Magrathea in exchange for Zaphod recovering the Point-of-View gun, a gun created by Deep Thought that enables the target to temporarily empathize with the shooter. Trillian is captured by the Vogons as they depart, and the others mount a rescue effort on the Vogon homeworld of Vogsphere. Before her rescue, Trillian learns that Zaphod personally signed the order for the destruction of Earth, while assuming that the Vogon with the relevant permission form was a fan who wanted his autograph.
The group escapes Vogsphere with Galactic Vice-president Questular Rontok and the Vogons in pursuit. The Heart of Gold arrives at Magrathea, triggering its automated missile defense systems in the process; Arthur re-activates the improbability drive, which transforms the missiles into a bowl of petunias and a whale, allowing the Heart of Gold to land safely on the planet. Zaphod, Ford, and Trillian enter a portal that leads to Deep Thought; however, Arthur and Marvin are stranded outside. Zaphod’s party learns from Deep Thought that, after coming up with the Answer “42”, its creators had Deep Thought design another computer to come up with the Question, that being Earth. The group recovers the Point-of-View gun, though Trillian uses it on Zaphod to show him her resentment for his accidental destruction of the Earth. They are thereafter captured by unknown entities.
Meanwhile, on Magrathea, Arthur is met by Slartibartfast, one of the planet builders. Slartibartfast takes Arthur to a pocket dimension, where he shows that a new version of Earth is near completion. Slartibartfast takes Arthur to his recreated home; inside, the others are enjoying a feast provided by the pan-dimensional beings who commissioned Arthur’s original Earth, and who resemble a pair of mice. With Arthur, who was on Earth up until its last minutes, the mice surmise that they can discover the Question by removing his brain. Arthur manages to escape and crush the mice under a teapot; they disappear without trace.
Questular and the Vogons arrive outside the home and open fire; during the barrage, a shot hits Marvin. While Arthur and his companions take cover, Marvin reboots and uses the Point-of-View gun to force the Vogons into a crippling state of depression. The Vogons are taken away, while Zaphod reunites with Questular. Arthur decides to explore the galaxy with Ford and Trillian, allowing Slartibartfast to finalize the new Earth without him. The Heart of Gold crew decides to visit the Restaurant at the End of the Universe.
Cast
- Sam Rockwell as Zaphod Beeblebrox, the President of the Galaxy
- Mos Def (now known as Yasiin Bey) as Ford Prefect, the “semi-cousin” of Zaphod
- Zooey Deschanel as Trillian, an Earth woman
- Martin Freeman as Arthur Dent, a man who gets roped into Zaphod’s quest
- Bill Nighy as Slartibartfast, a planet builder
- Anna Chancellor as Questular, the vice-president of the Galaxy
- John Malkovich as Humma Kavula, Zaphod’s opponent from the planet Vildvodle
- Warwick Davis as Marvin, an android who is clinically depressed
- Alan Rickman as voice of Marvin
- Helen Mirren as voice of Deep Thought, a super-computer
- Stephen Fry as The Narrator
In addition, Bill Bailey voices the whale, Ian McNeice voices Kwaltz, Richard Griffiths voices Jeltz and Thomas Lennon voices Eddie the computer. Simon Jones, who portrayed Arthur Dent in both the BBC radio and BBC television adaptations of Hitchhiker’s, makes a cameo appearance as the Ghostly Image. Mark Gatiss, Reece Shearsmith, and Steve Pemberton voice the additional Vogons, with Pemberton also appearing as Mr. Prosser. Kelly MacDonald makes a cameo as a reporter. Edgar Wright, Garth Jennings, and Jason Schwartzman appear uncredited as a Deep Thought technician, the voice of Frankie Mouse, and Gag Halfrunt, respectively.
