Zanytoons: Now and Forever

Zanytoons: Now and Forever ‎is a 2023 American computer-animated slapstick comedy film produced by Paramount Animation and based on the Zanytoons franchise. The film is directed by Rich Moore and Kevin Mitchell, from a screenplay by David Feiss, Dan Fogelman, Ian Southwood, and Michael Cantrell and a story by Matt Lieberman and Phil Johnston. It features an ensemble voice cast including Billy West, Rob Paulsen, Jess Harnell, E.G. Daily, Jim Cummings, Dan Castellaneta, and Tom Kenny, with Laurence Fishburne, Ryan Reynolds, David Cross, Elizabeth Banks, Jeremy Renner, Keegan-Michael Key, Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Donald Glover, Sarah Silverman, Will Arnett, Kevin Hart, and Patrick Stewart. In the film, when a mysterious mastermind named the Jaded Mask steals the town's supply of Zanium, Charlie Chinchilla and the other Zanytoons must team up to help stop the Jaded Mask and save the Zanium within 48 hours, before they lose their zaniness forever.

Plans for a CGI Zanytoons film began in March 2015, following the box office success of Paramount Animation's first film The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water when Paramount decided to reboot the Zanytoons film series. After about 4 years in development hell, the film was officially announced in September 2019 and Rich Moore was initially hired to direct the film, with a script from David Feiss, Dan Fogelman, and Matt Lieberman and a story from Lieberman and Phil Johnston. Production on the film began in July 2020 and it is the first theatrically released film to feature the Zanytoons characters since the release of Zanytoons: Out of Control (2010). It is the first film in the franchise to be fully animated in stylized CGI rather than traditional 2D animation.

Zanytoons: Now and Forever premiered at the Regency Village Theatre on April 30, 2023, and was theatrically released in the United States on May 19, by Paramount Pictures. It has received mixed reviews from critics, who praised its animation, voice acting, musical score, and faithfulness to the source material, but criticized its plot. Despite this, the film was a financial success grossing over $848 million worldwide, becoming the highest grossing film by Paramount Animation as well as in the Zanytoons franchise, and currently the eighth highest grossing film of 2023.

A sequel is currently in development at Paramount Animation.

Plot
In a volcanic lair in the outskirts of Zanytown. the Jaded Mask is coming up with a plan for global domination. He becomes inspired to steal Zanium, an rare element that can make people and objects zany at extreme levels, after his henchmen, Wally and Puck, mention. The Jaded Mask decides to take every last bit of Zanium, so that he can have it all to himself.

In Zanytown, Charlie Chinchilla, is getting things set up around Zanytown for a big event that he calls the Zany Centennial, an event the celebrates the 100th anniversary of Zanytown and the founder's discovery of Zanium, which Zanytown is known for. Oliver Owl mocks Charlie for being so obsessed with the town's celebration, but agrees to help him get things set up for the big event.

More coming soon.

Cast

 * Billy West as Charlie Chinchilla/Jerry Jaguar
 * Rob Paulsen as Oliver Owl
 * Jess Harnell as Dylan Dog
 * E.G. Daily as Amy Chinchilla
 * Jim Cummings as Wesley Wombat
 * Dan Castellaneta as Bennett Buckaroo
 * Kath Soucie as Delilah Dog
 * Tom Kenny as Gavin Galaxy/Fabian Finch
 * Dee Bradley Baker as Oscar Ostrich (vocal effects)
 * Eric Bauza as Chandler Chicken/Freddy Feline/Rodney Rat
 * Jeff Bergman as Stanley Pat
 * Laurence Fishburne as The Jaded Mask, the evil mastermind who steals ZanyTown's supply of Zanium.
 * Ryan Reynolds
 * David Cross
 * Elizabeth Banks
 * Jeremy Renner as Wally
 * Kevin Hart as Puck
 * Keegan-Michael Key
 * Taraji P. Henson
 * Octavia Spencer
 * Donald Glover
 * Sarah Silverman
 * Will Arnett
 * Patrick Stewart

Trick E. Hyena also appeared in the film, but didn't speak.

Additional voices

 * Carlos Alazraqui
 * Steve Apostolina
 * Ranjani Brow
 * Ashly Burch
 * William Calvert
 * Catherine Cavadini
 * Will Collyer
 * Django Craig
 * Debi Derryberry
 * Jessica DiCicco
 * Jeff Fischer
 * Willow Geer
 * Jason Griffith
 * Aaron Hendry
 * Bridget Hoffman
 * Rif Hutton
 * Barbara Iley
 * Phil LaMarr
 * Ashley Lambert
 * Jeremy Maxwell
 * Laura Bailey
 * Scott Menville
 * Edie Mirman
 * Daniel Mora
 * Arthur Ortiz
 * Shakira Ja'nai Paye
 * Noreen Reardon
 * Michelle Ruff
 * Warren Sroka
 * Kelly Stables
 * Cree Summer
 * Kari Wahlgren
 * Nisa Ward
 * Debra Wilson

Development
Coming soon!

Casting
Coming soon!

Animation
The film is being animated in-house by Mikros Image in Paris and Montreal, using the same animation techniques as The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run and Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie. Mikros also hired 3D animators with a passion for 2D animation for the film.

Music
Following the release of the first trailer in November 2022, it was announced that John Debney signed on to compose the film's score with Guy Moon doing additional music.

Release
Zanytoons: Now and Forever premiered at the Regency Village Theatre in Los Angeles on April 30, 2023, and was theatrically released in the United States by Paramount Pictures on May 19, 2023 in RealD 3D, 2D, Dolby Cinema, and 4DX. It was previously scheduled to be released on November 18, 2022, before being pushed back to March 17, 2023, which in turn was later moved forward to its current release date of May 19. The film also had several promotional advanced screenings before the theatrical release.

Marketing
Following the announcement of the new title, cast, and release date in May 2022, Paramount showed the first 10 minutes of the film (albeit with unfinished animation) as well as an exclusive teaser trailer at the film's Comic-Con panel on July 25, 2022. The official trailer for the film was released on November 21, 2022 as well as five teaser posters for the film with two of them being character posters. The final trailer was released on March 22, 2023 as well as more posters.

Home media
Paramount Home Entertainment released Zanytoons: Now and Forever for digital download on June 27, 2023, and later on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD on September 12, 2023. It is set to be released on Paramount+ on October 3, 2023 alongside with a documentary titled Cooky Creations: The Story of Zanytoons: Now and Forever.

Box office
As of September 29, 2023, Zanytoons: Now and Forever has grossed $314.5 million in the United States and Canada and $534.4 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $848.9 million. On July 5, 2023, the film crossed $700 million worldwide, becoming the first animated film distributed by Paramount since Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted (2012) to do so and later crossed $800 million on August 5, 2023.

In the United States and Canada, Zanytoons: Now and Forever was released along Fast X, and was initially projected to make $45–50 million in it’s opening weekend at 4,008 theaters. It ended up making $19.2 million on its opening day including $6.7 million in Thursday night previews. The film went on to debut number two grossing $43.6 million in its opening weekend behind Fast X.

Critical response
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 69% based on 186 reviews, with an average rating of 6.5/10. The website's consensus reads: "Zanytoons: Now and Forever might be thinly plotted and easily predictable, but that doesn't stop the Zany-crew's return to the silver screen from being entertaining and humorous." On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 56 out of 100 based on eleven critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak while those polled by PostTrak gave it a 90% positive score, with 77% saying they would definitely recommend it.

Sequel
On July 16, 2023, Paramount Animation announced that a sequel is in production following the success of the film.