Ever since he was a little boy, it’s been Plankton’s dream to take over the world—a dream he believes he can fulfill if he can only steal the infamous-but-secret Krabby Patty formula. The reason he believes this is a bit convoluted; but suffice it to say that Plankton’s plans have always failed, often foiled by SpongeBob himself.

Unfortunately, that repeated failure has taken a toll on Karen. She’s always supported her husband’s dream, but she believes he’s going about it the wrong way. Karen’s something of an evil genius herself—being a cross between a computer and a robot, after all—but for 25 years, Plankton has neglected to acknowledge her brilliance.

Well, enough is enough for Karen. So when Plankton refuses to listen to her ideas once again, Karen decides to end their evil alliance and take over the world for herself.

Realizing he can’t stop Karen alone, Plankton reluctantly teams up with SpongeBob. But the happy, yellow sponge doesn’t just want to save Bikini Bottom: He wants to save Plankton’s marriage.

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A rabbit was the first to go. Enraptured by the sight of the tiny purple meteorite, which had just crashed into its enclosure, the bunny took a bite. It wasn’t long before the once adorable critter transformed into a fanged, gummy-like zombie. And with one bite with those sharp teeth, other animals at Colepepper Zoo transformed, too.

The chicks and sheep went next.

Down went the goats.

Then, they came for the monkeys.

Pretty soon, the whole zoo was gone—save for a wolf, mountain lion, capybara, ostrich, lemur and proboscis monkey.

But the gummy zombies are coming for them, too.

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Hey, lots of kids are like that, right? But in Ne Zha’s case, the results can be … bad.

See, Ne Zha is a demon, and not just any run-of-the-mill, dime-a-dozen Chinese demon, either. He’s part and product of the Demon Orb, and as such he’s incredibly powerful and destructive. Why, if left to his own demonic nature, he just might be so destructive as to threaten heaven and earth themselves. So the orb was slated for destruction by the Supreme Lord, Yuanshi Tianzun. And what the Supreme Lord says, the Supreme Lord does.

But through a series of adventures and surprising relationships (as chronicled in 2019’s Ne Zha), Ne Zha saved his parents and his hometown of Chentang Pass. And thanks to help from his enemy-turned-friend, Ao Bing (a reincarnation of something called the Spirit Pearl and the son of a very important dragon), Ne Zha even staved off the Supreme Lord’s destructive curse. The only downside? He and Ao Bing lost their corporeal bodies. Bummer.

But as Ne Zha 2 opens, good news! Master Taiyi Zhenren uses (and exhausts) his sacred lotus to regenerate both Ne Zha and Ao Bing.

Bad news. Chentang Pass is soon under threat again: Ao Guang, Ao Bing’s very important dragon father, believes his son died in the last movie, so he unleashes a few other dragon rulers from their lava-y locale, which are ushered into the fray by the demonic Shen Gongbao. Before Ne Zha and Ao Bing can truly get their bodies back, they must defend the town—and Ao Bing’s corporeal form is quickly destroyed. (Naturally, Ao Guang feels just terrible about this strange turn of events.)

But more good news! Ao Bing’s spirit doesn’t need to dissipate forever! Taiyi says that Ne Zha can host the spirit of Ao Bing for seven days. During that time, if Ne Zha can pass three trials and become one of the immortals, he can claim a potion that will restore the sacred lotus and, thus, give Ao Bing another shot at having a real-life body again.

But more bad news. Demons aren’t allowed to perform these trials. In fact, the trials are all about fighting demons—something that gods and immortals love to do. And if anyone detects Ne Zha’s true nature during these trials—inescapable if he fights as Ne Zha—he’ll certainly get booted out of heaven.

The only solution: Ao Bing’s spirit must take over Ne Zha’s body during these critical trials. And he can only do that if Ne Zha knocks himself out somehow.

Follow all that?

Well, in truth, we learn all of that within, like, the first 15 minutes of the movie, and then things get much more confusing. But in short, Ne Zha—the spirit of Ao Bing in tow—and Taiyi mount a flying pig and fly to heaven to embark on a series of spectacular adventures. And perhaps they’ll right a few long-festering wrongs along the way, too.

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Officer Knight may not be the sharpest tack in the box, but he’s athletic and strong. His dog Greg, however, is as bright as they come. He just can’t communicate well because he’s, you know, a dog.

Together though they make a great pair of crime stoppers. (And hey, they don’t even need a police siren, since Greg’s doggy howl attracts far more attention.) They’re the best of the best and they get the job done.

Until, that is, they don’t.

One day while giving chase to the vile villain Petey the Cat, Officer Knight and Greg accidentally set off a bomb. And PAZAW! The two find themselves in a conundrum. They’re rushed to the hospital, and the doctor proclaims that the poor officer’s head is just no good anymore. And poor Greg’s body is no good either.

All is lost … until a nurse steps up to suggest that they simply sew Greg’s head on Officer Knight’s body. Which, of course, is a brilliant idea. Greg’s smarts matched with Knight’s athleticism results in nothing less than Dog Man, a truly terrific Supa Cop!

This incredible law officer can’t talk anymore, but hey, talking is overrated. Dog Man can lick crime better than the best of ‘em. He treats baddies like a dug-up bone. He’s incredible!

Of course, villains like Petey won’t just hiss and run for cover. Petey is still scratching up insidious inventions and hairball hoodwinks. He even goes so far as to clone himself! (Though his clone, Lil Petey, is just the cutest little thing. Ahem.) Anyway, Petey the Cat is up to no good.

So, Dog Man will have to put his nose to the ground and get to do-gooding and crime-solving. I mean, after he chases a stick and a tennis ball or two.  

Ruff!

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Paddington did find a family, the Browns. They’ve had quite their share of adventures since adopting Paddington, dodging a mad taxidermist and rescuing Paddington from wrongful imprisonment. But through it all, the Brown family, including Paddington, has only grown closer.

But lately, it hasn’t really felt that way.

Mr. Brown, ever the risk-assessor, has a new boss forcing him to throw caution to the wind. Son Jonathan sequesters himself in his room, using his inventions to enable his lazy lifestyle. Daughter Judy is applying for university, hoping to move out on her own. And Mrs. Brown is missing the times when her whole family could fit on a single couch, loving and laughing together.

So, when Paddington receives a letter informing him that Aunt Lucy has gone missing, Mrs. Brown announces that the whole family will help him find her. It’s the perfect opportunity to spend some quality time together, she reasons.

When they arrive in Peru, Paddington learns Aunt Lucy was searching for an ancient Incan monument called Rumi Rock. Rumor has it that Rumi Rock is the first step toward finding the legendary (and lost) city of El Dorado.

The Browns hire a local riverboat to guide them to Rumi Rock, captained by Hunter Cabot and his daughter, Gina. Unfortunately, they soon learn that Hunter has his own history with the Incan monument. For centuries, his family has obsessed over the rumored gold located in El Dorado.

And Hunter will do just about anything—including abandoning his daughter and kidnapping Paddington—to get his hands on the gold.

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Moana teamed up with Maui to find and return the heart of Te Fiti. In so doing, they calmed Te Ka (who, it turns out, was just who Te Fiti became without her heart). And the ocean was finally safe to traverse again.

Well, Moana’s been doing just that. As her village’s Windfinder, she’s been sailing across the sea, searching for new islands and new peoples.

As of yet, she’s had no success. Sure, there are plenty of other islands in the area. Some even show evidence of other tribes having lived there once. But nobody has responded to her conch-shell calls.

Then, Moana receives a vision from her ancestor Tautai Vasa, the former Windfinder of her island. According to him, Moana’s mission is doomed to fail unless she can find the legendary island of Motufetu. In ages past, the island served as a central connection point, a place where all the currents of the ocean (and all the peoples) met. Unfortunately, Nalo, the god of thunder and chaos who hates humans, sunk the island to the depths of the sea, cutting off the currents and preventing passage from one island group to the next.

Moana learns that unless she finds Motufetu and breaks Nalo’s curse, her people will eventually wither away and die alone in isolation. And not just her people, but the people of each island she’s yet to discover.

The voyage will be long and dangerous. In fact, it could take a lifetime to succeed—if Moana is indeed able to succeed at all. But she won’t let her people down. And so Moana chooses, once again, to leave all she loves behind to learn what lies beyond the horizon.

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From her fellow townspeople’s point of view, however, there is one little problem: She’s just not like them. She reads books. And she dreams of adventure and true love. What a peculiar young thing.

Of course that doesn’t stop the lantern-jawed Gaston from wanting her as his wife. She’s the prettiest girl in town, after all, which makes her the best. And doesn’t he deserve the best?! He’s certain he’ll cure her of all that silly reading and dreaming once they tie the knot.

Belle isn’t interested. She’d rather wait for the future while taking care of her forgetful but loving papa. He’s such a dear old fellow, and an inventor, too. Someday his wonderfully quirky inventions will make him famous, she’s sure of it.

So when Papa gets lost on his way to the city, and his horse returns without him, Belle is instantly concerned. And she rides out to search for him, his faithful horse taking her to the gates of a gloomy old castle. Inside, she finds her father, locked away in a dungeon cell.

“Go away, Belle!” he cries. “Save yourself.” But it’s too late. The surly owner of this enchanted castle has heard the commotion and storms into the shadow-cloaked room. With bared teeth and an angry roar, he makes the facts clear: Papa trespassed and a price must be paid. If Belle wants to take his place, so be it. But someone will be the lifelong prisoner of … the Beast!

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Cat knew it, because the world was covered in … well, cats. Cat sculptures dotted the green, tree-covered hills next to the house. A cat carving stood unfinished on the table. A small remove from the rest, a gigantic cat head loomed above all, towering like a blind idol.

But that was before the waters came.

Cat had just snatched a fish from a clutch of distracted dogs. Cat had led them on a frantic chase, weaving through trees, under logs, over green moss. Cat lost them finally. And when Cat found them again, they were still running—away. They gave Cat a disinterested glance and kept running.

Then the deer. Running, running, running.

Then the waters. Running, rushing, flooding.

Cat statues dipped beneath the waters. The house. The trees.

Now, Cat stands on the top of the head of the gigantic cat—for so long the land’s looming protector—as the waters still rise.

Cat’s world? No longer. This is the water’s realm now, an ocean swallowing the world in its clear, dripping maw.

But—there. A boat! A wooden-hulled, orange-sailed boat! Floating just close enough.

Cat hates water. Of course. But it’ll be in water over its head soon enough, so it begins swimming toward the boat, bobbing and floating.

Cat reaches, claws its way up the hull. It pulls itself in and—

What in the world is that?

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In 1993, the penguin—skillfully disguised as a chicken by slapping a red rubber glove on his head—nearly completed a daring robbery of the world-famous Blue Diamond. He hijacked the robotic trousers of a local inventor (while said inventor was still in said trousers), broke into a museum and took the diamond, seemingly capping a criminal career that few penguins could match.

And he would’ve gotten away with it, too, had not the inventor, Wallace, and his surprisingly clever dog, Gromit, not foiled his getaway and sent him to the slammer. (That is, the local zoo.)

But Feathers is a patient penguin. He has never forgotten how close he was to claiming the fabled Blue Diamond for his own. And he’s never forgiven Wallace & Gromit for crushing his dastardly dreams.

Day by day, year by year, the sinister waterfowl plotted and planned. When opportunity knocked, Feathers would be ready to throw open the cage door.

And then, opportunity arrives—wearing a red pointed hat.

Its name is Norbot. And it is, simply, the most helpful automated garden gnome one could envision. Or so says its inventor, Wallace.

“I’d say he’s my greatest invention so far!” he tells a news crew, and so it would seem. Norbot can cut your grass. He can cut your hedges. He can cut your flowers down to wee nubbins. And while that might not be to everyone’s taste (certainly not Gromit’s), there’s no question that if you prefer your garden to look like a preschool chart of shapes, Norbot’s your guy. An anchorman gushes that Norbot is truly “cutting hedge technology,” and soon Wallace unveils a new business: Gnome Improvements.

“See how embracing technology makes our lives better?” Wallace tells Gromit.

Feathers sees. Oh, yes. Far away in his cold zoo cell, he sees. All he needs to do is remotely reprogram Norbot, transforming the robotic gnome into the ultimate manifestation of AI evil. Then, surely, the penguin’s diabolical, unstoppable scheme will be well underway. Wallace will be none the wiser until it’s too late. And Gromit? Well, the dog is clever, to be sure, but he’s no match for an evil garden gnome.

Yes, if Feathers McGraw ever spoke, you could guarantee he’d be summoning up his most evil laugh right about … now.

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“You’re not Charles Dickens,” Rizzo the Rat replies.

“I am, too.”

“No, a blue furry Charles Dickens who hangs out with a rat?”

“Absolutely!”

Well, Gonzo may not actually be Charles Dickens. But he does seem to know the 19^th-century novelist’s tale A Christmas Carol like the back of his hand. In fact, he proves it.

Gonzo narrates the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a miserly old grump with love for nothing but money. As London’s citizens put it, “If they gave a prize for being mean, the winner would be him.”

But on Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by several spirits who warn him that if he doesn’t change his ways, he’ll suffer the consequences of his sins.

And it all starts with this famous line:

The Marleys were dead to begin with …

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