The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie as a Looney Tunes/Simpsons special

Changes[]

The film is named Journey to the Crown and uses the Looney Tunes moniker (The Looney Tunes Special).
- So far, the other films are named Mark to the Rescue, The Search for Snowball, and Mark's Spooky Adventure, and the spin-off films are named Moolissa Saves Springfield and The Wacky Adventures of Mojo Jojo.
SpongeBob and Patrick are replaced with Mark the Dog and Fred the Fox.
King Neptune is renamed to just The King.
Dennis is a human instead of a fish.
The Frogfish is now a dragon.
The Thug Tug Thugs now appear as humans instead of fishes.
Several of the SpongeBob characters see replaced with characters suitable to the scene.
Mojo Jojo is shown to be the main antagonist of the special.
The Krusty Krab 2 is replaced with The Krusty Burger 2.
Unlike most cartoon shorts in which Goofy Goober's retains its design from the SpongeBob franchise, Goofy Goober's in this movie resembles a mixture of Phineas Q. Butterfat's Ice Cream Parlor and Moe's Tavern, with Moe as the owner.
The scene where Mark and Fred die under a heat lamp is only used as a fantasy sequence that occurs as Mark and Fred are being taken to the gift shop (named ACME Shop instead of Shell City).
- It plays inside Fred's thought bubble.
The Bikini Atoll island is replaced by the Looney Tunes bullseye with the WB shield. As the camera zooms through the rings, the shield's interior would turn transparent.
- In the trailer for the special, the WB shield is the more recent design by Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv and the Looney Tunes bullseye is the 1944 blue rings-red center version. The special proper has the shield's design from Looney Tunes Cartoons and a mostly blue-colored bullseye. These designs are used as part of a portal between the Real World and the Animation World.
A star-catching segment with Woo-Hoo Star (voiced by Andy Hayward for the very first time) now occurs during Mark and Fred's journey, between them crashing through the side of the Krusty Burger 2 and them reaching a gas station just outside Springfield.
- Because of that, the second part of the closing credit sequence plays over his minigame, with the Blue Cursor stretching the bar to fill the screen after the minigame ends.
David Hasselhoff is absent; now Woo-Hoo Star takes Mark and Fred back to the animation world by plane.
The Outlands (from the Simpsons episode "At Long Last Leave") make a brief cameo appearance during Mark and Fred's journey.
The "Later that evening..." timecard from the SpongeBob episode "Friendiversary" now appears when the French Narrator says "Later that evening...".
- Similarly, the "Meanwhile” time card with Finny the Shark and her friends wearing party hats is reused for the Merrie Melodies shorts "The Barbie Doll Parade" and "David Comes Over", and the TV special "The Looney Tunes Special: The Search for Snowball".
The special is set and takes place between the Merrie Melodies short Pranks a Lot and the Looney Tunes short Fear of a Krusty Burger.
For some reason, the framing scenes featuring pirates watching the movie itself are removed, now beginning with the opening scene with Mark helping a customer with a Krusty Burger problem. An opening credits sequence now occurs during Mark's 'getting ready' sequence.
During the I Wanna Rock song, there's an extra verse where Mark counts the stars he and Fred caught.

Information for The Looney Tunes Special: Journey to the Crown[]

The Looney Tunes Special: Journey to the Crown is an American live-action/animated adventure comedy TV special based on Warner Bros.' animated short series Looney Tunes. The special was directed, co-written, and produced by Brett Jubinville. It features the regular voice cast used in the Mark-centric shorts with Alec Baldwin, Scarlett Johansson, and Jeffrey Tambor voicing new characters. It is adapted from The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. In this special, Mojo Jojo enacts a plan to discredit Krusty the Crown, steal the Krusty Burger secret formula, and take over the world by stealing the King's crown and framing Krusty for the crime. Mark and Fred team up to retrieve the crown from ACME Shop to save Krusty the Clown and Chloe the Crab from the King's wrath and their world from Mojo's rule.

Brett Jubinville accepted an offer for a Looney Tunes television special from Warner Bros. Animation in 2021, after having turned it down multiple times the previous year. He assembled a team from various writing staffs, and they structured the special as a mythical hero's journey that would bring Mark and Fred beyond Springfield.

The Looney Tunes Special: Journey to the Crown premiered on Cartoon Network and Max on July 12, 2023.

Plot[]

In the town of Springfield, Mark the Dog prepares for the opening ceremony of the Krusty Burger 2 (located somewhere at the middle of town), believing that Krusty the Clown and Chloe the Crab will promote him as manager. At the ceremony, the title is instead given to his co-worker Princess Morbucks. Chloe the Crab explains to Mark that Morbucks is more mature and that he is "just a kid" who would be unable to handle the task, upsetting Mark.

Meanwhile, Mojo Jojo laments over his futile attempts to steal the Krusty Burger secret formula and take over the world, until his computer wife Carly reminds him of "Plan Z". Later, Mojo carries out the plan by stealing The King's crown and sending it to a unknown place, leaving false evidence to frame Krusty for the crime. That night, Mark heads to his favorite restaurant, Goofy Goober's, where he drowns his sorrows in ice cream with his best friend Fred the Fox, and wakes up the next morning with a hangover. The King goes to the Krusty Burger 2 to confront Krusty and Chloe about his stolen crown. The still-hungover Mark also arrives. After bad-mouthing Krusty and Chloe, Mark promises the King that he will retrieve the crown. Neptune freezes Krusty and orders Mark to return within six days in order to spare his friends' life. Neptune's daughter Mindy warns Mark and Fred of the dangers of the unknown, including "the Cyclops", a monster who kidnaps innocent creatures. Mark and Fred head off in the Patty Wagon, a Krusty Burger-shaped car stored underneath the restaurant.

Back in Springfield, Mojo steals the Krusty Burger formula from Chloe the Crab (after she tried to stop him by saying "Mojo, no stealing!") and uses it to sell Krusty Burgers. When Carly informs him that Mark and Fred are attempting to reclaim the crown, Mojo reveals he has hired a hitman named Dennis to eliminate the duo. Morbucks discovers the truth about Mojo stealing the crown, and confronts him. Before Morbucks can leave and alert the King, Mojo activates his mind-controlling helmets to subjugate the residents of Springfield, enslaving Morbucks as well. Meanwhile, Mark and Fred come across a hazardous trench and lose the Patty Wagon. On the verge of giving up, Mindy appears and gives them encouragement by using her princess magic to bestow two tuxedos and mustaches on them, convincing them that they have matured, and they successfully pass the trench.

Mark and Fred meet Dennis, who pulls the mustaches off. He tries to crush them with his giant boot, but is abruptly stomped on by a larger boot - which belongs to the previously mentioned Cyclops. The Cyclops captures Mark and Fred and takes them to his store, where all the creatures are sold as souvenirs. Mark and Fred learn that the store is a gift shop that Mojo placed the crown in (called ACME Shop) and with help from Woo-Hoo Star (who came out of Mark's star pocket), they find the crown. But Fred accidentally activates the emergency sprinkler system, thus unfreezing the animals. While Woo-Hoo Star and the vengeful animals distract the Cyclops, Mark and Fred take the crown and head out. After accidentally losing their way home to Springfield, Woo-Hoo Star offers them a ride in a plane. On the way, Dennis catches up to them, but gets knocked off of the plane into the sea.

Back at the Krusty Burger 2, the King arrives to execute Krusty and Chloe, but Mark and Fred return with the crown just in time. Mojo drops a mind-control bucket on Neptune and surrounds Mark, Fred and Mindy with his army of slaves. Mark, embracing the fact that he's accomplished so much despite being a kid, uses the power of rock and roll to play the song "Goofy Goober Rock", freeing the King and the citizens of Springfield from Mojo's control with his magic guitar. Mojo escapes but is arrested by the police, and the King rewards Mark for his bravery by unfreezing Krusty. Chloe the Crab gives Mark the job as manager of the Krusty Burger 2.

Soundtrack[]

Zachary Marsh composed the score for the special, conducting the recording sessions (in 5.1 surround sound) with the London Metropolitan Orchestra at the Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank. Marsh was honored at the 2023 ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards for his work on the special, and received a nomination for Music in an Animated Feature Production at the Annie Awards.

American rock band The Flaming Lips recorded "Mark and Fred Confront the Psychic Wall of Energy", based on the song SpongeBob and Patrick Confront the Psychic Wall of Energy. American band Wilco wrote and recorded "Just a Kid". One of the film's producers contacted frontman Jeff Tweedy after seeing a Looney Tunes air freshener hanging from Tweedy's rearview mirror. Tweedy said, "I fell in love with the Looney Tunes when I heard them describe the darkness at the end of the animation world as 'advanced darkness'. How could I not write a song for this special? It automatically makes me the coolest dad on the block." The all-time hit Looney Tunes theme song The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down also appears in the soundtrack. Other artists contributing to the soundtrack were Motörhead ("You Better Swim"); Prince Paul ("Prince Paul's Bubble Party"); Ween ("Ocean Man"), and the Shins ("They'll Soon Discover", partially written in 2001).

"Can You Imagine?", written by Zachary Marsh, was featured in the special and on its soundtrack (released under the WaterTower Music banner). Zachary Marsh, Brett Jubinville, Meiro Stamm, Caitlin Major, Sarah Gribeauval, and Adam Sakiyama were working on new songs for Rhymington Square and Finny the Shark; among them are "Can You Imagine?", "ABC Hop", and "I Have a Friend" (based on the song "I Have a Pet"). The special's production team needed three more tracks for the soundtrack; Warner Bros. heard the songs, and decided to include them. "Can You Imagine?" ended up being played during the film's closing credits.

Songs (in order)[]

Songs in soundtrack only[]

The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down (arranged by Carl Johnson; from the Looney Tunes Cartoons soundtrack)
Prince Paul's Bubble Party
ABC Hop
They'll Soon Discover
I Have a Friend
The Buggy Song By the Insect Band
Employee of the Month (song)

Explorer Star featured in the special[]

Woo-Hoo Star

Number of stars featured in the special[]

4

Star-Catching Scene script[]

[Just as Mark and Fred pass a bush during their journey, three stars (red, blue, and yellow) peek out of the bush while giggling; they then follow the Patty Wagon.]

Mark: Hey Fred? Do you have the feeling that we're being watched by.. stars?

Fred: (looks around) Huh? I don't see any--

Stars: (all giggling while flying above Mark and Fred) Try to catch us, try to catch us!

Mark: Look, Fred! Stars!

Fred: Well, what are we waiting for, Mark? Let's catch the stars!

(Mark and Fred try to catch the stars)

Stars: Catch us, catch us! (giggling)

(Then a turquoise baby star flies in)

Woo-Hoo Star: (Shuts his eyes, then opens them) WOO-HOO!

Mark: Look! That's Woo-Hoo! He's an Explorer Star. (as Woo-Hoo Star flies around him) He can help us find the crown!

Fred: (still reaching up and trying to catch the stars) If we can catch him! (grunts while trying to catch the stars)

Mark: Help us catch the stars! Reach up, and... (as he and Fred catch all four stars) Catch 'em, catch 'em, CATCH 'EM! (show the three stars that he caught) We caught them!

Fred: (sees that he only caught Woo-Hoo Star) And we caught Woo-Hoo!

Woo-Hoo Star: (Shuts his eyes, then opens them) Woo-Hoo!

Mark: Let's put them in the star pocket.

Stars: (while flying into Mark's star pocket) The star pocket! (one after the other, laughing and cheering; they peek out one last time before going in)

Mark and Fred: Phew! Good star catching.

[Mark and Fred stop at a gas station right before the county line. The special continues normally after that, starting with Mark honking his horn to wake up the two hick gas station attendants Floyd and Lloyd.]

Transcript[]

See here for the original 2004 SpongeBob movie transcript.