The Founder 2016
7.2 / 10
The Founder
The true story of how Ray Kroc, a salesman from Illinois, met Mac and Dick McDonald, who were running a burger operation in 1950s Southern California. Kroc was impressed by the brothers’ speedy system of making the food and saw franchise potential. He maneuvered himself into a position to be able to pull the company from the brothers and create a billion-dollar empire.
The true story of how Ray Kroc, a salesman from Illinois, met Mac and Dick McDonald, who were running a burger operation in 1950s Southern California. Kroc was impressed by the brothers’ speedy system of making the food and saw franchise potential. He maneuvered himself into a position to be able to pull the company from the brothers and create a billion-dollar empire.
Videos & Photos
All 2 Videos & 49 Photos
cast
Full Cast & Crew
... Ray Kroc
... Dick McDonald
... Mac McDonald
... Joan Smith
... Rollie Smith
... Harry Sonneborn
User reviews
See All 3 Reviews23 Jun 2021 by Reno
**Veni, vidi, vici!** I anticipated another inspiring biopic about a man who built an empire. That's partially true, because this was inspired by the right kind of wrong thing. I mean it was not actually about the McDonalds' story, the McDonald brothers, but the fast food chain McDonald, how the franchise got rapidly spread across the globe and the person behind it. With the film having both good and bad side, it stayed mostly neutral. But due to the main character, you would see too much lean on what seems the reason behind the McDonald's today's popularity. So it's like another typical American founders' story like Apple, Facebook. I mean not the one who found the company with all the hard works, but the one who dived in and took all the credit. Ray Kroc was a traveling salesman and he's not doing any good. But one day he meets the brothers who had started a modernised kitchen and its fast food service. He shows lots of interest in it and so he joins hands with them. With his new ideas, how he makes a fortune out of it and the future of the company, all revealed in the later part. An enjoyable film. Particularly for Michael Keaton. Well directed film as well. Film wise it was a good one, but the story wise not morally right. It was about the flaws in our society, our system. Some men can do anything like pulling others leg to climb the success ladder. It's not them to blame completely, because they had struggled enough to understand their future path. So definitely for some people, this film would inspire. If you are a regular McDonalds' customer, you should watch it. Otherwise, just to learn the truth, it is worth a watch. _7/10_
Release Date:
Nov 24, 2016 (Greece,United States)
Run Time:
1hr 55`
MMPA Rating:
PG-13
Original Language:
English
Production Countries:
Greece,United States
Status:
Released
Plot Keywords:
Related Movies To
The Founder
**Veni, vidi, vici!** I anticipated another inspiring biopic about a man who built an empire. That's partially true, because this was inspired by the right kind of wrong thing. I mean it was not actually about the McDonalds' story, the McDonald brothers, but the fast food chain McDonald, how the franchise got rapidly spread across the globe and the person behind it. With the film having both good and bad side, it stayed mostly neutral. But due to the main character, you would see too much lean on what seems the reason behind the McDonald's today's popularity. So it's like another typical American founders' story like Apple, Facebook. I mean not the one who found the company with all the hard works, but the one who dived in and took all the credit. Ray Kroc was a traveling salesman and he's not doing any good. But one day he meets the brothers who had started a modernised kitchen and its fast food service. He shows lots of interest in it and so he joins hands with them. With his new ideas, how he makes a fortune out of it and the future of the company, all revealed in the later part. An enjoyable film. Particularly for Michael Keaton. Well directed film as well. Film wise it was a good one, but the story wise not morally right. It was about the flaws in our society, our system. Some men can do anything like pulling others leg to climb the success ladder. It's not them to blame completely, because they had struggled enough to understand their future path. So definitely for some people, this film would inspire. If you are a regular McDonalds' customer, you should watch it. Otherwise, just to learn the truth, it is worth a watch. _7/10_
**A decent film, although the story told is substantially stilted and made more tense than it actually was.** We all know that the business world is not for boy scouts. As the film's protagonist himself assumes, you have to be prepared for the toughness of competitors and moves that are often disloyal. However, this is precisely why great businessmen are usually people worthy of our disdain: they associate coldness and calculation with intelligence and the cult of the ego, and not infrequently they see other people as numbers or as means of business. McDonald's is undoubtedly a huge, very powerful multinational, and the film reveals how the company was born, at the hands of Ray Kroc, who takes over the company, taking it from the control of the founders – the McDonald Brothers – and transforming it into something that is very different from what they dreamed of, although they were satisfied with the money they received for it afterwards, and that the relations between the three, in real life, were not as tough as the movie makes us think. The screenplay, cleverly written but very bitter and unpleasant, inflated the situation and made it more tense. Like _Social Network_, the film shows us the controversial origins of one of America's most flourishing companies… and makes us dislike whoever built it. And interestingly, contrary to what I initially thought, the McDonald's Corporation seems to have kept a certain distance from this film… why is it? Michael Keaton did a very good job with the main character and knew how to embody the controversial figure of Kroc well, both in voice and in ideas and mannerisms. The actor deserves, in fact, a praise for the way he gave himself to the work. Also, John Lynch and Nick Offerman are in excellent shape and give us very convincing performances, turning the two founding brothers of the company into a harmonious duo in which one thinks and plans, and the other carries out and executes everything on the ground. Unfortunately, the rest of the cast just doesn't do anything of value and sticks to the most basic. Technically, the film is very low-key, although I have to commend the effort made to recreate and bring back to life some of the company's early restaurants, most notably the one in San Bernardino. The effort to be faithful to the original design was very pleasant, as was the use of very appropriate sets, cars, filming locations and costumes, which take us back to the 50s. The cinematography does a discreet but effective job, and the editing is good, not allowing the film to waste time on unnecessary things or lose its rhythm.
**Overall : A brilliant telling of a bleak story that left a disappointing flavor in my soul.** I remember the plaque in our McDonalds growing up about its founder, Ray Kroc, but this movie tells a much different story. Suddenly, I am questioning whether or not I should let my two-year-old eat McDonald's anymore! Michael Keaton's relentless portrayal of the opportunistic and duplicitous Ray Kroc is so spectacular that I questioned whether I even liked Keaton. Yet, he is one of my favorite actors! That is just how disheartening the true story of McDonald's' meteoric expansion is. The Founder does an excellent job telling a dispiriting story and does such a thorough job that it leaves a bad taste in your mouth at the end (pun intended
Cast & Crew of
The Founder
Directors & Credit Writers
PH
Phil Hardage... First Assistant Director
KB
Kevin Black... Second Assistant Director
... Script Supervisor
Cast
... Ray Kroc
... Dick McDonald
... Mac McDonald
... Joan Smith
... Rollie Smith
... Harry Sonneborn
... Ethel Kroc
... Fred Turner
... June Martino
... Jerry Cullen
... Jim Zien
... Jack Horford
... Leonard Rosenblatt
... Myra Rosenblatt
... Owner (Ed's Drive-In)
... Cheerleader #1
LK
Lacey King... Car Hop Girl (Ed's Drive-In)
... Dennis
... Car Hop Girl (Joe's Drive-In)
... Employee (San Bernadino)
Produced By
Videos & Photos of
The Founder
Videos ( 2)
Photos ( 49 )
Related Movies To
The Founder
Gladiator II (2024)
0 /10
Years after witnessing the death of the revered hero Maximus at the hands of his uncle, Lucius is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home is conquered by the tyrannical Emperors who now lead Rome with an iron fist. With rage in his heart and the future of the Empire at stake, Lucius must look to his past to find strength and honor to return the glory of Rome to its people.
Run Time: 2hr 28` . MMPA: R / PG-13 . Release: 05 Nov 2024
Director: Callum Dawson , Krishan Sharda , Ben Burt
Producer: Kate Rhodes James , Hamid Ait Timaghrit , Curtis Burrell
Stars: Paul Mescal , Fred Hechinger , Denzel Washington , Connie Nielsen , Joseph Quinn , Pedro Pascal
Wicked (2024)
0 /10
In the land of Oz, ostracized and misunderstood green-skinned Elphaba is forced to share a room with the popular aristocrat Glinda at Shiz University, and the two's unlikely friendship is tested as they begin to fulfill their respective destinies as Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.
Run Time: 2hr 42` . MMPA: PG . Release: 20 Nov 2024
Director: Lisa Vick , Jon M. Chu
Producer: Stephen Schwartz , Tiffany Little Canfield , David Stone
Stars: Cynthia Erivo , Ariana Grande , Jonathan Bailey , Jeff Goldblum , Michelle Yeoh , Ethan Slater
Dirty Angels (2024)
0 /10
During the United States' 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, a group of female soldiers posing as medical relief are sent back in to rescue a group of kidnapped teenagers caught between ISIS and the Taliban.
Run Time: 1hr 44` . MMPA: R . Release: 11 Dec 2024
Director: Margarita Aneva , Jamie Marshall , Teodora Petrova
Producer: Jonathan Yunger , Lonnie Ramati , Moshe Diamant
Stars: Eva Green , Ruby Rose , Maria Bakalova , Christopher Backus , Reza Brojerdi , Jojo T. Gibbs
Nosferatu (2024)
0 /10
A gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her, causing untold horror in its wake.
Run Time: 2hr 13` . MMPA: R . Release: 25 Dec 2024
Director: Max Horn , Matus Kukuca , Josh Robertson
Producer: Jeff Robinov , Dan Kuska , Kharmel Cochrane
Stars: Bill Skarsgård , Lily-Rose Depp , Nicholas Hoult , Aaron Taylor-Johnson , Emma Corrin , Willem Dafoe
Memoir of a Snail (2024)
0 /10
Forcibly separated from her twin brother when they are orphaned, a melancholic misfit learns how to find confidence within herself amid the clutter of misfortunes and everyday life.
Run Time: 1hr 34` . MMPA: R . Release: 17 Oct 2024
Director: Adam Elliot
Producer: Carole Baraton , Tony King , Ester Harding
Stars: Sarah Snook , Eric Bana , Jacki Weaver , Kodi Smit-McPhee , Dominique Pinon , Magda Szubanski
Interstellar (2014)
8.7 /10
The adventures of a group of explorers who make use of a newly discovered wormhole to surpass the limitations on human space travel and conquer the vast distances involved in an interstellar voyage.
Run Time: 2hr 49` . MMPA: PG-13 . Release: 05 Nov 2014
Director: Megan Shank , Nilo Otero , Gary Hawes
Producer: Fridrik Ásmundsson , Municoy , Thomas Tull
Stars: Matthew McConaughey , Anne Hathaway , Jessica Chastain , Bill Irwin , Ellen Burstyn , Michael Caine
House of Ga'a (2024)
0 /10
At the height of the Oyo Empire, the ferocious Bashorun Ga'a became more powerful than the kings he enthroned, only to be undone by his own blood.
Run Time: 2hr . MMPA: R . Release: 26 Jul 2024
Director: Bolanle Austen-Peters
Producer: Bolanle Austen-Peters
Stars: Femi Branch , Mike Afolarin , Funke Akindele , Toyin Abraham , Ibrahim Chatta , Femi Adebayo
Wicked Minds (2003)
5.3 /10
Holden returns home from college and is surprised to find his overpowering competitive father married to a much younger woman Lana. Holden quickly falls for the beauty and charisma of his step mother. A passionate affair begins between son and stepmother.
Run Time: 1hr 33` . MMPA: PG-13 . Release: 01 Mar 2003
Director: Jason Hreno
Producer: Serge Denis , Anne Carlucci , Jean Bureau
Stars: Angie Everhart , Andrew W. Walker , Winston Rekert , Amy Sloan , Frank Schorpion , Ellen David
Anora (2024)
0 /10
A young sex worker from Brooklyn gets her chance at a Cinderella story when she meets and impulsively marries the son of an oligarch. Once the news reaches Russia, her fairytale is threatened as his parents set out to get the marriage annulled.
Run Time: 2hr 19` . MMPA: R . Release: 14 Oct 2024
Director: Stephen Coleman , Albert Rudnitsky , Sofía Blanco
Producer: Ken Meyer , Adriana Alpizar , Emily Fleischer
Stars: Ivy Wolk , Mikey Madison , Mark Eydelstein , Yuriy Borisov , Karren Karagulian , Vache Tovmasyan
The Moor (2024)
0 /10
Claire is approached by the father of her murdered childhood friend to help investigate the haunted moor he believes is his son's final resting place.
Run Time: 2hr . MMPA: . Release: 14 Jun 2024
Director: Kaitlin Michaels , Kyle Brearey , Lisa Collins
Producer: Georgia Padfield , Benjamin Newsome , Jordan Fleming
Stars: Sophia La Porta , David Edward-Robertson , Elizabeth Dormer-Phillips , Mark Peachey , Vicki Hackett , Bernard Hill
Queer (2024)
0 /10
1950. William Lee, an American expat in Mexico City, spends his days almost entirely alone, except for a few contacts with other members of the small American community. His encounter with Eugene Allerton, an expat former soldier, new to the city, shows him, for the first time, that it might be finally possible to establish an intimate connection with somebody.
Run Time: 2hr 16` . MMPA: R . Release: 27 Nov 2024
Director: Kim H. Winther , Samuel Scott , Edoardo di Lauro
Producer: Christian Vesper , Luis Rosales , Ben Panzeca
Stars: Daniel Craig , Drew Starkey , Daan de Wit , Lesley Manville , Jason Schwartzman , Henry Zaga
A Real Pain (2024)
0 /10
Mismatched cousins David and Benji reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother. The adventure takes a turn when the pair's old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history.
Run Time: 1hr 30` . MMPA: R . Release: 01 Nov 2024
Director: Gniewko Falana , Renata Galuszka , Mieszko Falana
Producer: Ewa Puszczyńska , Remy Love , Becky Glupczynski
Stars: Jesse Eisenberg , Kieran Culkin , Will Sharpe , Ellora Torchia , Jennifer Grey , Kurt Egyiawan