Pixels is a 2015 American
science fiction action-
comedy film produced by
Columbia Pictures,
1492 Pictures and
Happy Madison Productions. The film was directed by
Chris Columbus. Its screenplay was written by
Tim Herlihy and Timothy Dowling, with a screen story penned by Tim Herlihy and based on French director Patrick Jean's
2010 short film of the same name. The film features computer animated video games characters, special effects, and stars
Adam Sandler,
Kevin James,
Josh Gad,
Peter Dinklage,
Michelle Monaghan,
Brian Cox,
Ashley Benson, and
Jane Krakowski. The film's plot has
extraterrestrials misinterpreting video-feeds of
classic arcade games as a declaration of war, and invading Earth using technology inspired by games such as
Pac-Man and
Space Invaders. To counter the alien assault, the United States hire former
arcade champions to lead the planet's defense.